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pollution in U.S. cities can be reduced to meet clean air standards. One answer of
course is for everyone to purchase electric vehicles (EV), which create zero emissions when charged up on non-GHG sources of electricity. It is important to recognize that charging up an EV from a coal-fired power plant without CCS emits more
GHG than a gasoline-powered vehicle driving the same distance.
EVs have become more affordable in past decades with improved batteries,
greater range, and shorter recharge times. However, they are still out of the price
range of many. Although the ranges have gotten longer, many American drivers are
anxious about a vehicle not having as much range as they think they need (even
though most people drive less than 100 miles or 160 km per day). For these people
there are plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which run mostly on electric but can run
on gasoline when necessary.
Another, more-affordable option worth considering is natural-gas fueled vehicles, which are effective for cleaning up the air in cities. A major advantage of gas
is that unlike electric vehicles, drivers are not required to purchase something new
and expensive. Rather, a simple conversion allows an existing, gasoline-powered
automobile engine to run on compressed natural gas, or CNG. The usual design
leaves the original gasoline tank in place, and adds the CNG cylinder in the trunk or
elsewhere as a second fuel source. One of these “bi-fuel” vehicles typically has a
range of about 160 km (100 miles) or so on the CNG fuel, and with the flip of a
switch it can run on gasoline.
The technology is neither difficult nor new, having been developed in Italy during the 1930s. The bi-fuel conversion became popular in western Canada in the
1980s, and also gained popularity in New Zealand around the same time. Converting
gasoline-powered vehicles over to CNG is relatively cheap and would greatly
expand the current stagnant market for natural gas. The widespread use of CNG
vehicles would stop wasting valuable petroleum as fuel, which has so many other
uses that powering cars with gasoline is akin to building a campfire with furniturequality hardwood. CNG vehicles would also quickly bring U.S. cities into air quality attainment standards. It is a mystery why this has not caught on with automobile
manufacturers, motorists, natural gas companies, and environmentalists.
Another issue with gasoline and diesel fuel is that these liquids are typically
stored at service stations in large underground tanks for isolation from fire hazards.
Thousands of buried fuel tanks all over the country have corroded over the decades
and leaked BTEX and diesel-range organics (DRO) into groundwater, contaminating individual wells and in some cases, entire water supply systems. In addition to
improving air quality in cities, running vehicles on natural gas would greatly reduce
the underground storage of gasoline and diesel fuel, decreasing risks to groundwater
throughout the nation.
Burning gasoline, diesel, and even natural gas to run a vehicle is still using a fossil fuel that will produce carbon dioxide as a combustion product. CHG emissions
from transportation sources make up 23% of the total global emissions of anthropogenic CO 2 (Songolzadeh et al. 2014). Most of the current carbon capture technologies are designed for use on “fixed sources,” such as power plants or industrial sites
because the engineering is simpler when the carbon source is not moving.
11 Balancing Energy, Environment, and Economics
pollution in U.S. cities can be reduced to meet clean air standards. One answer of
course is for everyone to purchase electric vehicles (EV), which create zero emissions when charged up on non-GHG sources of electricity. It is important to recognize that charging up an EV from a coal-fired power plant without CCS emits more
GHG than a gasoline-powered vehicle driving the same distance.
EVs have become more affordable in past decades with improved batteries,
greater range, and shorter recharge times. However, they are still out of the price
range of many. Although the ranges have gotten longer, many American drivers are
anxious about a vehicle not having as much range as they think they need (even
though most people drive less than 100 miles or 160 km per day). For these people
there are plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which run mostly on electric but can run
on gasoline when necessary.
Another, more-affordable option worth considering is natural-gas fueled vehicles, which are effective for cleaning up the air in cities. A major advantage of gas
is that unlike electric vehicles, drivers are not required to purchase something new
and expensive. Rather, a simple conversion allows an existing, gasoline-powered
automobile engine to run on compressed natural gas, or CNG. The usual design
leaves the original gasoline tank in place, and adds the CNG cylinder in the trunk or
elsewhere as a second fuel source. One of these “bi-fuel” vehicles typically has a
range of about 160 km (100 miles) or so on the CNG fuel, and with the flip of a
switch it can run on gasoline.
The technology is neither difficult nor new, having been developed in Italy during the 1930s. The bi-fuel conversion became popular in western Canada in the
1980s, and also gained popularity in New Zealand around the same time. Converting
gasoline-powered vehicles over to CNG is relatively cheap and would greatly
expand the current stagnant market for natural gas. The widespread use of CNG
vehicles would stop wasting valuable petroleum as fuel, which has so many other
uses that powering cars with gasoline is akin to building a campfire with furniturequality hardwood. CNG vehicles would also quickly bring U.S. cities into air quality attainment standards. It is a mystery why this has not caught on with automobile
manufacturers, motorists, natural gas companies, and environmentalists.
Another issue with gasoline and diesel fuel is that these liquids are typically
stored at service stations in large underground tanks for isolation from fire hazards.
Thousands of buried fuel tanks all over the country have corroded over the decades
and leaked BTEX and diesel-range organics (DRO) into groundwater, contaminating individual wells and in some cases, entire water supply systems. In addition to
improving air quality in cities, running vehicles on natural gas would greatly reduce
the underground storage of gasoline and diesel fuel, decreasing risks to groundwater
throughout the nation.
Burning gasoline, diesel, and even natural gas to run a vehicle is still using a fossil fuel that will produce carbon dioxide as a combustion product. CHG emissions
from transportation sources make up 23% of the total global emissions of anthropogenic CO 2 (Songolzadeh et al. 2014). Most of the current carbon capture technologies are designed for use on “fixed sources,” such as power plants or industrial sites
because the engineering is simpler when the carbon source is not moving.
11 Balancing Energy, Environment, and Economics