// lecture 36 Flashcards

Question

Problems with oil

Answer 1

In addition to CO2 emissions, other problems include - Oil spills - Benzene & other hydrocarbons in crude & gasoline are highly carcinogenic - Contamination of runoff/soils - Carbon monoxide pollution - Uncombusted fuel air quality issues - Bad ozone pollution (from NOx) - Smog/particulate matter polution - Respiratory problems (asthma, irritation, etc ) associated w/ the above 4 - In the US, mostly comes from foreign sources - Connection to totalitarian regimes -  Could hit “peak oil” soon which would greatly increase prices Also these issues vary hugely with regions/regulations Clean Air Act has greatly reduced air pollution in the US!

Answer 2

Train carrying North Dakota fracked oil derails and | explodes in West Virginia

Answer 3

- It has been estimated that the current healthcare costs that result from our use of fossil fuels exceeds the cost of converting to carbon-free fuels in order to avoid a 2˚C warming. - This is true both in the developed world, where we live longer and where healthcare is expensive, and in developing countries where life expectancies are shorter and healthcare is less expensive and less available.

Answer 4

- A recent paper in Economic and Political Weekly claims that levels of air pollution in India are cuusing more than half of India’s 1.2 Billion population to die sooner than expected. - 660 million live in areas where the fine particulate matter exceed India’s national air quality standard. - Decrease in life expectancy of 3.2 years. - 3.2 years times 660 million people equals 2.1 Billion life years.

Answer 5

- In addition to life span losses, air pollution results in more sickness during life and less human productivity. - A 2013 paper published the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that in 2010 the wheat yield was decreased by 36% and rice yields a fifth of what they would have been if pollution was kept in check. This decline in farm productivity was attributed to black carbon related to biomass and fossil fuel burning and to elevated levels of ozone caused by the production of NOx related to burning. - This is BEFORE any agricultural harm from warming is factored in.

Answer 6

- The healthcare, climate change and other costs of Fossil Fuel use are generally not born by the producers of fossil fuels and passed along to consumers. - This represents a huge subsidy of the fossil fuel industry by the current healthcare system and by the future.

Answer 7

- Hidden Costs of Energy - Tried to quantify the non-climate external costs of fossil fuels. - External costs are those not normally included in the competitive marketplace. They focused on non-CO2 air pollution, mostly Particulate Matter, SO2 and NOx. Health damages dominated the monetization. - Congress directed the US Department of the Treasury to request this study from the NRC – the Nation’s science think tank - Considered costs for 2005 - 406 Coal-electricity plants $62 Billion in external costs, about 3.2 cents per kW-hour, ranging from 0.5 to 12 cents a KW-hour mostly depending on the technology for scrubbing SO2. - 498 Natural Gas-electricity plants 0.16 cents per kW-hr – much less than coal. - Transportation vehicle sector about $56Billion or 1.5 cents per mile. - Total of mostly health-related costs about 120$B a year an underestimate because of all the things it does not consider (damages due to some pollutants, climate change, ecosystems, infrastructure and security.)

Answer 8

- Because we have clean electricity, a large percentage of WA’s GHG emissions are from transportation (45%) - Huge improvements in our footprint can be made by switching cars to hybrid/electric cars

Answer 9

- Hybrid electric vehicles run off of two propulsion systems: internal combustion & electric - Environmental concerns: Requires large battery packs, which have toxic materials in them and Some rare materials used are becoming more scarce, harder to obtain.

Answer 10

- Lots of choices now. Sometimes expensive, sometimes limited range. - Hybrid – Gas motor drives battery, can also capture energy going downhill or braking - Hybrid – plug in You can plug it in at night - Electric Vehicle – no gas engine, just plug it in.

Answer 11

- Level 1 : 110 Volts 9-hours 40mile Volt - Level 2 : 220 Volts 6-8 hours full charge -   Level 3 : DC Quick-Charge 40 miles, 10 minutes.

Answer 12

Ethyl Alcohol (the drinkable kind of alcohol) •  Produced from carbohydrates and yeast •  Sweet, simple carbohydrates ferment most easily (cane sugar is best, wood pulp is harder)

Answer 13

Huge in Brazil (25% of their fuel). From sugar cane •  We make more in the US, but from corn. Much less efﬁcient than sugar cane – high carbon footprint •  Cellulosic ethanol (e.g., from switchgrass) would be much better for carbon footprint. Easy to grow, doesn’t require as much plowing, etc. Harder to get to ferment though (more expensive)

Answer 14

Methyl or ethyl esters •  Formed by transesterﬁcation:  alcohol + oil --> less alcohol + biodiesel + fertilizer + glycerin •  Oil source: soybean oil, canola oil, restaurant grease. biodiesel smells like french fries because esters are aromatic!

Answer 15

- in 2008, Americans consumed 9.6 billion gallons of ethanol, which reduced gasoline consumption by less than 5% - Most gasoline has some ethanol in it - E10 is Gasoline with 10% ethanol content by volume. E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, and it is mostly sold in the Midwest. - The energy content of ethanol is about 33% less than “pure” gasoline, so your vehicle mileage may decrease by up to 3.3% when using E10. - Currently, you must have a “flex-fuel” vehicle to use gasoline with an ethanol content greater than 10% because ethanol takes more energy to vaporize. Can be hard to start in the cold

Answer 16

- Reduces NET CO2 emissions (CO2 is emitted but it came from plants which recently took that CO2 from the air!) - Better for human health reduced carbon monoxide and particulate emissions. - Less unburned hydrocarbon emissions - Reduced acid rain potential no sulfate emissions - Energy independence

Answer 17

- May be worse for human health in some ways via NOX emissions (a key bad ozone creator) - Expensive - Less land for food production people compete with machines for food - Pure/high ethanol is not approved for most cars okay as an additive

Answer 18

Like a battery but uses oxygen from the air. Needs a steady supply of the fuel, which is H2

Answer 19

2H2 + O2 --> 2H2O + energy

Answer 20

The Catches •  Where do you get H2? –  not naturally occurring in large quantities •  H2 can be generated via electrolysis –  2H2O + energy --> H2 + 2O2 –  Requires lots of energy •  H2 can be generated from methane –  requires energy and produces CO2 •  How is H2 stored? it takes up a lot of space –  Fuel tank many times bigger than car –  Transport may be difﬁcult too Hydrogen is a carrier of energy, not a source