Former Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) Finance Coordinator Oliver L Campbell writes: Not long ago I wrote here we should take care of our planet by switching to renewable energy for electricity generation (Taking care of our planet). That decision will be taken by government, but I now want to talk about something we individually can do to reduce pollution -- I refer to the fossil fuel we use in our cars. The worst of these pollutants is gasoline, also the most widely-used fuel, but there are alternatives which contaminate less, the most commonly used being diesel. A diesel engine burns fuel more efficiently and gives off lower emissions. It also gives you a better mpg -- typically a third more -- which more than offsets the higher price of diesel.
The new Ford Fiesta ECOnetic diesel, which came out last month, is hyped to do 76mpg and has CO 2 emissions of under 100g/km which puts it in the greenest of categories. However, it seems Ford will not sell it in the USA because of the low demand there for diesel cars. I find this hard to follow--can so many millions of drivers in Europe and elsewhere be wrong to opt for diesel cars?
Another alternative that contaminates less than gasoline is LPG (liquid petroleum gas), also known as "autogas." LPG is mainly propane, with some butane, and is similar to the gas you buy in cylinders for barbecuing. In many countries it is obtained from oil refining, but in the UK , from where I take my examples, it mainly comes from the "wet" gas produced in the North Sea . The liquids, including propane and butane, are extracted and the dry methane gas is what we burn in our homes.
LPG is "greener, cheaper and cleaner" so why don't more people use it?
Well, your car engine has to be converted to use "bio-fuel" so it can run on both LPG and gasoline -- done at the flick of a switch. Conversion is not cheap, though some countries subsidize the cost, and the cylinders take up space in the trunk. The conversion cost will be recouped since LPG is about half the price of gasoline, but it will take time. In the UK , there is an incentive for drivers who commute into London since most LPG cars are exempt from the congestion charge which is currently £8.00 ($11.87) per day.
Another, even cleaner, alternative is CNG (compressed natural gas) which is the same gas you use at home but compressed and put in cylinders. Whereas LPG is a liquid kept under pressure, CNG is a gas kept under pressure--it occupies less than 1% of its volume at normal atmospheric pressure. Though CNG is used world-wide, it has not yet been developed in many countries--this includes the UK where there are very few places for the public to fill up, and the fuel is mainly used by fleets of vehicles which have their own dispensers.
The next, logical step will be cars that use either LPG or CNG as a "dedicated" fuel without the dual fuel capability i.e. no gasoline tank. This already happens with fleets of trucks, buses and taxis which have their own filling stations. In the UK , it is not yet practical for cars because there are not nearly enough filling stations, particularly for CNG, and this is a problem with both these fuels in other countries.
Apart from gasoline-LPG and gasoline-CNG hybrids, there are gasoline-electric hybrids like the Toyota Prius whose gasoline engine propels the car when necessary and also recharges the batteries while driving. The electric motor is used at low speeds and switches to the gasoline engine for higher speeds. This means gasoline is only saved when going slowly such as in town driving. For driving at speed, a diesel engine gives a much better performance in terms of mpg and produces lower emissions than gasoline, and that is why diesel-electric hybrids are being developed.
- Then there are gasoline plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt, due out in 2010, whose batteries have a range of 40 miles and can be recharged at the mains. It is ideal for commuters and consumes no gasoline if this distance is not exceeded i.e. it functions like a pure electric car. For longer distances, the small gasoline engine is used to charge the batteries while in motion and not to propel the car.
However, most people will want a larger electric car than the G-Wiz and with a better performance. For that, the batteries are all-important since they must provide an acceptable range, be rechargeable in a reasonably short time, last a good number of years, not weigh too much, and be safe and not prone to exploding. Subaru is developing a 5-seater car whose lithium-ion batteries give it a range of over 100 miles and, by using a quick charger, can be 80% topped up in 15 minutes.
- Think, Norway, is making the 5-seater Ox which will travel 120 miles before needing a recharge, and reach a maximum speed of 80 mph. The batteries can be 80% recharged in one hour. Innovative in design and engineering, it will come out in 2011.
What about ethanol? One drawback is it damages the environment as large areas of rain forests are cleared to grow crops and palm trees. The second is its impact on the poor -- growing corn for ethanol has already put up the price of tortillas in Mexico and caused riots there. As more land is used for bio-fuels, it is feared the price of food will go up further and, moreover, the large quantities of water required for irrigation may be diverted from other necessary uses. Like many, I am not convinced using arable land to produce fuel for cars is a good idea. However, research is being done on the exciting "cellulosic" technology which uses the cellulose existing in all plant matter, including plant waste, to produce ethanol.
The pecking order for CO 2 cleaner fuels is CNG, LPG, diesel and gasoline. There is a big difference between CNG, LPG and gasoline, but only a very small one between LPG and diesel. For this reason, and for the first time, I have just bought a car with a diesel engine. They no longer smell like they used to, the rattle is barely perceptible, acceleration is fast enough and the automatic engines are very smooth. I believe it is a good choice for motorists who want to protect the environment without having to modify their car. You can wait for the LPG-diesel hybrid, or be bolder and plump for one of the other hybrids. You can be more adventurous still and opt for an all-electric car that gives off no carbon emissions --- but medium sized, all-electric cars are expensive.
For those of us not keen on converting the engine for bio-fuel and not yet ready to move to hybrids and all-electrical, the best way we can reduce harmful emissions is by consuming less gasoline or diesel. The heavier the car and larger the engine, the more fuel it consumes and the greater its propensity to pollute. So we should ask ourselves, can we manage with a smaller car and, in particular, do we need a heavy gas-guzzling 4 x 4?
Many of these off-road vehicles have never seen a country lane with potholes let alone a farm track. For some, they are a status symbol and others feel secure sitting high up cocooned in a redoubtable chassis, but they were not made for the school run and shopping at the supermarket. Demand for them is falling as a fuel prices increase, which is no bad thing from an environmental point of view.
We consume less fuel by using public transport more. However, the problem for couples with children is often one of cost, particularly when going by train where the high fares are prohibitive. You don't need to be an economist to know, once you own a car, the only extra cost of a journey is the fuel. My only recommendation, when next you change your car, is to buy a car with an efficient diesel engine, or purchase a hybrid like the Chevrolet Volt -- probably to be sold under the Vauxhall name in the UK .
The era of cheap energy is over. In 1998, oil sold for $10 a barrel, earlier this year it was $147, and it is now back to below $50. The pundits said it would probably never fall below $80 again, but the recent financial crisis has proved them wrong. However, look on the bright side--it will make us look for alternatives which are both less costly and contaminate the atmosphere much less than fossil fuels.
My personal inclination, when I change my present diesel car, is for a hybrid of the Chevrolet Volt type. I guess I like the idea of having a small gasoline engine just to charge the batteries if I exceed 40 miles on a single trip. Hopefully, two cars away I will have the boldness to switch to an all-electric car, but that depends on the number of recharge points available throughout the country, the time the recharge takes and the length of time the batteries last before needing replacement since these are a costly item.
Much has been made of the fact electric cars only push the pollution back to the power plants, but this need not be so. Most of the countries encouraging electric cars are also taking measures to generate electricity from renewable sources and to improve the technology for reducing carbon emissions for plants using fossil fuels. As a last resort, "carbon capture" can be undertaken whereby the noxious emissions are stored in the ground. However, it surely makes more sense to avoid creating the emissions in the first place.
It is easy to mix up energy conservation with reduction of carbon emissions -- they are allied but not the same thing.
Conservation may emanate from a genuine desire to preserve a limited natural resource, but it can also be imposed because a country cannot afford the high prices of crude oil and natural gas. In these circumstances, savings are achieved through greater efficiency e.g. making houses and buildings more heat efficient and producing more efficient combustion engines. The reduction of carbon emissions has a different goal of keeping our planet in good shape irrespective of the amount of energy consumed.
As regards reducing emissions, Israel has stated it will soon switch to electric cars and install 500,000 -- the number seems excessive -- recharge points throughout the country. The electricity required will be generated by solar energy from the Negev Desert . This policy doubtless partly seeks to be less dependent on oil supplies from its neighbors. The UK will also go ahead with electric cars as a means of reducing carbon emissions -- by 2020 some 40% of cars will be plug-in hybrid electrics or fully electrics. In a paper just published, "Building a Low Carbon Economy," the aim is to reduce annual CO2 emissions from 10-12 tonnes per person to only 2 tonnes by 2050. Batteries will be recharged by "zero-carbon electricity or hydrogen produced from zero-carbon electricity."
An amusing measure is that additives will be included in the feed for cattle so that they release less methane into the air.
Much research is being done to improve the efficiency of batteries and to reduce their weight. Researchers from Hanyung University are developing a nanoporous silicon electrode that "could at least double the charge capacity of a lithium battery -- essentially doubling the range of an electric vehicle." However, there still remains the major bottleneck of installing sufficient recharge points -- similar to the problem of the lack of dispensers for LPG and CNG in many countries.
Creating the infrastructure for these new types of energy will be costly and it has to be seen who will pick up the tab.
What we do individually may have a negligible environmental impact but, collectively, our actions can help to reduce carbon emissions. It does not really matter if we are cautious and opt for diesel, bolder and go for LPG or CNG, adventurous and choose an electric-hybrid, or daring and decide on a pure electric car.
The important thing is to move in the right direction and ensure we take care of our planet for future generations.
Oliver L Campbell
oliver@lbcampbell.com
Oliver L Campbell, MBA, DipM, FCCA, ACMA, MCIM was born in El Callao in 1931 where his father worked in the gold mining industry. He spent the WWII years in England, returning to Venezuela in 1953 to work with Shell de Venezuela (CSV), later as Finance Coordinator at Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). In 1982 he returned to the UK with his family and retired early in 2002.
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