FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Department of Building, Energy and Environmental Engineering

Possibilities of Alternative Vehicle Fuels –

A literature review

Taoju Zhang

2015

Student thesis, Bachelor degree, 15 HE

Energy Systems
Bachelor Program in Energy Systems

Supervisor: Magnus Mattson

Examiner: Ulf Larsson
Abstract

Historically, gasoline and diesel have been used as vehicle fuels for a long time. But the
decline of oil supply and unstable oil price drive people to find alternative energy for
vehicle fuel. Alternative energy solutions may shift energy consumption to less carbon,
less pollutions and provide more energy diversity. These issues are investigated in the
present literature review.

The first part of the thesis introduces different kinds of alternative energy for vehicles,
such as biofuel, natural gas, hydrogen, liquefied petrol gas, electricity and compressed
air. The presentations includes their utilization, production, environment effect, running
performance, fuel property, market share, running and investigate cost and production
barriers. The second part of the thesis work compares the properties of the alternative
fuels and discusses the advantages and drawbacks of different types of fuel energies.

Compared with traditional fuels, alternative fuels have superiority in environment

impact, sustainability and energy efficiency. Some of them have been used in reality
and show a potential as future fuels. The author found that natural gas and liquefied
petrol gas have low running costs, better environment performance and acceptable
running range, and thus are able to substitute conventional fuels in the short term.
Biofuel has better sustainability than gasoline. It will probably become more sustainable
and cost effective in the mid-term period. Electricity can also become a future fuel in
mid-term period since it has excellent emission performance and low running costs.
Hydrogen is expected to substitute conversional fuels in the long term due to high
investment costs and current unsustainable production pathway of the latter. The
compressed air turned out not suitable for substituting conventional fuels because of
poor efficiency and running range performance.

Keywords: alternative fuel, alternative fuel vehicle, energy, transport.

Abbreviations and symbols

GHG: Green House Gas

OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

BP: British Petroleum

VOC: Volatile Organic Compound

PM: Particulate Matter

EV: Electric vehicle

IEA: International Energy Agency

LNG: Liquefied Natural Gas

CNG: Compressed Natural Gas

HICEV: Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle

FCV: Fuel Cell Vehicle

LPG: Liquefied petroleum gas

CAV: Compressed Air Vehicle

Table of content
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 3

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 8
1.1. Background .............................................................................................................. 8
1.2. Purposes of the study................................................................................................ 9

2. Method .................................................................................................................................. 10

3. Review of vehicle fuels ........................................................................................................ 11

3.1 Convectional fuel ........................................................................................................ 11
3.2 Electric ........................................................................................................................ 11
3.3. Biofuels ...................................................................................................................... 14
3.4. Compressed air .......................................................................................................... 17
3.5. Natural Gas ................................................................................................................ 18
3.6. Hydrogen ................................................................................................................... 21
3.7 Liquefied petroleum gas ............................................................................................. 25

4. Discussion............................................................................................................................. 27

5. Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 30

References ................................................................................................................................ 31

Appendix .................................................................................................................................. 36
List of figures

Fig. 1. Evolution of global energy use [3]

Fig. 2. The drive train of hybrid electric vehicle [31].

Fig. 3. Biofuel s life cycle [21]

Fig. 4. First generation and second generation biofuel

Fig. 5. Biofuel price from 2010 to 2050 [31]

Fig. 6. Drive train of compressed air engine [34]

Fig. 7. Storage tank of natural gas vehicle [36]

Fig. 8. Costs of CNG in different grid development condition [38]

Fig. 9. Shares of alternative fuels of total vehicle fuel in future [40]

Fig. 10. Mercedes-Benzes fuel cell vehicle F600 drive chain [42]

Fig. 11. Photovoltaic hydrogen production system [44]

Fig. 12. Greenhouse gas emissions of produce and utilize 1MJ gasoline or hydrogen

[46]

Fig. 13. Fuel cell cost from 2006 to 2020 [50]

Fig. 14. Energy density for different fuels [30]

List of tables

Tab.1. CO2 emissions per unit of energy generated at different kinds of power plants

[12]

Tab.2. Comparison of electric vehicle and conventional vehicle [15] [16] [17] [18]

Tab.3. Compressed air vehicle performance [32]

Tab.4. Retail prices for road fuels [38]

Tab.5 Vehicle performance comparison between use hydrogen or gasoline [47] [48]

Tab.6. Emissions of LPG compare with other fuel (g/km) [53]

Tab.7. Properties of different fuels [30].

1. Introduction
1.1. Background
Energy consumption has been increasing continually since the urbanization. Energy
demand rises worldwide, due to the growth in global population, and the fast
development of transportation. Transport is the largest consumer of world oil. About 60%
of oil production is used for transportation. It is also the second largest emitter of
greenhouse gas. About 20% of CO2 emissions are from the transport part [1]. Now most
cars use petrol for the fuel. But fossil fuel is limited and uneven distribute. Furthermore
traditional fuels have more pollution to environment. Nowadays, energy security,
climate change and rising of global energy demand are gradually entering the attention
of public. In order to reduce oil dependency and develop sustainable transport, many
countries plan to replace conventional fuels with alternative fuels in the future [2].
Figure 1 shows the energy use trend during 1860 to 2010.

Figure 1. Evolution of global energy use [3]

*Mtoe: Million Tons of Oil Equivalents

The energy use of the majority of the world is based on fossil fuels. For instance, 96%
of the transportation depends on oil or other oil products in Europe. In 2010, Europe
import 210 billion euro oil [4]. However oil will experience shortage in future decades,
supplies are uncertain and unstable. Furthermore, oil production only occurs in some
regions. In 2030 OPEC will account for 70% of liquid oil supply and 45% of total
market [5]. Thus the depletion of oil or any policy change of the oil supply could cause
huge influence in energy security. Since the energy crises, energy securities start to be
coincided worldwide. To become energy independent and develop alternative energies
becomes policy of many counties.

The internal combustion engines of vehicles emit lots of pollutants like hydrocarbons,
nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide which can lead to cancer, acid
rain, heart disease and global warming, respectively. In 2009, transport accounted for 25%
energy-related carbon dioxide emission [1]. In additional, half of this emission was
produced by passenger vehicles. EU has called for international cooperation to limit the
global temperature increase to no more than 2 ºC. In order to achieve that goal, EU
needs to reduce % of GHGs by 60% by 2050, with compare to 1990 level [6]. The most
promising way is making use of alternative fuel vehicle.

A change for alternative energy for future cars can be a vital option for achieving
sustainable development goals. Cars which use alternative energy are called alternative
fuel vehicles. Alternative fuel vehicle refers to not using traditional fossil fuels like
gasoline and diesel. The conventional fuels are able to substitute by other types of
energy resource, such as electric, hydrogen, bio-fuel, natural gas and etc.

1.2. Purposes of the study

Variety types of energy could be used as fuel for transportation. Through an extensive
literature review, the thesis introduces the production, utilization, characteristics,
environment effects and expenses of alternative fuels for vehicles. It also goes into
detail in describing advantages and limitations of alternative fuels. Discussion and
analysis concerns in particular the possibilities of alternative energy use in future
transportation.
2. Method

The study makes use of lot literature sources, such as scientific papers, books, reports,
governmental white paper. Example of these include: International Energy Agency’s
report “The Contribution of Natural Gas Vehicles to Sustainable Transport”; Journal of
Energy Conversion and Management “Biofuels sources, biofuel policy, biofuel
economy and global biofuel projections”; book “Fuel cell systems explained” and etc.

The data use in the dissertation is collect from Science Direct, Google Scholar,
International energy agency, US energy department, European commission, and
Discovery search service. By reviewing large number of academic credibility data, the
result can be carried out

Firstly, through literature review, identify the objects which influence population and
development of alternative fuel vehicles as below.
 Classify varied kinds of alternative fuels and alternative vehicle.
 Study the production of alternative vehicle fuels, such as production methods,
sustainability, cost and barriers.
 Investigate alternative fuel’s present situation and percentage of market shares.
 Outline the environmental impact of consuming alternative fuels.
 Outline the character and technical performance of alternative fuels and vehicles,
such as energy density, combustion efficiency, ranging range.
 Consider the economical impact for using alternative fuels and vehicles.
 Compare the advantage and negative side of each kind of alternative vehicle fuel.
Evaluate and compare conventional fuel vehicles and several massive produced
alternative fuel vehicles
 Explore the tendency of alternative vehicle fuels.

Secondly, evaluate the founded information, analysis the performance and limitations of
alternative fuel vehicles. Formulate and discuss the possibility of alternative fuels
substitute conventional fossil fuels.

On the other hand, the dissertation has limitation. The study is based on world wide
scale. However, varied countries or region has different energy situations. Such as fuel
price, energy producing method, energy resource, energy policy, infrastructure and etc.
Therefore, the study results may not compatible for all countries.
3. Review of vehicle fuels
3.1 Convectional fuel
Convectional fuels for vehicles include gasoline and diesel. 80% of cars in the cities
have an energy efficiency of 15%, which means that of a 60 L fuel tank only 9 L is
useful while 51 L transfers into heat and pollutants. The emissions of conventional fuels
consist e.g. of NOx, COx , SOx , hydrocarbon, VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) and
PM (Particulate Matter). The CO2 emission of conventional car is varying with type of
technology and power level. In 2012 the average CO2 emissions of conventional car is
120 g/km. Diesel and gasoline have volumetric energy densities of 35 MJ/L and 32
MJ/L respectively [9].

3.2 Electric
Electricity is a potential fuel source for transportation. Electric vehicles (EVs) can
reduce GHGs emission and dependence of traditional fossil fuel. Electric vehicles are
driven by electricity power. BP forecast electricity vehicle will count 8% of automobile
sales in 2030 [5]. The energy of battery electric vehicle is stored in the batteries or other
type energy storage device. Most of EV uses electricity motor as engine to drive directly
which could achieve higher energy economy than thermal vehicles on well to wheel
basis. The electricity power storage is the main technology difficulty. Variety types of
batteries have been used in electric vehicles. For instance lead-acid, NiCd, nickel metal
hydride, Li-ion, Li-poly and zinc-air batteries. Now Li-ion based battery become most
popular for current highway-speed electricity vehicle design. That because lithium
battery has relative higher power and energy density [8]. Power chain of battery
electricity vehicle consists of a battery, electric motor, electric converter and wheel.
Another major part of electricity vehicle is energy recovery, which could convert the
waste kinetic energy to electricity while braking. Hybrid electricity vehicle is a kind
electric vehicle which also contains a combustion engine. It can shut down the internal
combustion engine and only use electricity motor when necessary [9].
 Figure 2. The drive train of hybrid electric vehicle [31]

Air pollution and Environment impact

The emission of pure electric vehicle in tail pipe is zero. Pollutions can be handled well
in the power plant. Thus, city air quality will be benefits from electricity automobile.
Compared with petrol vehicle, electric vehicle is the most effective technology for
cutting CO2 on a per kilo meter basis. According to the International Energy Agency,
EVs are able to achieve 50 g/km CO2 on well to wheel basis. While today’s most
efficient gasoline car emits CO2 100 g/km [10].

The ability of electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gases depends on the kind of
electricity power plant. If the electricity generation is coal based, EV will create CO2
200 g/km. This makes electric vehicles not excellent anymore when compared to
conversional vehicles.

Table 1. CO2 emissions per unit of energy generated at different kinds of power plants
[12].
Energy efficiency
Conventional internal combustion engines are inefficient. In the combustion process,
majority of energy waste as heat. Therefore, internal combustion engine has only 15-20%
efficiency. However, electricity cars are driven by electric motor which do not waste
energy neither running nor stop. Furthermore, the waste energy during breaking can be
captured by a breaking regenerating system. Hence EVs have higher energy efficiency
of 80% [13]. The electricity grid is also a benefit by electric vehicles. EV can recharge
at night. Thus the surplus energy of power plant in the low demand time can be fully
utilized. It makes large contribution to economic efficiency of power plants.

Running costs
The cost of recharge electricity for electric vehicle is much lower than conventional
vehicle due to the high efficiency drive train. For instance electricity price for EU
household consumers is 0.199 EUR/Kwh, and the fuel economy for a battery electric
vehicle (Tesla Model S) is 24 Kwh/100km. So the cost of for a 100 km drive is 4.8 EUR.
However, the same size and power petrol vehicle (Benz E 350 Blue EFFICIENCY)
spends 6L/100km, and the average petrol price in EU is 1.53 EUR/L. Thus the fuel cost
for 100 km is 9.18 EUR. The table below compares some electric and conventional cars
[14].
Table 2. Comparison of electric vehicle and conventional vehicle [15] [16] [17] [18]
BMW i3
Tesla Model S Benz E 350 Volkswagen Golf Volkswagen
(electric
60 Kwh Blue TEC ( electric) Golf (gasoline)
version)
1.4 L
Engine motor 3.5 L gasoline motor motor
gasoline
Power 280 kW 190 kW 85 kW 90 kW 125 kW
16.9
Fuel Consumption 24 kWh/100km 6 L/100km 12.7 kWh/100km 5 L/100km
kWh/100km
Acceleration 0-
5.9s 6.4s 10.4s 9.3s 7.2s
100km/h
CO2 emissions 0 g/km 150 g/km 0 g/km 116 g/km 0 g/km
Range 389km 700+km 191km 700+km 130km
0.199 EUR/ 0.199 EUR/
Energy price(EU) 1.53 EUR/l 0.199 EUR/ kWh 1.53 EUR/l
kWh kWh
Cost/100km
4.8 9.18 2.5 7.65 3.36
(EUR)
Yearly fuel
720 1377 375 1148 504
cost(15,000km)
Model cost (EUR) 63,000 55,000 39,900 22,000 35,700
Payback time
12 0 24 0 21
(year)

However, the purchase prices of electric automobiles are significantly higher than of
traditional vehicles, mainly because of expensive lithium-ion batteries. However,
battery prices have continuously dropped during recent years. Under the mass
production of lithium-ion battery the price now is about USD 300-600/kWh. For a
vehicle with 20 kWh lithium-ions battery will cost 6000-12000 USD. In 2020 the
battery price is expect drop to 300-400 USD. In addition electric vehicle need new
infrastructure construction which cost 1000-2000 USD per vehicle. Thus, at present,
governmental support seems to be required [19].

3.3. Biofuels
Biofuel is a kind of sustainable energy which can derive from biomass such as sugar,
crops, and animal’s fat or other agricultural product. Owning to the widely spread of
biomass in the world, biomass is a promising energy source. Biofuel becomes popular
because of the oil price rising and energy security requirements. World biofuel
production rose from 16 billion litters to 100 billion litters in the last 15 years. Still,
today biofuel only take 3% of total transport fuel (appendix1). But IEA predict in year
2050 biofuel will offer 27% global transport fuel [7] [20]. The biofuel cycle is showed
in Fig.3. First deliver biomass to the refinery. By thermal or biological method biomass
can be converted to energy. Last deliver fuel to customers.

Figure 3. Biofuels life cycle [21]

First generation biofuels

Biofuels can be classified into many types. First generation biofuels – also called
conventional biofuels –includes Ethanol, Biodiesel, Biogas and etc.

Ethanol has been used since 1970, now it is a widely used vehicle fuel. It can be
produced by ethanol fermentation: C6H12O6 = 2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2. In 2011 world
production of ethanol was 84.6 billion litters which is 4 times that of biodiesel [22]. The
energy density of ethanol is 66% of that of gasoline. However, the thermal efficiency of
ethanol vehicle is higher because of the higher engine's compression ratio. Ethanol is
often blended with gasoline before use. For instance, E85 means blends with 85%
ethanol and 25% gasoline. [23] Ethanol is mainly produced from sugar crop. Thus it is
quite sensitive to feedstock price. Appendix 3 indicates the price relation between sugar
and ethanol.

Biodiesel is a quilt common biofuel produced by soybean, sunflower, animal fat and
used cooking oil. People are more interested in use vegetable oil for generating
biodiesel owning to less pollution and renewability. Diesel combustion engine has
higher efficiency, 44%, compared with the best gasoline engine, 30%. Therefore it
makes diesel engine achieved more fuel economy. Beside this biodiesel mixed with
normal diesel in any ratio is able to use the traditional diesel engine without
modification [24]. Biodiesel often blends with normal diesel which uses “B” to indicate
the biodiesel ratio. For instance B20 means blend with 20% biodiesel. On the other
hand current biofuel mainly made by food product soybean, hence conventional
biofuels price is also sensitive to feedstock price. However extract biodiesel from
animal fat and restaurant waste oil often contain free fatty acid which made fuel not
purified.

Biogas is produced by the breakdown of organic matter in lack of oxygen. Organic

waste, sewage sludge and animal manure could be the raw material of biogas. Biogas
mainly contains methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide. It can be used in many
fields such as heating, cooking, electricity generating and transporting. Biogas is also
able to generate natural gas after purified [24].

Methanol is normally made from natural gas or coal but also be able to generated by
biomass. Compared with ethanol, methanol is easier to produce and less expensive.
However methanol is more toxic and absorbs water vapour more easily from air.
Another promising alternative fuel is Dimethyl Ether (CH3OCH3) which can be produce
from a variety sources such as natural gas, coal, and biomass. Diesel and petrol engine
can compatible with it after modify. Dimethyl ether is sulphur free fuel and emits less
NOx and CO [25].

Figure 4. First generation and second generation biofuel [58]

Second generation biofuels

Second generation biofuels also named advanced biofuels which manufacture from
lingo-cellulosic biomass agricultural residues or waste. Compared with petrol, 60% to
90% GHG can be reduced by using advanced biofuel. Second generation biofuels
developed because the limitation of first generation biofuels. Most traditional biofuels
are extracted from food crop. It will however lead to competition with food which
deeply influences food supplies and security. Additionally, greenhouse gas is produced
while people create new farm land to grow crops. Second generation biofuels can deal
with these troubles since they are more environmental friendly and sustainable. For
these, advanced technology uses cellulosic materials which are not food based. Every
coin has two sides. Advanced biofuels is hard to extract and not widely commercialized
at present [26].

Environmental impact
Biofuel contributes to energy diversity and shares 3% of transport fuel market currently.
The environmental benefits of biofuel are highly debated. Most traditional biofuels do
not show the significant advantage with GHG emission except biodiesel. The CO2,
NOx and VOC emissions are not significantly changed between ethanol and gasoline.
And ethanol emits little more CO than gasoline. Biodiesel contain no sulphur, hence it
could help reduce the acid rain or other relative impact. Compared with normal diesel,
biodiesel emits more NOx but less PM [27] [28]. Since first generation biofuel
production is crop based that needs large quantities of agricultural land. Life cycle
analysis indicates that first generation biofuel may lead to soil erosion, food shortage,
and negative impact of water resource. Second generation biofuel, on the other hand,
can make use of the waste biomass and not take many land space. Therefore second
generation is recommended to substitute first generation biofuel [29].

Energy content
Biofuel has relative lower energy density compare with petrol. For instance, energy
density of ethanol and gasoline is 25 MJ/L and 32MJ/L respectively. Biodiesels has a
heating value of 37MJ/kg, which is lower than normal diesel, 45MJ/kg. Biofuel should
have lower price to achieve same fuel economy with petrol [30].

Running costs
Biofuel vehicle price is moderate and competitive to conventional vehicle. But biofuel
price is influenced by feed stock market, and raw material price counts 45%-70% of
production cost. Price of traditional biofuel is not competitive with petrol on worldwide
scale. More over advance biofuel costs even 35%-50% more than conventional biofuel
[31]. (Appendix 2 indicates production costs of biofuels versus oil-based transport
fuels). At present biofuel need governmental support to become price competitive. First
generation biofuel has been commercialized but advanced biofuel has just reached the
early commercial stage. International energy agency estimate in low-cost situation
biofuel will cost parity with petrol in the year 2030 with the technical innovations and
massive production. Beside this, biofuel will grow fast in the next decades and share 7%
of road transport fuel in 2030 [7]. Fig.5 shows estimated trends of biofuel price.
 Figure 5. Estimated biofuel prices from 2010 to 2050[31]

3.4. Compressed air

Compressed Air Vehicle (CAV) is powered by an air engine. The compressed air is
stored in a storage tank with high pressure. When air expands, the potential energy is
converted to kinetic energy and finally drives the engine. The principle of compressed
air vehicle is similar to that of electricity vehicle. Compressed air vehicle use air to store
energy while electric vehicle use batteries. The engine releases just air as exhaust gas.
No pollution will be made at the tail pipe. On the other side, fuel storage is a barrier
currently. Compressed air vehicle only has about 46 km running range, because of
limited volume of tank and low energy density. Furthermore, the energy storage
efficiency of compressed air vehicle is much lower than traditional vehicle. Because
refilling is not an isothermal process, some energy will be lost as heat. The pump to
wheel efficiency of compressed air vehicle is 15%, i.e. even lower than that of advanced
gasoline vehicles [32] [33].

Figure 6. Drive train of compressed air engine [34]

Environmental impact
As other combustion free vehicle, the pollution from exhaust gas can be largely reduced.
However electricity compressor will consume lots of energy while filling the vehicle
tank. Finally in the pump to wheel basis, compressed air automobile emit 1.6-2.5 times
CO2 than conventional vehicle and 4 times than electricity vehicle. The compressed air
vehicle performance as table shows. [32]

Table.3. compressed air vehicle performance [32]

Energy density and cost

Energy density of compressed air automobile is 50Wh/l which is significantly lower
than that of petrol. As result, compressed air vehicles are poor at running range.
Running cost of compressed air automobile is also not cheap: about USD 0.21/ mil.
This makes compressed air vehicles hard to meet requirement of normal use at present
[32].

3.5. Natural Gas

Natural gas is fossil fuel based energy which is unsustainable but can be used to
substitute petrol. It is a hydrocarbon gas which mix with methane (main contaminant),
carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. Natural gas can be found in underground coal bed or
oilfield and often used for heating, cooking, and generating electricity. Natural gas
vehicle use natural gas major in two forms: one is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the
other is Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Compressed natural gas is lighter than air
which store with high pressure about 20-32MPa [35]. A burly tank is required for
storage which takes additional vehicle space It is considered to be safer than petrol
vehicles because nature gas is lighter and easy release. In addition, compressed natural
gas vehicles are more commonly used for light duty vehicles.
 Figure 7. Storage tank of natural gas vehicle [36]

Liquefied natural gas has double energy density than compressed natural gas which
store in specially designed tanks with cool temperature -165 and low pressures (70-
150 psi) [37]. It usually uses for heavy duty vehicles. Due to the higher energy density
of LNG, refuelling is relative cheaper which need hundred times less electric power
compare with CNG. Benefits of using natural gas include: improve air quality; enhance
energy security, lower operating costs and reduce city noise. It is world recognized one
of best alternative fuel vehicles. Although natural gas is non-renewable energy, several
technologies of producing bio-natural gas has been developed (see Ch. 3.3 above). Such
as biogas, bio methane and bio-synthetic gas which is able to collect from organic waste.
In addition, fuel distribution, transmission grid, fuel storage and fuel refilling could
limit natural gas vehicle development [38].

Figure 8. Costs of CNG in different grid development condition [38]

Natural gas price is influence by the transmission, development of network and

distribution. The competitiveness of natural gas is higher where there is a high level of
infrastructure development. Natural gas vehicle experience a fast growing in recent
decade: from 1 million in 2000 to 11 million in 2009. The technology of nature gas
vehicle cover all kinds of automobile from motorcycle to truck. As fig. 8 shows, the
share of natural gas is expected to increase dramatically until 2030. It will represent
more than 10% of future alternative fuels and play an important role in the short term
for substituting petrol [40].

Figure 9. Estimated shares of alternative fuels of total vehicle fuel in future [40]

Air pollution and Environmental impact

Natural gas is regarded as the cleanest fossil fuel. In well-to-wheel analysis, natural gas
emits 25% less carbon dioxide than gasoline for producing same amount of heat. This is
due to natural gas has lowest CO2 /energy ratio. Natural gas also emits less SO2, NO2
and PM than other hydrocarbon based fuels [38].
Energy content
The energy density of natural gas is lower than regular fuel. Energy content of LNG and
CNG is 25MJ/L and 9MJ/L, i.e. 60 and 25 percent of diesel fuel, respectively. So
natural gas vehicle needs larger space for fuel tank [38].

Running costs
A variety of natural gas vehicles is available on the market such as Volkswagen, Fiat,
Benz, Citroen, Peugeot, Volvo, Renault and so on. The technology of natural gas
vehicle is mature and affordable. Base on the report of International Gas Union, in 2009
retail price difference between natural gas and petrol for medium size light duty vehicle
is EUR 2520. With the technology developing cost of fuel storage have been acceptable.
Gasoline car can be modified to CNG vehicle as old tank kept. The US department of
energy says: cost of modification is about 6000 dollar for regular vehicle [38].
 Table 4. Retail prices for road fuels [38]

Nature gas price can be influence by petroleum price. But historically, mean price of
natural gas was more stable than petrol. Recent years natural gas become much lower
than gasoline which makes operating cost reduce. According to UK National Society for
Clean Air and Environmental Protection Organization says cost of using natural gas is
20%-60% lower than gasoline and 20%-40% lower than diesel. The retail prices of
natural gas normally lower than gasoline which is variable between different countries.
Tab.4 compares the end user price in 2009 for fuel in different country [38].

3.6. Hydrogen
Hydrogen can be used as source of power for vehicles, and it is a clean energy carrier.
The Hydrogen vehicle converts chemical energy to kinetic energy in an environment
friendly way. Hydrogen can be generated form variety of soured and widely distribute.
Hydrogen powered vehicles majorly classified into two types [40]:
1. Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle (HICEV)
2. Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV).
Hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle is similar to regular petrol engine. As
traditional engine does, hydrogen fuel reacts with air in the combustion process but final
production is water.
2H2 + O2 = 2H2O
Therefore it is considered as zero emission in tail pipe. In order to storage hydrogen
with high density, hydrogen vehicle has a high pressure tank. Compare with the petrol
internal combustion engine, efficiency of hydrogen internal combustion engine is
almost same which about 0.2-0.3. Fuel cell vehicle use fuel cell to generate electricity
for the electric motor, through fuel and oxygen chemical reaction. Hydrogen is most
general fuel for fuel cell. Fuel cell vehicle produce few pollutants, majority in water and
heat. It can achieve 0.4-0.6 efficiency which is higher than internal combustion pathway
[41]. Fig.10 below shows the power train of fell cell hydrogen vehicle.
 Figure 10. Mercedes-Benzes fuel cell vehicle F600 drive chain [42]

However, there are some barriers for hydrogen fuels develop. Firstly, generate hydrogen
may have some negative impact to environment. Hydrogen is not naturally existed on
the earth. In world, 95% of hydrogen production made from methane, and 48% came
from natural gas reforming in traditional way. Common methods of create hydrogen
from fossil fuel based energy source include: Steam Reforming Process, Partial
Oxidation Process and Auto thermal Reforming Process [43]. Currently small amounts
of hydrogen are produced from renewable energy resources, for instance solar and bio
hydrogen producing pathway. In solar–hydrogen scenario, initially solar energy is
converted to electric energy. Then hydrogen is created by electrolysis of water. Apart
from this, biomass and wind energy are also suitable for producing hydrogen.

Figure 11. Photovoltaic hydrogen production system [44]

In the renewable generation method there is no direct fossil consumption and less
energy security impact, however currently it still costly and has slow production speed.
Secondly, infrastructure for hydrogen transformation, refuel station, pipeline for deliver,
refuel station is lacked at present. So hydrogen may not play an important role before
2020, but will probably be a vital technology in the long term period [44].
Air pollution and Environmental impact
A benefit of using hydrogen vehicles is low tailpipe pollutions. Hydrogen powered
vehicles is a nearly zero-emission vehicle. But traditional method to converter hydrogen
would cause environment consequence as greenhouse gas emission. Therefore the
advantage of hydrogen fuel is not significant if producing hydrogen in traditional way.
At present, new production pathways for hydrogen are still in small range. Fig.12 shows
the emission performance of different pathway [45].

Figure 12. Greenhouse gas emissions of produce and utilize 1MJ gasoline or hydrogen
[46]
Energy content
Compared with energy density of petrol (32MJ/L), the energy density of hydrogen is
quite low which only 5.6MJ/L for compressed hydrogen and 8.5MJ/L for liquid
hydrogen. As result it quire a special storage system to keep hydrogen in greater density
and meet high pressure and low temperature demand [46].

Running costs
Currently hydrogen vehicles cost is higher than regular fuel vehicle. Hydrogen internal
combustion vehicles are not produced massively. Although a few of hydrogen internal
combustion vehicle has produced for demonstration. On the other hand, several of fuel
cell vehicles have come to commercial these years. Toyota announced that their fuel cell
hydrogen vehicle will sale for 60,000 EUR in 2015. Figure below make a compare with
hydrogen and other same size vehicle (1 mile = 1.6 km, mpg-e: mile per gallon
equivalence)

Table 5. Vehicle performance comparison between use hydrogen or gasoline [47] [48]
Hyundai ix35 Hyundai ix35 Toyota Camry
Toyota Mirai
FCEV 2015 2015
Class Compact SUV Compact SUV Mid-size sedan Mid-size sedan
2.5L
Engine Fuel cell + motor 2.0 L gasoline Fuel cell + motor
gasoline
Power 100 kW 122 kW 114kW 133 kW
Fuel Economy 49 mpg-e 23 mpg 60 mpg-e 28 mpg
Acceleration 0-
12.5 s 12 s 10.4s 9.3s
100km/h
Top speed 160 km/h 183km/h 175 km/h >200km/h
CO2 emissions 0 g/km 150 g/km 0 g/km 116 g/km
weight 2290 kg 1500 kg 1850 kg 1510 kg
Tank capacity 144 L(70 MPa) 58 L 122.4 L(70 MPa) 64 L
Range 594 km 700+km 650 km 700+km
Energy
2-4 /gallon 3.34 /gallon 2-4/gallon 3.34 /gallon
price(USD)
Cost/100km (USD) 2.6 – 5.1 9.1 2.1 - 4.2 7.5
Model cost (USD) 144,400 25,000 57,500 27,000

Hydrogen price is sensitive to other fuel price. In 2007 cost of hydrogen production is
50 USD/GJ and in next decade it expects drop to 10-15 /GJ. Furthermore, depending
on different raw material productions, cost is also not same. Non fossil fuel based
pathway of generating hydrogen is presently not economical. Produce hydrogen from
solar–hydrogen pathway may be 5 times more expensive than produce hydrogen from
coal. Appendix 4 presents the cost of produce hydrogen in different method. Thirdly,
the hydrogen recharge infrastructure could be another barrier because it will add extra
cost. Large amount of distribution pipe network and refuel station will add 4-11USD/GJ
hydrogen to cost [49]. Lastly, fuel cell vehicle must become affordable in order to
replace conventional vehicle. From last decade full cell price was falling fast. US
Energy Department is planning to have fuel cell price decline to USD 40/kW in 2020.
 Figure 13. Predicted fuel cell cost from 2006 to 2020 [50]

3.7 Liquefied petroleum gas

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also called auto gas is a wildly used alternative fuel
which main consist of butane (C4H10) and propane (C3H8). It can be used for heating,
cooking, refrigeration and transport fuel which currently drive from crude oil or natural
gas. In 2008 there were 14.8 million vehicles using LPG as fuel. LPG has high octane
value of 105 compare with normal gasoline 95 that make it suitable for internal
combustion engine. Gasoline vehicle is able to running with auto gas by retrofitting a
high pressure tank (760-1030kPa). The tank will store liquefied petroleum gas in liquid
form with low temperature [51]. Although liquefied petroleum gas make from
unsustainable source energy, the energy security of liquefied petroleum gas is equal
with biodiesel and higher than CNG [52]. Furthermore technology of producing LPG
through biomass has been developed. It may increase the sustainability of LPG.

Table 6. Emissions of LPG compare with other fuel (g/km) [53]

Air pollution and Environmental impact
Liquefied petroleum gas is considered to have potential in releasing less CO, PM, NOx
and VOC by many researchers [54]. Particle emission with LPG is ten times less than
burn diesel [52]. The CO2 emission performance of LPG vehicle is almost same level of
petrol vehicle today.

Energy content and Running costs

Energy density of LPG is 26MJ/L which lowers than gasoline. In addition energy
efficiency of auto gas vehicle is 10-15% lower than that of diesel vehicles. Hence auto
gas vehicle consumes about 35-50% more fuel than diesel vehicle [55]. However the
cost of running LPG vehicle is lower than petrol due to the competitive price of fuel.
For instance the average auto gas price in Europe is only half of petrol [56].
4. Discussion
Every coin has two sides. Various alternative fuels have their advantage and drawback.
Most alternative fuels have better emission performance. Some of them have been
commercially used. Below is a summary of different kinds of alternative vehicle fuels
used, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, sustainability, energy density, cost,
production and emission performance.

Energy density comparison

Fuels have variety kinds of property parameters such as energy content, heating value,
energy density and so on. Energy density refers to the amount of energy storage per unit
volume. The space for storing fuel in vehicles is limited; therefore the running range of
vehicle is largely depended on energy density. Due to this, energy density was chosen
for comparing the running range of vehicles.

Fuel Type
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0

Energy density (MJ/L)

Figure 14. Energy density for different fuels [30]

As the figure shows, energy density of each fuel is difference. Diesel has highest energy
density (35MJ/L) and compressed air is the lowest (0.2MJ/L). Therefor compressed air
vehicle need more space to store fuel or increase the times for recharge. However there
is one thing different: run range for the electricity vehicle is not as small as the picture
indicates. This because efficiency of electricity motor is higher than 80%, compare with
internal combustion engine 15%-20%.
Properties of alternative fuels

Table 7. Properties of different fuels [30]

Chemical Source Physical sustainability Running Investment
Structure State cost cost

Biofuel Fats and oils

Methyl, ethyl Liquid high medium
Biodiesel from plants
Renewable
Biofuel
Ethanol C2H5OH sugar crop Liquid high medium
E100

Underground Cryogenic Unsustainable

LNG CH4 low medium
reserves liquid Advantage
Underground Compressed produce method
CNG CH4 renewable low medium
reserves Gas

Coal, nuclear,
Electric natural gas,
Renewable
Li-ion Lithium-ion hydropower, Electricity low high
widely spread
battery wind, solar,
biofuel

Natural gas,
Advantage
electrolysis Cryogenic
Hydrogen H2 produce method low high
water, liquid
renewable
Biomass

Unsustainable
Crude oil, Advantage
LPG C4H10 C3H8 Liquid low medium
natural gas produce method
renewable

Use electricity
Compressed Compressed
air air to Compresses medium
air Gas
air

gasoline hydrocarbon Crude oil Liquid Unsustainable medium medium

Varity properties of fuels are compared in the Tab.7. Gasoline is considered as a

reference in the table. Compressed Natural Gas has been used for long time which
technology is stable. It was regarded as cleanest fossil fuel with good emission
performance. Natural gas price is lower and relative stable than petrol that positive to
energy security. However now day most of compressed natural gas is produced from
unsustainable sources and not widely distributed.

Electric vehicle has zero emission which has lower fuel consumption cost. It can
become short and medium term solution for substituting petrol vehicle. A number of
electric vehicles have come to market and they will play an optimal role for the urban
transportation [9]. The sustainability of electricity vehicle depends on the pathway of
electricity generation. But investment cost of electric vehicle is still at high level. With
the mass produce of battery, investment price is expected to drop.
Hydrogen is also a good alternative fuel because of the emission performance. Barrier
of hydrogen fuel include hydrogen production and infrastructure distribution. The
traditional hydrogen generation pathway is unsustainable, and advanced methods unable
to meet the demand. Hydrogen has lower energy density that need special tank to store
fuel. Furthermore hydrogen powered vehicle cost is higher which make it less attractive
to market.

Currently, there are many countries using biofuel automobile. Biofuel can be produced
from renewable resource which contributes to energy diversity. The IEA predict the
share of biofuel for road transport fuel will goes to 7%, and will continues increase to
27% in 2050. [57] Hence biofuel will play a vital role for substituting the conventional
fuel in short and medium term. There are several limitations for biofuel. First generation
biofuel mainly extract from crop which highly relate to feed stock price. That makes the
price of biofuel unstable and sensitive. Besides this, widely produced conventional
biofuel may threaten the food security. Second generation biofuel seems a hopeful
pathway to deal with these issues.

Compressed air vehicle still need technical renovation to meet the demand in mileage.
Use air as fuel is sustainable. At the same time lower energy density, storage difficultly
and energy consumed refilling limited the growing of compressed air vehicle.

The importance of the use of renewable energy sources for vehicle fuels is obvious. But
the possibilities for alternative energies to substitute conventional fossil fuel highly
depend on current technology and cost. Some fuels are unable to use for substitution at
present although they have better environment performance. Moreover, the growing of
the alternative fuel vehicle market can be effected by government policies, such as
develop related infrastructure, creation of alternative fuel friendly tax system,
investment in R&D and international collaboration.
5. Conclusions
Historically, conventional fossil fuels have been used for vehicles for long time, but the
decline of available fossil fuels drives the exploration of alternative energies.
Alternative fuels provide ways to shift energy consumption to less carbon, low pollution
and more energy diversity. Compared with transitional fuel, alternative fuels have
superiority in environment impact, sustainability and energy efficiency. Some of them
have been used in reality and shown the potential for future fuel.

Compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas have been used for a long time.
The technology of them is mature and reliable. Good emission performance and
relatively low operating costs decide these kinds of fuels have high possibilities to be
used for substitution energy in short term period.

Electric vehicles emit few emissions and the technology has developed dramatically in
recent years. But infrastructure construction and the price affect popularization of
electric cars. With mass production, price of electricity vehicle will become more
competitive. It is a promising pathway to substitute gasoline vehicle where electricity
generated from renewable source in mid-term period.

Biofuel is another potential fuel for future vehicle in short-term and mid-term. In order
to produce biofuel more environmentally, however, current production methods need to
be more advanced.

Currently, hydrogen is not suitable for substituting traditional fossil fuels although it has
excellent emission performance. Hydrogen running cost is lower but most hydrogen
production is fossil fuel based at present. It is however a promising alternative fuel in
the long term. Also compressed air vehicles are not yet suitable as an alternative fuel.
Technology limits in fuel storage, refill procedure, vehicle running range and
production cost make compressed air vehicles hard to be accepted by market.
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Appendix

Appendix 1

Global biofuels supply from 2006-2018 [24]

1 b/d = 58 030.255 liters

1 boe = 240 liters of ethanol; 180 liters of biodiesel.
Appendix 2

Production costs of biofuels versus oil-based transport fuels [24]

Appendix 3

Sugar price versus hydrous price, Brazil ethanol price [24]

First generation biofuel price is sensitive to feedstock

Appendix 4

Cost of produce hydrogen in different ways [49]

Hydrogen price in order to competitive with gasoline [49]

GGE: Gasoline gallon equivalent

1 gallon gasoline has 33.41 kWh energy
1GJ = 3,600,000,000 kWh
8.31 USD/GGE = 1 USD/G
1