To:Thalia Anagnos, President EnvironSJ
From:Diesel Guy, Director of Environmental Projects
Subject:Proposal for R&D project to develop infrastructure for Natural Gas Fuels
Date:May 3, 2006
Purpose
The purpose of this memo is to propose a research and development project to develop a fuel service center that will dispense various types of fuel including gasoline, diesel, ethanol, and liquefied natural gas.
Summary
Transportation is the leading cause of air pollution in the world. With the various hazards associated with the extensive levels of air pollution, it is essential to develop new technology to help reduce the effects of pollution. Various technologies are currently being researched such as hybrid, ethanol, fuel-cell and others but one of the most promising is the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. I propose that we conduct an extensive research project with the purpose of developing the new technology required to sustain these new alternative fuel vehicles. Not only will this new technology help alleviate the problem with air pollution but it will also reduce the need for petroleum which has limited supply and extremely high prices. This research project should cost around $15 million but the potential for return is extremely high. I propose that this project should take 1 year.
Introduction
Petroleum Engines
The longtime standard for vehicle fuel has been petroleum. Essentially how agasoline internal combustion engine works is on the Otto cycle. A mixture of gasoline and air is injected into a piston-cylinder device where it is compressed and then ignited. The particles of the mixture break up during the ignition process creating an immense amount of heat which will increase the pressure to drive the piston down. The particles of carbon and oxygen in the spent gasses combine to make carbon dioxide and are then expelled out of the cylinder into the atmosphere.
Environmental Effects of Emissions
The emissions associated with the exhaust of internal combustion engines is one of the largest contributors to air pollution (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2006). Not only is air pollution very unattractive as a brown haze over a large city, but it is also very hazardous to the environment and also to ourselves. Burning fossil fuels releases 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2006). The addition of billions of tons of emissions from gasoline engines is being attributed to the theory of global warming. Global warming is a theory that says that the increase in green house gasses (including CO2) will serve to increase the temperature of the earth. With the increase in temperature, it will possibly increase the likelihood of extreme weather such as hurricanes and will also potentially melt the polar ice caps, which would flood land that is near the coastline (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2006).
Human Effects of Emissions
Not only will the increase in greenhouse gasses affect the environment, but it will also directly affect us. It is believed that by breathing in polluted air there is an “increased probability of heart attacks, respiratory diseases, and lung cancer (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2006).” Bronchitis and emphysema are common chronic conditions resulting from air pollution (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2006). The increase in pollution is also directly associated with the loss of visibility. This loss of visibility can be confirmed just by looking over a major city such as Los Angeles or San Francisco. Also with the increase in air pollution, there is an increase in the occurrence of acid rain that will eventually pollute the world’s water supply.
Attempts at Alternative Fuels
It is obvious that there are many disadvantages to the use of petroleum as a fuel for transportation reasons. Many companies have already made big efforts to help decrease the demand for oil by creating alternative fuel vehicles. One of the approaches is to use hybrid technology. This is where a gasoline engine is paired with an electric engine. This kind of technology decreases the use of gasoline and therefore decreases the emissions. Another new technology is the hydrogen fuel cell. This is where electrical energy is derived directly from hydrogen without the need for any type of combustion. This technology is superior in that it creates absolutely no emissions, but the technology is still very far from becoming practical. There is also a class of alternative fuel vehicles that use alcohol based fuel instead of petroleum based ones. The fuel is obtained from fermenting plants such as corn, sugarcane, or even switch-grass to get alcohol that a vehicle can be made to run on. These alternative fuels are carbon neutral, which means that the carbon dioxide that is released into the air as a result of combustion is reabsorbed by the plants that created the pollution in the first place.
Natural Gas as Alternative Fuel
The last type of alternative fuel that is going to cause a great stir is natural gas. There are many benefits to using natural gas as a fuel. The first reason that natural gas fuel is beneficial is that it is abundant and relatively cheap. With the rising demand for oil, it is speculated that the supply of oil in the world will not support it with the great increase of industrialization in places like India and China. Natural gas is a relatively abundant resource. The estimated recoverable natural gas reserve is about 10,000 trillion cubic feet, which is about 80% as much energy as the recoverable reserves of crude oil (Cunningham and Cunningham, 2006). The abundance of natural gas makes it relatively cheap as apposed to crude oil which is selling at $75 dollars per barrel today. For comparisons sake, $1 of natural gas is equivalent to $1.50 of gasoline for the same amount of energy (Neil, 1999).
Not only is natural gas abundant, but more importantly it is much less polluting than oil. The combustion of natural gas produces only half as much carbon dioxide as oil (Cunningham and Cunningham, 2006). In fact, one study suggests that natural gas vehicles emit 70% less carbon monoxide, 87 percent less nitrogen oxide, and 87 percent less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) compared to gasoline vehicles (Neil, 1999). One major case study was conducted in New Delhi where all of their public transportation busses as well as their three wheeled rickshaws were replaced with compressed natural gas vehicles. The conversion allowed more than 250,000 gallons of diesel and gasoline to be replaced by natural gas each day (Larkin, 2004). More importantly, according to the Center for Science and Environment the amount of carbon deposits in the air of New Delhi decreased 48% from 2000 to 2003 (Larkin, 2004).
Disadvantages to Natural Gas Fuel
One of the disadvantages to using natural gas as a vehicle fuel is that liquefied compressed natural gas is difficult to transport. It requires a system of cooling plants near gas deposits, double hulled tankers, and reheating facilities where the fuel is consumed (Romero, 2006). But compressed natural gas is not the only type of fuel that can be made. There is also a process by which a stable liquid natural gas is made. The process essentially combines natural gas with water and oxygen to make a liquid that can be transported in the same way that gasoline is today.
The largest problem that is associated with the use of natural gas fuel is the range of the vehicles. A car that runs on gasoline can usually go about 300 miles on a full tank of gas. When it is low on fuel, all it has to do is pull over and fill up at any of the conveniently placed gas stations. But with a natural gas fueled car, the range is only about half that of a gasoline car (Neil, 1999). When a vehicle running low on natural gas wants to refuel, it cannot readily find a service station that dispenses natural gas. The infrastructure needed to sustain these alternative fuel vehicles just does not exist in the amount required.
It is very important that we do not lose sight of the fact that natural gas powered vehicles do emit harmful gases. The amount of emissions may be less than half that of gasoline powered vehicles, but it is still a significant amount. These are the same emissions that are linked to global warming and other human health hazards.
Proposed Solution
I propose that we help with the support of the new technologies of alternative fuel by creating a new line of fueling station that will dispense various types of fuels including conventional gasoline and diesel as well as ethanol and liquefied natural gas. By providing the option between several different fuels, the adoption of new fuel technology will increase and therefore decrease the need for oil. By helping implement these new alternative fuels, we will also be helping with the amount of emissions in the air by decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide released. Finally, the potential for return from this proposed project is great. The use of hybrid technology is now a booming industry. With the high price of gasoline, car dealerships cannot keep hybrids on the lot. Currently there is a 6 month waiting list for the Toyota Prius. Obviously, the demand for more cost effective transportation is great. Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil company, is already interested in this new natural gas vehicle fuel and has already invested over $14 billion in capital, which is its largest investment to date (Romero, 2006). The product is going to be available but the method of getting it to the people is still not available. That’s why I propose to build these new service stations.
Proposed Procedure
The proposed procedure is in all actuality, to further develop a product. Current pumps and service stations already dispense several different types of fuel including three different octanes of gasoline as well as diesel. What I am proposing is that we improve the existing design to also dispense alternative fuel, namely natural gas and ethanol.
The first step is to research the existing pumps and see exactly what advancements have been made in their design. Then the holding and the dispersing requirements of the new fuel is researched. Then essentially, the two points of research are combined to design a new station that will disperse all of the fuels. Feasibility of the design will then be taken into consideration. A prototype will be built so that the functionality of the design will be observed. Surveys will be taken to see if the design will actually be used by the general public as opposed to the conventional service stations. Any revisions will then be taken into account and any design changes be made. This new design will then be marketed for the major oil companies, especially Exxon-Mobile which is the leading oil company as well as the natural gas company.
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Task Schedule
The Gantt chart is available in Figure 1. It is estimated that the project will take one year with the bulk of the time in the building phase. Obviously, the beginning will mostly consist of research and design work and it will end up with the final assembly of the new pump.
Procedure / Weeks2 / 4 / 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 / 20 / 22 / 24 / 26 / 28 / 30 / 32 / 34 / 36 / 38 / 40 / 42 / 44 / 46 / 48 / 50 / 52
Research Current Technology
Research Holding information for New Fuels
New station initial design
Design for Feasibility
Build Prototype
Initial Review
Testing
Revision of Initial Prototype
Present to Oil Companies
Figure 1: Schedule of project tasks for development of alternative fuel stations.
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Budget
As shown in Table 1, the budget for this project is estimated to be a total of $15 million for the year of work.
Table 1: Budget for Alternative FuelStations
Estimated Cost ($)Salaries / 2.5 Million
Materials / 7 Million
Equipment / 5 Million
Land / 0.5 Million
Total / 15 Million
Obviously, the bulk of the budget will be going towards materials and equipment. The materials associated with building a fuel pump is much more than the meter above ground. There are a series of tanks and pumps that are not seen underground. With the added number of fuels, the number of tanks goes up, drastically increasing the budget for the materials. Considering the uncertainty of this new technology, an overestimate of the materials has been added in. The equipment associated with the project is also very expensive. We will need to rent various pieces of large construction equipment to complete the task. The salaries category includes the salaries for a team of engineers, construction workers, basic laborers, and managers. The land required to build our pump is also expensive considering we will be conducting the project here in California where property brings a high price.
Credentials
I am very qualified for the work proposed. I graduated with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from San JoseStateUniversity. As an undergraduate, I also minored in environmental studies. I worked for Exxon-Mobile for 12 years before I was hired here at EnvironSJ therefore I am proficient in current pumping technology.
Conclusion
It is important for our safety and the safety of the environment that something is done about the amount of air pollution that exists in our atmosphere today. It is beneficial to the environment that new fuel technology be introduced so that emissions may be lowered. The infrastructure required for the new fuel technology is crucial in their implantation. This is why I propose that we jump on the idea of new pumping stations so that these new fuels will have a place to go and potentially be used.
References
Cunningham, W, & Cunningham, M (2006). Principles of environmental science: Inquiry and applications.New York: Mcgraw Hill.
Larkin, J (2004, Nov 22). India set pace on cleaner air: Capital converts buses, other vehicles to less polluting fuel. Wall Street Journal, p. A12. Retrieved 2006, May 5 from
Neil , D (1999, Oct 20). Natural gas has many selling points, but few buyers. New York Times, p. A14. (electronic version) Retrieved 2006, May 5 from
Romero, S (2006, Jan 18). With ample supplies, Qatar becomes hub for converting natural gas to vehicle fuel. The New York Times, p. C1.
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