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At least 19 records

Guidance for Federal Agencies on EPAct 2005 Section 701: Alternative Fuel Use Requirements for Dual-Fueled Vehicles

Section 701 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) requires Federal agencies to use alternative fuel in dual-fueled vehicles when it is reasonably available and not unreasonably more expensive than gasoline (42 U.S.C. Section 6374(a)(3)(E)). Since 2007, Federal agencies have requested waivers for vehicles from the Section 701 requirements as part of a June data call for the subsequent fiscal year (FY). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) has reviewed those waiver requests and granted or denied them prior to the subsequent FY. At the end of each FY, DOE FEMP has reviewed each Federal agency's covered alternative fuel use and compared it to total fuel use in non-waivered vehicles to determine compliance. This guidance provides two different processes through which DOE will begin evaluating waiver requests for FY 2021 (beginning with the FY 2020 data call): Automated reporting in the Federal Fleet Sustainability Dashboard (FleetDASH), and waiver requests in FAST.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Preliminary studies of combustor sensitivity to alternative fuels

Combustion problems associated with using alternative fuels ground power and aeropropulsion applications were studied. Rectangular sections designed to simulate large annular combustor test conditions were examined. The effects of using alternative fuels with reduced hydrogen content, increased aromatic content, and a broad variation in fuel property characteristics were also studied. Data of special interest were collected which include: flame radiation characteristics in the various combustor zones; the correponding increase in liner temperature from increased radiant heat flux; the effect of fuel bound nitrogen on oxides of nitrogen (NO sub x) emissions; and the overall total effect of fuel variations on exhaust emissions.

Humenik, F. M.↗

Clean Cities Coalitions: 2016 Activity Report

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) national network of Clean Cities Coalitions advance the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local actions to promote the use of domestic fuels within transportation. The nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions, whose territory covers 80% of the U.S. population, bring together stakeholders in the public and private sectors to use alternative and renewable fuels, idle-reduction (IR) measures, fuel economy improvements, and new transportation technologies as they emerge. To ensure success, coalitions leverage a robust set of expert resources and tools provided by national laboratories and DOE. Each year, Clean Cities coordinators submit annual reports of their activities and accomplishments for the previous calendar year. Data and information are submitted via an online tool that is maintained as part of the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Coordinators submit a range of data that characterize the membership, funding, projects, and activities of their coalitions. They also submit data about sales of alternative fuels; use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs); IR initiatives; fuel economy improvement activities; and programs to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). NREL analyzes the submitted data to determine how broadly energy use in the U.S. has shifted due to coalition activities, which are summarized in this report.

2016 metrics↗

Simulating the Use of Alternative Fuels in a Turbofan Engine

The interest in alternative fuels for aviation has created a need to evaluate their effect on engine performance. The use of dynamic turbofan engine simulations enables the comparative modeling of the performance of these fuels on a realistic test bed in terms of dynamic response and control compared to traditional fuels. The analysis of overall engine performance and response characteristics can lead to a determination of the practicality of using specific alternative fuels in commercial aircraft. This paper describes a procedure to model the use of alternative fuels in a large commercial turbofan engine, and quantifies their effects on engine and vehicle performance. In addition, the modeling effort notionally demonstrates that engine performance may be maintained by modifying engine control system software parameters to account for the alternative fuel.

biofuels↗

Alternate Fuels for Use in Commercial Aircraft

The engine and aircraft Research and Development (R&D) communities have been investigating alternative fueling in near-term, midterm, and far-term aircraft. A drop in jet fuel replacement, consisting of a kerosene (Jet-A) and synthetic fuel blend, will be possible for use in existing and near-term aircraft. Future midterm aircraft may use a biojet and synthetic fuel blend in ultra-efficient airplane designs. Future far-term engines and aircraft in 50-plus years may be specifically designed to use a low- or zero-carbon fuel. Synthetic jet fuels from coal, natural gas, or other hydrocarbon feedstocks are very similar in performance to conventional jet fuel, yet the additional CO2 produced during the manufacturing needs to be permanently sequestered. Biojet fuels need to be developed specifically for jet aircraft without displacing food production. Envisioned as midterm aircraft fuel, if the performance and cost liabilities can be overcome, biofuel blends with synthetic jet or Jet-A fuels have near-term potential in terms of global climatic concerns. Long-term solutions address dramatic emissions reductions through use of alternate aircraft fuels such as liquid hydrogen or liquid methane. Either of these new aircraft fuels will require an enormous change in infrastructure and thus engine and airplane design. Life-cycle environmental questions need to be addressed.

Daggett, David L.↗

Telematics and Data Science: Informing Energy-Efficient Mobility: October 25, 2016 - October 31, 2017

The University of Connecticut (UCONN) is exploring the possibility of adding electric vehicles (EVs) - including battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), or both-to its vehicle fleet. This report presents results of the UCONN fleet EV Suitability pilot program and offers recommendations for transitioning fleet vehicles to EVs as well as implementing adequate charging infrastructure.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Clean Cities Coalitions (2018 Activity Report)

Clean Cities coalition activities resulted in an energy use impact (EUI) of over 1 billion gasoline-gallons equivalent (GGE), comprised of net alternative fuels used and energy savings from efficiency projects, in 2018. Participation in vehicle and infrastructure development projects remained strong, as did alternative fuel use and resulting overall EUI. Clean Cities coalition activities reduce emissions as they impact energy use. Coalition-reported activities prevented 5 million carbon dioxide-equivalent tons of emissions (only greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions are reported here; criteria pollutants and other emissions are not included in this report). Coalitions were successful in securing project grant awards from numerous (non-DOE) outside sources. For other Federal, State, and local agencies and private sector foundations, see funding section on page 25. The 84 project grant awards in 2018 generated $251 million in funds from coalition members and project partners along with $1.9 million in DOE grant funds. Coalitions also collected $1.1 million in stakeholder dues and $2.9 million in operational funds from host organizations. In macro terms, this supplemental funding represents nearly a 7:1 leveraging of the $37.8 million that was included in the VTO Technology Integration budget in Fiscal Year 2018. Clean Cities coordinators spent nearly 121,000 hours pursuing their coalitions' goals in 2018. The average coordinator is quite experienced and has held his or her position for at least eight years. Coordinators logged more than 3,805 outreach, education, and training activities in 2018, which reached an estimated 35 million people.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Federal Best Practices: Core Principles of Sustainable Fleet Management

This report helps agency fleet managers understand and implement optimal petroleum reduction strategies for fleet locations by evaluating the most appropriate combination of the four core principles of sustainable fleet management: right-sizing the fleet to agency mission by implementing a vehicle allocation methodology study; minimizing vehicle miles traveled; increasing fleet fuel efficiency by replacing inefficient vehicles with more fuel-efficient vehicles, maintaining vehicles, driving more efficiently, and avoiding excessive idling; and optimizing cost-effective alternative fuel use, including maximizing utilization of existing alternative fuel infrastructure, installing alternative fuel infrastructure where practical (including electric vehicle charging stations), and aligning deployment of alternative fuel vehicles with fueling infrastructure.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Federal Best Practices: Core Principles of Sustainable Fleet Management

This document is designed to help agency fleet managers understand and implement optimal petroleum reduction strategies for each fleet location by evaluating the most appropriate combination of the four core principles of sustainable fleet management: Right-sizing the fleet to agency mission by implementing a vehicle allocation methodology study; Minimizing vehicle miles traveled; Increasing fleet fuel efficiency by replacing inefficient vehicles with more fuel-efficient vehicles, maintaining vehicles, driving more efficiently, and avoiding excessive idling; Optimizing cost-effective alternative fuel use, including maximizing utilization of existing alternative fuel infrastructure, installing alternative fuel infrastructure where practical (including electric vehicle charging stations), and aligning deployment of alternative fuel vehicles with fueling infrastructure.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Alternate-Fueled Flight: Halophytes, Algae, Bio-, and Synthetic Fuels

Synthetic and biomass fueling are now considered to be near-term aviation alternate fueling. The major impediment is a secure sustainable supply of these fuels at reasonable cost. However, biomass fueling raises major concerns related to uses of common food crops and grasses (some also called "weeds") for processing into aviation fuels. These issues are addressed, and then halophytes and algae are shown to be better suited as sources of aerospace fuels and transportation fueling in general. Some of the history related to alternate fuels use is provided as a guideline for current and planned alternate fuels testing (ground and flight) with emphasis on biofuel blends. It is also noted that lessons learned from terrestrial fueling are applicable to space missions. These materials represent an update and additions to the Workshop on Alternate Fueling Sustainable Supply and Halophyte Summit at Twinsburg, OH, Oct. 17 to 18, 2007 (ref. 1).

Hendricks, R. C.↗

Alternate-Fueled Flight: Halophytes, Algae, Bio-, and Synthetic Fuels

Synthetic and biomass fueling are now considered to be near-term aviation alternate fueling. The major impediment is a secure sustainable supply of these fuels at reasonable cost. However, biomass fueling raises major concerns related to uses of common food crops and grasses (some also called "weeds") for processing into aviation fuels. These issues are addressed, and then halophytes and algae are shown to be better suited as sources of aerospace fuels and transportation fueling in general. Some of the history related to alternate fuels use is provided as a guideline for current and planned alternate fuels testing (ground and flight) with emphasis on biofuel blends. It is also noted that lessons learned from terrestrial fueling are applicable to space missions. These materials represent an update (to 2009) and additions to the Workshop on Alternate Fueling Sustainable Supply and Halophyte Summit at Twinsburg, Ohio, October 17 to 18, 2007.

Hendricks, R. C.↗

Infrastructure and Testing Needs for Molten Salt Reactor Safeguards

Molten salt reactors (MSRs) are an attractive advanced reactor technology because of their increased fuel utilization and efficiency, the ease of fueling, and the potential to use alternative fuel cycles, including thorium and breeder/burner scenarios. Since an MSR has never been domestically operated for commercial electricity production, minimal infrastructure exists to support performance and materials testing, reactor licensing (including research, test, and operating reactors), and technology development in general. These factors could present challenges for the commercialization of the proposed design technology. Several research and development efforts and investments have begun to identify and supplement the infrastructure to accommodate the molten salt concept, including the United States Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Molten Salt Reactor Program. This report reviews safeguards technology and domestic infrastructure to support the evaluation of nuclear safeguards (primarily material control and accounting) measures and approaches for salt-fueled MSRs. Recommendations for potential priority infrastructure investments, including safeguards measurement test beds and future research, are presented.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Energy conservation and the transportation sector

The present status of the energy implications of the transportation systems in the United States was illustrated, with primary emphasis on the technologies and methods for achieving a substantial reduction in the associated energy price (approximately 25% of the nation's energy is consumed directly in the operation of these systems). These technologies may be classified as follows: (1) improvement of system efficiency (system operations or technological), (2) substitution for scarce energy resources (electrification, alternate fuels, use of man power, recycling), (3) curtailment of end use (managed population growth rate, education of citizenry, alternatives to personal transportation, improved urban planning, reduced travel incentives). Examples and illustrations were given. Thirty-four actions were chosen on the basis of a preliminary filtering process with the objective of: (1) demonstrating a methodological approach to arrive at logical and consistent conservation action packages, (2) recommending a viable and supportable specific set of actions.

Source record↗

Alternative fuel capabilities of the Mod II Stirling vehicle

The Stirling engine's characteristics make it a prime candidate for both multifuel and alternative fuel uses. In this paper, the relevant engine characteristics of the Mod II Stirling engine are examined, including the external heat system and basic operation. Adaptation of the Stirling to multifuel operation is addressed, and its experience with alternative fuels in automotive applications is summarized. The results of the U.S. Air Force review of the Stirling's multifuel capability are described, and the Stirling's advantages with liquid, gaseous, and solid fuels are discussed.

Grandin, Albert W.↗

A Step Towards CO2-Neutral Aviation

An approximation method for evaluation of the caloric equations used in combustion chemistry simulations is described. The method is applied to generate the equations of specific heat, static enthalpy, and Gibb's free energy for fuel mixtures of interest to gas turbine engine manufacturers. Liquid-phase fuel properties are also derived. The fuels include JP-8, synthetic fuel, and two fuel blends consisting of a mixture of JP-8 and synthetic fuel. The complete set of fuel property equations for both phases are implemented into a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow solver database, and multi-phase, reacting flow simulations of a well-tested liquid-fueled combustor are performed. The simulations are a first step in understanding combustion system performance and operational issues when using alternate fuels, at practical engine operating conditions.

Brankovic, Andreja↗

A Step Towards CO2-Neutral Aviation

An approximation method for evaluation of the caloric equations used in combustion chemistry simulations is described. The method is applied to generate the equations of specific heat, static enthalpy, and Gibb's free energy for fuel mixtures of interest to gas turbine engine manufacturers. Liquid-phase fuel properties are also derived. The fuels investigated include JP-8, synthetic fuel, and two blends of JP-8 and synthetic fuel. The complete set of fuel property equations for both phases are implemented into a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow solver database, and multiphase, reacting flow simulations of a well-tested liquid-fueled combustor are performed. The simulations are a first step in understanding combustion system performance and operational issues when using alternate fuels, at practical engine operating conditions.

Brankovic, Andreja↗