OVERVIEW OF THE UTILIZATION OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS IN FUEL CELLS AND INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

Alternative fuels are meant to be economic replacements of the present regular fuels for fuel cells and internal combustion engines, namely hydrogen as pure gas and gasoline as a liquid, represented by isooctane. Technically, hydrogen may be available as compressed gas in cylinders or as liquid in cryogenic containers, also as impure gas produced in steam-reformer or cracking units. We begin to speak about alternates when we operate IC-engines on some form of hydrogen )compressed, liquid or from hydrides) or use alcohols instead of gasoline or diesel fuel (even in mixtures with them). Certainly ammonia (transportable in liquid form in low pressure tanks) is an alternate fuel, suitable for fuel cells after catalytic cracking and directly usable in IC-engines. In 1981 the US-chemical industry produced 17.3 billion kg of ammonia (via hydrogen from natural gas), 3.8 billion kg of methanol and 0.52 billion kg of ethanol. These two alcohols are therefore also clearly available as alternates.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper from the Workshop on Renewable Fuels and Advanced Power Sources for Transportation, Denver, Colorado, June 17, 1982.
• Corporate Authors:

  Technische Universitaet

  Braunschweig,   Germany 
• Authors:
  • KORDESCH, K
• Publication Date: 1982-6

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 1-17

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternate fuels; Ammonia; Diesel fuels; Equipment; Ethanol; Fuel cells; Gases; Gasoline; Internal combustion engines; Liquid hydrogen; Methanol; Utilization
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Research; Vehicles and Equipment; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00391721
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Energy Research Abstracts
• Report/Paper Numbers: SERI/CP-234-1707, CONF-820686
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 30 1985 12:00AM