The Flex-Fuel Hybrid; The Best of Two Technologies
Between increasing worldwide demand for gasoline and the threat posed by global warming it's crucial for the world to develop alternative forms of transportation. Because the automobile is the most common form of powered transportation alternative fuels need to be developed and used more widely. The sooner alternative fuels are implemented the better.
Currently the most viable alternatives appear to be hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs). Some hydrogen technology currently exists and there are some vehicles on the road employing the technology. However, the infrastructure to support the wide commercial use of hydrogen doesn't exist yet.
All hybrid vehicles have both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. They can operate independently or in tandem to varying degrees depending on the situation and the type of hybrid vehicle. There are 3 types of hybrids; mild, full, and plug-in. A mild hybrid's constant energy source is the internal combustion engine. Electric power is only employed to assist the internal combustion engine when extra power is required. In a full hybrid the 2 systems can work independently or in tandem. The electric motor is the sole source of power during idling, slow maneuvering, and light cruising. When more power is required the internal combustion engine kicks in. The plug-in hybrid is essentially an electric vehicle with an internal combustion engine as backup. The batteries in all hybrids are recharged through regenerative braking and the internal combustion engine. The plug-in hybrid has the added feature of being able to be recharged by plugging it into an electrical outlet.1
The other alternative is the flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) . The engine of a FFV is able to run on 2 different fuels, most likely E85 (85% ethanol, 15 % gasoline) and gasoline.2Another common alternative fuel used in FFVs is CNG, compressed natural gas. If this fuel is used a separate tank is needed in the vehicle. Through advanced flexible engine technology (HCCI) a FFV will be able to use many different fuels. Fiat is introducing a car in Brazil that can run on 4 different fuels; gasoline, diesel, ethanol, and natural gas.3
The hybrid feature adds $2,000 - $3,000 to cost of the vehicle. There's no extra cost for flex-fuel capability. However, hybrids increase fuel efficiency by 25%-40% while there's a decrease of 15% with FFVs running on ethanol. Thus FFVs cost more to operate because they require more fuel. But, the larger fuel requirement and the gasoline price will be closer to balancing out as gasoline prices become higher. As a result a hybrid emits less CO2 but in terms of net CO2, FFVs running on ethanol are better because they emit renewable CO2 (plants) rather than finite CO2 (petroleum). The two vehicles emit the same amount of other pollutants respectively. They both enjoy a slight increase in performance when not using gasoline. A big drawback of FFVs is the availability of ethanol. Outside the Midwest ethanol is harder to find.4In the final analysis hybrids probably have a slight edge over FFVs.
Instead of continuing to produce both hybrids and FFVs it would be better to meld the best attributes of each into one vehicle, the flex-fuel hybrid. This concept is more than an idea. Several companies already have test vehicles on the road. In spring 2007, the commercial fleets in 6 states were supplied with 20 Ford Escape Hybrid E85s.5
The major drawback of using ethanol as fuel is that it isn't as efficient as gasoline thus more fuel is consumed. This becomes less of an issue as the price of gasoline increases. By adding hybrid capability to a flex-fuel vehicle the 15% decrease in fuel efficiency can be changed into a 5%-20% increase in fuel efficiency.6 When the plug-in feature is added to the flex-fuel hybrid efficiency is even greater. The Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid E85 test vehicle given to DOE achieved 88mpg in the city and 50 mpg on the highway.7 The combination of hybrid and flex-fuel technologies, using ethanol becomes more attractive and sustainable.
The flex-fuel hybrid also produces fewer CO2 emissions. According to Ford Motor Company its Escape Hybrid E85 running exclusively on ethanol produces 25% fewer CO2 emissions than the gasoline Escape Hybrid. With the plug-in feature the Escape Hybrid E85 reduces CO2 emissions by 60% and up to 90% if the source ethanol is cellulosic.8
With today's technology and infrastructure the plug-in flex-fuel hybrid vehicle offers the best alternative to gasoline vehicles. This concept becomes even more attractive as cellulosic biofuels develop and more electricity is produced from sources other than fossil fuels. Until hydrogen is fully developed this is the direction the world could take. In the remote and underdeveloped areas of the world the plug-in flex-fuel hybrid may be the only alternative that makes sense.
1. What is a hybrid vehicle?, Christine & Scott Gable, about.com
http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/alternativefuel s101/a/hybridfaq3.htm
2. What is a flex-fuel vehicle? Christine & Scott Gable, about.com
http://alternativefuels.about.com/od/ethanole85/a/fl exfuelvehicle.htm
3. Alternative Fuels, Jamais Cascio, World Changing, 4/7/2005. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002284.html
4. Hybrid vs. diesel vs. flex-fuel, Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0706/galle ry.alf_fuel_basics/jump.html
5. Hybrid vs. diesel vs. flex-fuel, Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/autos/0706/galle ry.alf_fuel_basics/jump.html
6. Ford To Deliver Demonstration Fleet Of Ethanol Fueled Hybrids To Six States
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?r elease=25287Saying
7. Ford To Deliver Demonstration Fleet Of Ethanol Fueled Hybrids To Six States
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?r elease=25287Saying
8. Ford To Deliver Demonstration Fleet Of Ethanol Fueled Hybrids To Six States
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?r elease=25287Saying