Clinton News-Record, 1986-09-10, Page 22Clintonws .Record
u00a'nlrr;NAV FWEuuBUM -:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1986
SECOND SECTION
Transportation energy is moving forward with the times
Transportation technology:
the promise of change
•At first glance, the transportation recent years, new processes have made
vehicles we use daily look almost the same unleaded gasoline available. Meanwhile,
as those of earlier decades. Cars still have researchers are looking for economical
two or four doors, four tires and a steering alternatives to toxic lead additives.
wheel. Trucks still resemble metal Diesel fuel is falling in quality as more of
dinosaurs. Planes and trains still have the it is being produced from synthetic oil from
sameTeneral lines. There are differences of the tar sands, which is not as suitable as
course — construction materials now in- conventional oil for manufacturing diesel -
chide new vinyls, plastics and ceramics. fuel. Researchers are developing more ef-
Cars lack the fins of '50s and all have fective ways to achieve successful blends,
seatbelts. Trains are certainly less lux- including t
ncludngthe e addsi n ofition oealcohols.ve that hydrogen
urious than in bygone days. Many
The future holds greater promise of may be the true fuel of the 21st century. It
change; some vehicles will be barely can cell,uused as
s a liquid
directlyragas as to o powerIa
recognizable as descendants from today'slir burn dit burns as fuel.
In
generation. Others will hide their changes, most applications
producing largely with water negligibleex-
Society's
but they will be dramatic nevertheless. pollution,
Society's insatiable demand for motive haust. It is abundant, and contains more
networks of scien- energy for a given weight than any other
roughout the world chemical.
innovations that will Unfortunately, other inherent
and power of today but characteristics make hydrogen difficult to
sumption. Others are use today. It is expensive to liquefy, and
containers to store it as a compressed gas
power has created vas
tists and engineers
searching for desi
maintain the spee
reduce fuel co
developing alteri'ative fuels.
In addition to gasoline, scientists are in- are huge and unwieldy. Currently, metal
vestigating seven main alternative fuel alloys that can store hydrogen among their
possibilities. Canada has an abundant supp- molecules hold great promise. These re-
ly of natural gas, which is 90 per cent quire more research, however, before they
methane. Automobiles are capable of burn- will be commercially viable.da pemainls a
of
ing natural gas with some modifications to its attractive features,
the fuel system, and thousands of cars in fuel of the future.Electricity
el Canada have already been switched. source
Fleet vehicles and taxis have reported usElectricity,
lectric ts , an great potential for the already
ady in
tremendous savings with natural gas.
e.
Electrical propulsion is most attractive
Propane is a gaseous byproduct of natu� d�
gas and crude oil. As with natural gas, where a dedicated track system can be in -
dwindling, Canadian producers are looking qua in -
potential cost savings are significant in stalled with a third rail to provide the - All of these vehicles, whether roe once again at the 60 -billion tonnes of known portant because, as with other synthetic
vehicles that put a lot of kilometres on the power. Since there are virtually no polluting trackbound, or in the sky, are being coal deposits within the borders. The energy crudes, the diesel fuel produced by simple
speedometer. More than 120,000 vehicles in emissions, electricity is often used in sub transformed
sensors by
throughout arvehicle content of this stockpile equals 460 times the refining tends to make smoky exhaust in
Canada run on the safe; economical fuel. ways for mass transit. energy in Canada's current yearly con- smaller engines although it may be satisfac-
The alcohol fuels, methanol and ethanol, One of the most advanced electrical vehi- will transmit information to computer
sumption of crude oil, and geologists have tory in railroad or larger, lower speed
have been receiving worldwide attention. cle design was in use during Expo '86 inVan- to chips. Automobile engines will know when little doubt that more coal deposits will be diesels.
More than 10 per cent of the transport couver. The Urban Transportation Develop -to ignite the fuel according to a fuel knock found. Scientists at the federal government's
energy consumed in Brazil is et`advanced Corporation
rapid of r transitonto t (ALR'T') boardlled the index xcomputer Planeeasured in a s will
d ro a Like bitumen and heavy oil, coal differs energy research centre,GANNET,arelook-
manuf
manufacturers
line blends. Automobileparts asidepilot's command after evaluating it with from conventional crude oil in its proportion ing into more effective and economical
manufacturers are already building engines system, which has no moving eir own information. Cars will. change of hydrogen to carbon — it is low in methods to improve the process of
with computers that can continuously from the train itself. hydrogen. To produce synthetic oil from liquefaction.
analyze fuel mixtures at the cylinder entry Each car has two electric motors in which gears with the sensitivity of a racing driver
point. Spark timing is then automatically the rotors have been replaced with an alloy without the drivers' knowledge. coal, the ratio of hydrogen to carbon must One approach is coprocessing, particular
adjusted, and the driver is never aware of plate suspended beneath the car. Another All of these technological changes have a be increased. Three basic methods are l.y suited to Canada's coal resource mix.
available: Finely pulverized coal is combined with
this wizardry under the hood. plate runs between the rails.toElectric acesur- .united goal: with wise usep of ourtenergyaPyrolysis removes carbon by heating the heavy oil, bitumen, or the heavy residual li-
���+ flows through the two metal plates resources, to maintain our present standard
of living with Many
of al4damage to our en- coal to drive off volatile (gaseous) matter... quids .produced, by :conventional refining, , ..
vironment: Many of tiliaoffer great pro- ' The volatiles can then be condensed and During upgrading, some of the coal compo -
mise for future transportation in Canada refinded into useable fuels. Hent of the mixture is liquefied and the total
and throughout the world.
Indirect liquefaction treats coal to pro- yield of synthetic oil is increased.
duce carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases, Preliminary studies suggest that the cost
which then react in the presence of special of producing synthetic oil from coprocessing
catalysts to produce liquid fuel. may equal that from oil sands and heavy oil.
Direct liquefaction partly breaks down Further research is needed, but this ap-
the coal structure by adding hydrogen using proach holds great promise for the commer-
a coal -derived solvent. cial production of synthetic oil from coal in
Pyrolysis is the simplest method but Canada.
Expansion presented Its 1985 award of ex-
cellence to the ALRT Skytrain.
Electric automobiles have some devotees
in Canada as well. The Electric Vehicle
Association of Canada planned a rally in Ab-
botsford, B.C. during; the summer. The
queen of the fleet was a Canadian -built
Chrysler minivan using as a fuel source as
high-energy, sodium -sulphur battery pro-
duced by Powerplex of Toronto.
The van can travel about 200 km between
recharges and has no trouble with harsh
Canadian winters because the battery
0
has little effect on its power. If this van is
successful, it may pave the way for future Most Canadian houses built before the yields only 175 L of synthetic crude oil per
electric vehicles in Canada. Great Britain 1950s have a tiny window opening into a tonne of coal as well as char, a carbon -rich
already has about 33,000 light delivery small basement room. Young people may residue. Before natural gas became
trucks operating on battery power. not realize that these windows lead to the popular, this method was used to produce a
Design changes bin that stored coal for the furnace. Today, volatile gas, called 'town gas', for lighting,
Vehicle design changes have also been few of those furnaces still exist, but the little heating and cooking.
nibbling away at fuel consumption. windows remain as translucent reminders Indirect liquefaction is a two-step conver-
Designers are taking automobiles into wind of former lifestyles. Sion process that first produces a gas mix
tunnels to test their designs. The resulting Coal fulfilled only 9.3 per cent of Canada's ture that is then synthesized into liquids.
cars slip effortlessly and quietly through the energy demand in 1974. Although there is lit- Pioneered in Germany before World War II,
air while safely hugging the road. Even the tle likelihood that the tiny windows will ever today this process is used in a commercial
mammoth tractor trailer trucks are beating again open for residential coal deliveries, coal conversion plant in South Africa.
the wind. The edges have been smoothed Canada's massive coal deposits may well Direct liquefaction produces liquids from
with space-age plastics to reduce wind become important again as a source of li- coal by adding hydrogen. Current techni-
resistance. quid transportation fuels. quer produce about three times more liquid
Aircraft designers as well have begun Coal was the predominant source. of , fuel than was possible with older
searching for ways to reduce the crippling' energy in many countries for two centuries technology, and the quality of the synthetic
costs of fueling aircraft. Tomorrows and was widely used to produce gas and fuel is higher. The process is expensive
airplanes may have thousands of tiny holes even some liquid fuels, but by the mid -1940s because it is capital intensive, the necessary
in the wings to defy the turbulence that light crude oil was cheap and plentiful. Now hydrogen is costly, and the operation is
drags energy out of the plane. that conventional petroleum sources are complicated.
dbound k' The iy of the liquids produced is inn -
Coal
operates at 360° C; the ambient temperature
•
•
ut of past and into ,future
Gasoline is rated by its octane level. Inter-
nal
nter- • �° ro ulsive magnetic fields. Cars
spec fir octan engines require a fuel with . creating
propulsive
on the frequency of the
specific octane rating to run properly. P
Traditionally, lead was added to gasoline to current.
raise its octane rating to the needed level. In The Department of
A pipeline to
A
Canada's natural gas pipeline system not
only ensures warm houses in our cold
climate, but also brings natural gas to filling
stations for natural gas powered vehicles.
More and more people are accepting
natural gas as an economical alternative to
gasoline. Eventually, many vehicles will
run on natural gas alone.
The key to change lies in supply and
distribution. At the momente gas areng a
. tions equipped to supply atural
limited_ In Ottawa for instance, only one
public natural gas outlet exists on the out-
skirts of the city. The picture is different for
Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, where
many more stations are in operation and
under construction.
Most of Canada's natural gas comes from
fields in Alberta and British Columbia. New
exploration, however, has discovered vast
supplies off the east coast and beneath the
Arctic. Despite the region's hostile environ-
ment and distance from the marketplace,
geologists continue to comb the Arctic for its
hydrocarbon resources because of the
potential for massive rewards. Large
reserves of natural gas have already been
found in the Arctic Islands, the Beaufort Sea
and Mackenzie Delta and the Nova Scotia
offshore.
In some ways, today's geologists are little
changed from the prospectors that Robert
Service described as "crimped and goug-
ed", who stalked the "howling wilderness
and the haggard Arctic heights." They wear
hiking boots, carry little hammers, and
sleep outdoors for weeks at a time when
searching for hidden minerals.
In other ways, things have changed
dramatically. Today's geologist examines
images from remote sensing satellites and
conducts photographic and magnet surveys
of the land before donning field garb to
carry out siesmic work. But the last move is
'always the same: drilling. It is, in fact, the
only way to locate the gas.
Gas trapped in rocks beneath the earth is
under great pressure and at high
temperatures; When a well is drilled, both
temperature and pressure drop as the gas
rises to the top of the well. In addition to
methane, naturale and gascontains
liquids which
butane, pe
condense at the surface. From the well,the
lir gas is piped to a processing plant where the
separation process is continued, and the gas
Ten
Regional Industrial
the
is often cooled to extremely cold
temperatures so that valuable trace
hydrocarbons can be stripped away for
other uses.
After processing, the natural gas is car-
ried by pipeline to consumers throughout
the country. Since the first small pipelines
were built in Alberta and Ontario in the
1940s they have proven to be durable and
cost effective. Today, outlets for refueling
natural gas vehicles need only tap into these
existing pipelines to establish a supply
source.
Drivers pulling up at the pump for a
natural gas refill may find it takes slighter
longer and has to be done more frequently,
but these are minor inconveniences when
balanced against the financial savings.
Since its molecules are widely separated,
it would normally take a large amount of
space to store natural gas. To provide a
vehicle with enough fuel to travel a
reasonable distance, the gas must be com-
pressed into a small space. Expensive high-
capacity compressors are required to
squeeze a large volume of natural gas into
the storage cylinder in a motorist's trunk.
Fleet vehicles that return to a warehouse at
night can be filled with a cheaper slow -fill
system. In future, home owners may use the
gas that heats -their houses to refuel their
family cars while they are sleeping.
commandments for efficient
1. Inflate your tires to maximum
recommended levels.
2. Check your tire pressure at least
twice a month.
3. Keep your car engine well tuned.
4. Share rides instead of driving
alona` std highway speeds.
eeds.
5.1�+Iaintainpoe
_.. _.....
(Most cars use about 10 per cent
less fuel when driven at 90 km/hr
instead of 100 km/hr.)
6. TJse flowthrough ventilation
whenever possible instead of open
windows or air conditioning.
7. Avoid trafficams by planning
your route ahead of time.
8° Don't make
one will do.
9. Anticipate stops and avoid 'jack-
rabbit' starts to saveas and
reduce wear on brakes and tires,
10. Fuel -Efficient Driving is Safe
and Sensible.
several trips
Are alternative fuels safe?
Vehicles throughout Canada are being
switched from petroleum-based gasoline to
any of several alternative fuels coming on
the market. Two of the most popular are the
gaseous fuels: propane and natural gas.
Many consumers are asking whether
gaseous fuels are as safe as gasoline.
Researchers respond with a resounding yes.
One of the most striking statistics comes
from Italy, where natural gas from the Po
Valley has been fueling vehicles since the
1920s. Italy has 250,000 natural gas vehicles
on the road and more than 220 public refuel-
ing outlets. A research engineer with
Energy, Mines and Resources says that not
one traffic facility in Italy has been at-
tributed to the use of natural gas.
There are several explanations for the
striking safety record of gaseous fuels in
vehicles. Some involve the nature of the
fuels themselves.
Neither propane nor natural gas is toxic.
This means that anyone breathing fumes
from these gases will not be poisoned, but
they do displace oxygen and can cause
asphyxiation by interfering with the flow of
oses little threat
oxygen to the lungs,
This
p
to commuters, An odorant is added to give
to tfor easy
ion should a leak occur.
In some ways, gaseous fuel leaks pose less
danger than gasoline. Because natural gas
when is lighter than air, vapour from a leak will
thoughtless bystander lights a cigarette at
an accident, oisan unlikely
to start
nataraal fire
ge from
A
escaping P p 257°C will ignite
temperature of only
gasoline, but propane requires 490°C and
natural gas needs an even hotter spark,
649°C.
Carburetion systems designed for both
Pro-
paneboast back-up safety, features.
pane storage tanks must be able to withs-
tand pressures four to five times greater
than their working pressure. There are also
several relief valves in a propane -equipped
vehicle to:
• automatically shut off fuel flow if a fuel
line ruptures,
• release excess pressure in case of
overheating or overfilling,
• prevent gas or liquid from backing up
dur-
ing filling, and
• prevent fuel flow during an engine stall or
when the engine is off.
Similar safety features are found in
natural gas vehicles. In addition to the
valves, the tanks are mounted to the body of
the car with a cradle, frame and steel
straps.
Design and manufacturing specifications
assure that the components of the gaseous
fuel system are stronger than the vehicles in
which they are used. In one test where a
vehicle was subjected to a rear -end collision
at 100 kmfhr, the natural gas cylinder
escaped unscathed even though the frame of
the car was crushed.
Conversion of vehicles to use -gaseous
fuels is controlled by legislation. Only in-
stallers certified by the appropriate provin-
cial authority are allowed to perfrom this
work, and detailed national standards
outlined by the Canadian Gas Association
must be followed. This ensures adherence to
all safety precautions.
disperse as it is reletled. Propane is only
slightly heavier than air, and light air move-
ment will diserse it. In unventilated areas,
propane Can he a concern because it will not
escape through tiny cracks or through thin
t'aatei'hds, Gasoline is heavier than air and
thus can pool to potentially explosive levels
if proper ventilation is not provided.
1+"010l1y, Doth gaseous fuels take higher
tgtlipehattiiies to ignite than goasoline. If a