Environment Friendly Fuels and Catalysts

Latest Advanced Technology and Tasks in Automobile Engineering

Seminar 11: Fuels and Automobile Catalysts for Environmental Friendly Cars

Jenna M. Eason

1) Both fuel economy and clean exhaust are serious subjects of automobiles in near future.  How do you solve this problem? 

Below I have suggested alternative sources including processing wastes to create fuels, and using wind or solar power.  A third more creative solution may be reverting to human-powered vehicles.  I would like to see the Flintstone’s car come to life.  There must be a simple mechanical way to convert simple motions into high power.  Instead of foot power, maybe finger power is all that is necessary: the vibrations of a steady tap will be converted into mechanical energy in order to initiate rotary motion of the wheels. 

This thinking may be a little far out, especially for an engineer or fuel chemist, but I believe it is the role of a designer to suggest the “impossible” in order to encourage new ideas.

2) Do you think what is the most appropriate energy source in

(1) near future?

One thing I have certainly learned from this lecture series is that alternative energy sources and options are plentiful, but not perfected.  Throughout the series we have been introduced to hybrid technology, fuel cells, catalytic and even atomic reactions.  The key is to make the technology simple, efficient, and affordable.  I don’t think there is a correct answer in the near future, but the effort is certainly developing and growing.  I was particularly interested in today’s introduction into biomass fuel sources.  Perhaps this technology will lead to options in fuel sources from waste, solving two problems at once towards sustainability.

(2) 100 years later

The future has so much in store, and so many ideas exist, but technology must play catch-up.  The amazing part is that as technology improves, so do our ideas…maybe all cars will fly.  One solution that interest me the most is using natural energy sources such as solar and wind energy.  A common issue in maintaining an automobile is to limit exposure to the harsh and damaging conditions of nature and weather: wind, rain, snow, UV light, etc…  I propose harnessing these elements and storing their energy to power the automobile.  I am confident that in 100 years, these technologies can be improved to the point that this can easily be accomplished with limited effort.