Fast pyrolysis utilizes biomass to produce a product that is used both as an energy source and a feedstock for chemical production. Considerable efforts have been made to convert wood biomass to liquid fuels and chemicals since the oil crisis in mid-1970s. This review focuses on the recent developments in the wood pyrolysis and reports the characteristics of the resulting bio-oils, which are the main products of fast wood pyrolysis. Virtually any form of biomass can be considered for fast pyrolysis. Most work has been performed on wood, because of its consistency and comparability between tests. However, nearly 100 types of biomass have been tested, ranging from agricultural wastes such as straw, olive pits, and nut shells to energy crops such as miscanthus and sorghum. Forestry wastes such as bark and thinnings and other solid wastes, including sewage sludge and leather wastes, have also been studied. In this review, the main (although not exclusive) emphasis has been given to wood. The literature on woo...

Pyrolysis of Wood/Biomass for Bio-oil: A Critical Review

Are we running out of oil

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation is a real-time testing process that has been proven indispensable for the modern vehicle dynamics, powertrain, chassis and body systems electronic controls development. The high quality standards and robustness of the control algorithms can only be met by means of detailed vehicle plant simulation models. In the last few years, several efforts have been made to develop detailed plant models. Several tools for the vehicle modeling are available in the market and each tool has different and distinct advantages. This paper addresses ways that dSPACE Automotive Simulation Models (ASM) can support the model-based development processes. Additional modern software tools that were used in connection with the ASM are LMS AMESim and Mathworks SimDriveline (of Simscape). ASM is an open Matlab/Simulink model environment used for offline PC based simulation and online real-time platform HIL testing. The combinations of system models from different suppliers typically require significant adaptation effort. dSPACE's ASM are ideally adapted to dSPACE hardware-in-the-loop simulators with real time capability whereas the AMESim environment requires a special procedure to make it compliant with dSPACE real-time hardware. This paper describes how AMESim vehicle dynamics, SimDriveline automatic transmission models and ASM parallel hybrid vehicle models are integrated for a dSPACE HIL real-time simulation environment. INTRODUCTION Today, depletion of petroleum resources with rising fuel prices have globally become a reason for concern, and it is commonly thought throughout the world that current automotive technology will need to be adapted or replaced for the future. To provide significant reductions in oil use and CO2 emissions there are a variety of different technology options [1]. The most promising is fuel economy improvement. Improving the fuel economy of vehicles has a crucial impact on the amount of oil imported. So far, the most promising technologies are hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Hybrid vehicles, using current internal combustion engines (ICEs) as their primary power source, and batteries /electric motors as energy buffer, have much higher fuel efficiency than those powered by ICEs alone. A typical hybrid electric vehicle combines several complex components in its powertrain such as combustion engines, electric motors, battery, automatic and/or power split transmission, intermediate clutches, etc. HEV contains complex interaction between different powertrain devices and incorporates complex electronic control unit (ECU) network. For the vehicles of the future, comprehensive ECU tests are more necessary than ever before, as the complexity and extent of the software increases at a breathtaking speed [2]. The Vcycle is a widely recognized approach in the development of electronic control units (ECUs) which incorporates offline controller development to HIL testing at the end of development cycle. Development of ECU's and to test its Hybrid Vehicle Model Development using ASMAMESim-Simscape Co-Simulation for Real-Time HIL Applications 2012-01-0932 Published 04/16/2012

Hybrid Vehicle Model Development using ASM-AMESim-Simscape Co-Simulation for Real-Time HIL Applications

Transportation is rapidly being changed by new technologies, such as Intelligent Transportation Systems (including smart cards, on-board diagnostics and information systems, and smarter highways, transit, automobiles, logistics systems, and other information systems). the range of options and their impacts will continue to expand as new technologies are introduced over the next two decades, and may alter transportation systems in many ways. For example, electric, hydrogen, or hybrid electric-petroleum vehicles may be introduced that would substantially alter emissions and fuel characteristics of the fleet, and potentially pose challenges in terms of system operations and finance. Smart card technologies could greatly improve the feasibility and convenience of a variety of pricing options for road use, parking, and transit fares. Monitoring and information systems could enable travelers to time trips and select routes to avoid congestion, reducing it in the process. Advanced traffic management systems could increase road capacity significantly while improving safety and respecting other objectives such as pedestrian comfort. Over the longer run, automation could make order of magnitude improvements in safety, capacity, and convenience. Whether and to what extent these technologies become a significant element of the transportation systems will depend, however, not only on technological developments but on both public and private decisions about the technologies' desirability and usefulness. System-wide applications and high market penetrations of new technologies are likely to have vastly different benefits and costs than the piecemeal applications that are currently proceeding.

/pdf/transportation-technologies-implications-for-planning-3bm6jxaopx.pdf

Transportation technologies : implications for planning

In order to increase the efficiency of using vehicles (VEH) in mining and quarrying conditions, it is necessary to improve the components of gas equipment (cryogenic tank, gas nozzles, fuel supply cryogenic tubes, etc.) for supplying liquefied natural gas to the engine, as well as storage of liquid methane in a cryogenic tank with a long service life. For this, it is necessary to consider the process of heat and mass transfer of liquefied natural gas in a two-phase liquid-gas medium, taking into account the phase transition in the closed volume of the cryogenic tank under consideration.
The article presents a model of unsteady heat and mass transfer of a two-phase liquefied methane medium in a developed two-tank cryogenic tank using a Cartesian coordinate system with fractional control volumes in space.
The experimental data confirm the efficiency of using a cryogenic tank on the VEH platform, in which the run on liquefied methane compared to standard fuels is tripled, the shelf life of liquefied gas in the proposed cryogenic tank is 2-2.5 times longer than in the standard one.

/pdf/mathematical-model-of-the-liquefied-methane-phase-transition-3lpqmp0kn4.pdf

Mathematical model of the liquefied methane phase transition in the cryogenic tank of a vehicle

As we enter the new millennium, the U.S. transportation sector is highly dependent on oil. Two options for reducing the petroleum dependence problem of the transportation sector exist, other than reducing travel demand: efficiency improvements and use of alternative fuels. Alternative fuels can be considered in two categories: nonpetroleum fossil energy resources and nonfossil energy resources and fuels. The focus of this paper is on alternative fuels, primarily for highway transportation, not on efficiency of vehicles. It is assumed that battery-electric, fuel cell, and grid-connected hybrid vehicles that will be commercially available in the future will consume some alternative fuels. Limited consideration is given to air transportation.

J D Maples

Papers

Alternative fuels for u.s. transportation