With the green colour enveloping the automotive world, we now have to understand the new green words. Let us learn some of these new terms.
E85
E85 is a blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. This is the most common blend of the alcohol-based fuel and is slowly increasing in distribution around the United States and other countries. Adding that small amount of petroleum offers a number of advantages, including the ability to start in extremely cold climates.
Ethanol
Ethanol is an alcoholic fuel that is viewed by many as a viable alternative to petrol and other petroleum-based fuels. Until now, ethanol had to be produced from sugar-rich sources - corn is most common in the US, sugar cane in Brazil - but a new cellulosic process (Refer Part-I) could expand the number of feed stocks. Ethanol may actually increase the performance of an internal combustion engine. But compared to gasoline, it also contains less energy, measured as BTUs, per litre and thus typically results in lower mileage.
Fuel Cell
First conceived in the mid-19th century, the fuel cell was first put to serious application as the energy source for America’s Apollo moon program. At its simplest, the technology feeds hydrogen into one side of a “stack” and oxygen (or regular air) into the other. In the most common fuel cell design, the hydrogen passes through a catalyst covered proton exchange membrane, which causes it to combine with the oxygen. The resulting reaction produces both water vapor and a small amount of current that can be used to power a spacecraft - or drive an electric motor. Fuel cells are sometimes referred to as “refillable batteries”.
Lead-Acid Battery
One of the most common types of battery, this technology combines lead plates and an acid, such as hydrochloric, to produce direct current. The interaction of the acid on the lead creates an electrical current. It is heavy, but relatively cheap and durable.
Lithium
The central ingredient in two of the newer and more promising forms of batteries, lithium-ion and lithium-polymer. Already common in rechargeable portable devices such as MP3 players, laptop computers and cellphones, lithium-based batteries store lots of current (high energy density), and can both store and discharge quickly. But they are also quite expensive, which limits their use in devices, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, which need extremely large battery packs.
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