Well-to-Wheel analysis of passenger cars fuelled with a blend of LPG, bio-LPG, and renewable DME

Abstract

This study compares environmental impacts from using petrol to those from using a fuel blend of liquified petroleum gas (LPG), bio-LPG and renewable dimethyl ether (DME) in the form of bio-DME and electro-DME (e-DME), for two passenger car segments. Bio-LPG is produced from used cooking oils, while renewable DME is produced as both a biofuel from upgraded biogas, and an electro-fuel from captured CO2 and H2 produced from electrolysis using hydropower. The analysis was executed according to the life cycle assessment methodology using environmental footprint 3.1 as the impact assessment method. Results indicate that the blend offers 21% and 27% greenhouse gas emission savings compared to petrol for C- and B-segment cars, respectively. The blend with e-DME performs better than that with bio-DME, and the B-segment car offers higher savings than the C-segment car. The blend with e-DME in a B-segment car and the blend with bio-DME in a C-segment car rank as best and worst scenarios, respectively.