Life-Cycle Analysis of Bio-Ethanol Fuel Emissions of Transportation Vehicles in Greater Houston Area

Abstract

Study is conducted on the life cycle assessment of bio-ethanol used for transportation vehicles and their emissions. The emissions that are analyzed include greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds, sulfur oxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, particulate matter with the size less than 10 and 2.5 microns. Furthermore, various blends of bio-ethanol and gasoline are studied to learn about the impacts of higher blend on emissions. The Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model software are used to simulate for emissions. The research analyzes two pathways of emissions: Well-to-Pump and Pump-to-Vehicle analyses. It is found that the fuel cell vehicles using 100% bio-ethanol have shown the most reduction in the amount of all the pollutants from the Pump-to-Vehicle emission analysis. The Well-to-Pump analysis shows that only greenhouse gases (GHGs) reduce with higher blends of bio-ethanol. All other pollutants VOC, CO, NOx, SOx, PM10 and PM2.5 emissions increase with the higher blending ratios. The Pump-to-Vehicle analysis shows that all the pollutant emissions reduce with the percentage increase of bio-ethanol in the fuel blends.