Posted on 05/15/2016 10:45:38 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie
Daily Caller News Foundation Electric Vehicles Emit More Pollutants Than Fossil Fuel-Burning Cars, Says Study
A study from the University of Edinburgh shows that electric and hybrid vehicles emit as many, if not more, atmospheric toxins than fossil fuel-burning vehicles.
The study, conducted by Victor Timmers and Peter Achten at the University of Edinburgh, and published by the journal Atmospheric Environment, found that heavier electric vehicles produce as many pollutants as their lighter weight conventional vehicles.
Electric vehicles tend to produce more pollutants from tire and brake wear, due in large part to their batteries, as well as the other parts needed to propel them, making them heavier.
These pollutants are emitted when electric vehicle tires and brakes deteriorate as they accelerate or slow down while driving. Timmers and Achten’s research suggests exhaust from traditional vehicles is only about one-third of the total emissions.
Further, the particulate matters are worse than fuel emissions, because they cause more health problems.
“We found that non-exhaust emissions, from brakes, tires and the road, are far larger than exhaust emissions in all modern cars,” Achten wrote in the study.
He continued: “These are more toxic than emissions from modern engines so they are likely to be key factors in the extra heart attacks, strokes and asthma attacks seen when air pollution levels surge.”
The study does not include the production of energy needed for each vehicle, from coal or other fossil fuel sources. It only calculates the driving of the car. The increase in pollutants are generated from factors like tire wear dust and brake pad dust, and tend to increase as the electric vehicles and hybrids get heavier — due in part because of the added weight of the cars’ lithium batteries.
Adversely, the study shows the popularity of electric vehicles are unlikely to have much of an effect on the level of pollutants. In fact, electric vehicles actually emit 90 percent of particulate emissions, while traditional vehicles push out 85 percent of particulate emissions in traffic. These proportions will only increase as electric vehicles become more popular. The study’s authors concluded that future policies should focus more on the weight of electric and hybrid vehicles.
The Edinburgh study comes on the heels of research conducted in March by the investment firm Devonshire Research Group, a company that specializes in valuing and devaluing tech firms, showing that Tesla electric vehicles are “not as sustainable as they may seem.”
The study also shows that Tesla’s CEO, techno-wonder Elon Musk, could expose the company to “serious brand risk and an unknown legal exposure.” In fact, according to the research, everything about the Tesla — from its headlights, to its chassis, to the way it is produced — contributes to environmental degradation.
Well, the idea I proposed was a combination of the two, for quicker charging, and more storage.
So does this mean a polar bear isn’t going to go up and hug the owners?
Not all of them are. How about a 2L 4cyl putting out 300HP?
Too much? Use a smaller engine...How about a 500cc turbo, running at its optimal efficiency RPM, and running a big-@$$ alternator? When no juice is needed, it shuts itself off.
Add a couple (or four) deep discharge batteries, and the typical hybrid drive-motor set-up. The main differences being the smaller more powerful turbo engine, and the readily available car-parts store batteries.
I believe the big discovery in hybrid-car technology, is eliminating the transmission, and replacing it with an electric motor....NOT the rest of the hype.
The thermodynamic process of an internal combustion engine is notoriously inefficient ~ 20%. Diesel engines are slightly more efficient. And that doesn’t include the drive train.
I suspect that an electric motor is a lot more efficient.
Of course, when figuring efficiency a person has to include EVERYTHING!
Well, since we seem to be afloat in oil and NG, and with GTL fuels right around the corner, I doubt that efficiency is an immediate concern. Any ICE blows the doors off the efficiency of a lead/acid battery, when time is factored in.
Diesel engines are slightly more efficient.
OK, make it a .5L turbo diesel.
when figuring efficiency a person has to include EVERYTHING!
Well, you could throw a few thermocouples in the exhaust stream and extract a few more watts... or maybe run a heat engine with its own generator.
And the infrastructure for petroleum is very well established. Sucking it out of the ground, storage, transportation, refinement, storage, distribution, storage, etc. If you want to get really picky, you have to include the costs of maintaining the source of supply which is the Middle East for some countries and the cost of occasional spills, etc.
Petroleum has served us very well.
How a Mr Fusion and an electric motor? :)
I don't know. Maybe some chemical process that induces electricity in a coupled wire? A current produces a magnetic field — an electric motor. Again, you don't get anything for free so whatever pushes those electrons has to produce a lot of energy and it has to be controllable through some kind of a regulator. The next best thing is a storage device that drives the current in the wire and is charged from a source that is very efficient.
Well, the difference here is...I could probably build an experimental version of my proposal....mostly from a junkyard Prius.
The end result of your level of high-performance would be the HP of the powerplant, none of which has to weigh very much (another efficiency factor)
After all, the main power source for the propulsion motor would be the turbo-powerplant...not the batteries. Just like a locomotive.
Cool. Where can I get one.:)
In your own garage (after retrieving it from the junkyard)
Lol. Cool ideas. If I were in a different situation, I’d be interested. :)
these EV batteries weigh a lot:
The Tesla Model Y, and it contains a battery that weighs an astronomical 1,836 pounds.
Ford’s F-150 Lightning needs a battery that weighs 1,800 pounds to make it go the distance for drivers.
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