Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet
Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2009.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/53064 |
| _version_ | 1826206111857901568 |
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| author | McAulay, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lewis) |
| author2 | John B. Heywood. |
| author_facet | John B. Heywood. McAulay, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lewis) |
| author_sort | McAulay, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lewis) |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2009. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:24:16Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/53064 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:24:16Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/530642022-01-31T20:43:59Z Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet McAulay, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lewis) John B. Heywood. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Technology and Policy Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Technology and Policy Program Engineering Systems Division. Technology and Policy Program. Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-92). Within the next 3-7 years the US light duty fleet and fuel supply will encounter what is commonly referred to as the "blend wall". This phenomenon describes the situation when more ethanol production has been mandated than can be blended legally in the existing gasoline fuel supply. While there are currently measures under review to extend fuel certification to from 10% to 15% ethanol blends, this will not be enough to reach the existing Renewable Fuel Standard targets that grow over the next decade to 36 billion gallons of biofuel. This research focuses on a quantitative assessment of how to effectively use policies to match the deployment of ethanol with capable vehicles to use ethanol, and the infrastructure to the fuel. A model of the light duty vehicle fleet has been used find the number of vehicles required to meet ethanol fuel usage targets. The key variables explored in this work are (i) the volumetric target for total biofuels (ii) the legal blend limit of ethanol in gasoline, (iii) fleet vehicle sales penetration and (iv) a metric for the relative utilization of ethanol and gasoline for flex fuel vehicles. Each of these factors can be varied independently to understand the existing relationship between each in the context of the US light-duty vehicle fleet. Ultimately, coordinated polices focusing on each of these key factors can ease the transformation of the automotive fuel industry away from petroleum dominated supplies. by Jeffrey L. McAulay. S.M.in Technology and Policy 2010-03-25T14:55:35Z 2010-03-25T14:55:35Z 2009 2009 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/53064 501823299 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 104 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Engineering Systems Division. Technology and Policy Program. McAulay, Jeffrey L. (Jeffrey Lewis) Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet |
| title | Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet |
| title_full | Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet |
| title_fullStr | Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet |
| title_short | Assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet |
| title_sort | assessing deployment strategies for ethanol and flex fuel vehicles in the u s light duty vehicle fleet |
| topic | Engineering Systems Division. Technology and Policy Program. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/53064 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mcaulayjeffreyljeffreylewis assessingdeploymentstrategiesforethanolandflexfuelvehiclesintheuslightdutyvehiclefleet |