The Dirty Truth of Gasoline

Battery & Chargers
1

Isn’t it ridiculous to state that a gallon of gasoline (6.3 lbs) produces 20 lbs of carbon dioxide?

Visit: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/co2.shtml for an explanation.

It takes oil to make gasoline. In fact, the refining efficiency of one gallon of Gasoline (average) is [I][B]84.5%[/B][/I].
[I]http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs/estreviewofethanollca.pdf[/I]

which means it takes [B]0.115[/B] gallons of oil to produce one gallon of refined gasoline.

[I][B]138095[/B][/I] Btu/gal Crude Oil
[I]http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/science/energy_calculator.html[/I]

[I][B]18676[/B][/I] Btu/lbs * [I][B]6.25[/B][/I] lbs/gal = [B]116725[/B] Btu/gal Gasoline
[I]http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs/fueltable.pdf[/I]

[B]0.155[/B] gal * [B]116725[/B] Btu/gal = [B]18092.38[/B] Btu Oil to produce 1 gal Gasoline

[B]18092.38[/B] Btu/gal / [B]138095[/B] Btu/gal = [B]0.131[/B] gal Oil to produce 1 gal Gasoline

[B]0.131[/B] gal * [I][B]20.2585[/B][/I] lbs CO2 / gal of oil burned = [B]2.6539[/B] lbs CO2 to produce 1 gal Gasoline
[I]http://www.afteroilev.com/docs/CO2_Emissions_from_Fuels.pdf[/I]

[I][B]19.2916[/B][/I] lbs CO2 combustion of 1 gal gasoline
[I]http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/co2.shtml[/I]

=

[B]21.9455[/B] lbs CO2 / gal “Well to Wheels emissions”

That’s [B]21.9455[/B] lbs CO2 emitted from refining and combustion of one gallon of gasoline.

2

Come on some one check my math… :smiley:

3

[QUOTE=SerpaDesigns;1765]Come on some one check my math… :D[/QUOTE]

i do enough math to make my head pop, i’ll take your word for it that using gas sucks… lol

4

[QUOTE=SerpaDesigns;1765]Come on some one check my math… :D[/QUOTE]

Looks close enough to call gasoline severely inefficient.

5

Have you come across any data regarding the energy required, in btu’s or some other quantifiable metric, for the process of getting the fuel from the ground to the refinery, say on a per gallon basis? Ultimately I want to determine how many gallons of gasoline it takes to get a gallon of gas into your tank from the “well to the wheel” (i like that one).

The other unknown (at least to me), is how much gas it takes to deliver a gallon of gas to the stations as an average in the US.

I’m trying to get a sense of the overall efficiency of the gasoline system we have so I can compare it to the overall efficiency of an electric based system.

6

[QUOTE=jimminy;2275]Have you come across any data regarding the energy required, in btu’s or some other quantifiable metric, for the process of getting the fuel from the ground to the refinery, say on a per gallon basis? Ultimately I want to determine how many gallons of gasoline it takes to get a gallon of gas into your tank from the “well to the wheel” (i like that one).

The other unknown (at least to me), is how much gas it takes to deliver a gallon of gas to the stations as an average in the US.

I’m trying to get a sense of the overall efficiency of the gasoline system we have so I can compare it to the overall efficiency of an electric based system.[/QUOTE]

No, actually, I did not take into account the delivery of the gasoline. For purposes of my website www.afteroilev.com the emissions of delivery of the fuel should be the same whether it be gasoline, diesel, ethanol, or any biofuel.

As for the extraction of oil, I would love to look into it and find out how much CO2, and therefore efficiency, it would render. As for comparisons to electricity, I always advocate the use of clean electricity and try not to argue for current techniques as it’s very hard to differentiate what part of your electricity “fuel” is from coal, methane, nuclear, hydro or wind. Since it’s “mixed” on the grid.

7

[QUOTE=SerpaDesigns;2372]As for comparisons to electricity, I always advocate the use of clean electricity and try not to argue for current techniques as it’s very hard to differentiate what part of your electricity “fuel” is from coal, methane, nuclear, hydro or wind. Since it’s “mixed” on the grid.[/QUOTE]

I spoke too soon, the February 2008 issue of the Electric Auto Association’s [I]Current EVents[/I] page 15 shows how much CO2 is emitted from different sources and the average makeup. It you’re not part of the EAA I suggest you become a member.

8

[quote=jimminy;2275]Have you come across any data regarding the energy required, in btu’s or some other quantifiable metric, for the process of getting the fuel from the ground to the refinery, say on a per gallon basis? Ultimately I want to determine how many gallons of gasoline it takes to get a gallon of gas into your tank from the “well to the wheel” (i like that one).

The other unknown (at least to me), is how much gas it takes to deliver a gallon of gas to the stations as an average in the US.

I’m trying to get a sense of the overall efficiency of the gasoline system we have so I can compare it to the overall efficiency of an electric based system.[/quote]

Lets not forget to factor in outright waste with underground tank seepage into our ground water, and the countless gallons dripped, evaporated and spilled everyday during filling and transfer.

[B]A few more in the Fuel-Chain:[/B]

-What about the carbon produced to supply the electricity used to run the station and the fuel pumps? I’d also include the oil used by employees to travel to work to run the station which delivers the fuel.

-Also the oil that goes into the engines and tires of those tanker trucks is up in there somewhere too.

-Lubricating fluids such as engine oil and transmission fluid should be considered in the delivery of fuel too.

-Everyone has to burn gas to drive to their local Jiffy Lube every 3K or so miles to get that oil changed.

-How much fuel is burned driving our IC’s into repair shops to fix, replace or maintain mechanical parts that would not exist on EV’s?

-How much fuel is used to manufacture and deliver these said parts to the repair shops?

[B]The number of oily teats grow exponentially the further you look into Pandora’s box!![/B]

Last time I checked…electricity doesn’t leak, spill or evaporate…although to be fair, idle discharge should be factored in against EV’s.

9

The refinery cost seems a little low. Not only do you have the energy cost of running the various pumps and valves, and heaters to boil off the gasoline vapors to seperate them from the bulk oil, but you also have the fact that gasoline is only a small percentage of crude, including fuel oil, butane, propane, etc. and a number of gasses that have no comercial use, and are burned at the stack, (and produce CO2). I have seen figures that show about 19gals gas/barrel of crude. Refineries are lit up like christmas trees at night, thats got to burn a lot also.

10

Give it Hell guys, Get mad, then go to it on your car!!!
Have you seen Who Killed the Electric Car? It is great to get you motovated!!!
new dawn, as in the dawning of a new era

11

I think we have to take some serious measures to reduce the co2 emission otherwise apocalypse will happen one day.

12

Many harmful effects of gasoline are due to individual chemicals in gasoline, mainly BTEX, that are present in small amounts. Breathing small amounts of gasoline vapors can lead to nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, confusion and breathing difficulties. Symptoms from swallowing small amounts of gasoline include mouth, throat and stomach irritation, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and headaches. Swallowing gasoline causes many accidental poisonings each year. Some effects of skin contact with gasoline include rashes, redness and swelling. Being exposed to large amounts of gasoline can lead to coma or death.

13

I think it is also worth nothing that on the whole a gasoline engine is only 20% efficient while an electric one is around 80% efficient. The more you look into gasoline v electric it really does seem to be a no brainer?

14

Please do not forget that while gasoline is dirty, so is the majority of the electric you use to charge your car. Most electricity comes from coal fired plants that belch toxins into the air. Nuclear is no better in my opinion as it’s toxic byproducts never go away and are never safe. Until renewable power sources such as wind & solar become the main producers of power it’s all dirty.

15

We had a huge solar spill on Sat… Luckily it was cloudy on Sun.! :slight_smile:

16

There are certainly some very interesting comments in the thread.

We recently published an article about health costs and potential savings by going green:-

Could healthcare savings fund government investment in electric vehicles

No fuel source will ever be “clean green” but the more you look into gasoline the more negative aspects emerge.

Regards,

Mark

17

Very good written information. It will be useful to anybody who employess it, but i would like to hearing more.

18

"It takes oil to make gasoline. In fact, the refining efficiency of one gallon of Gasoline (average) is 84.5%.
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs...ethanollca.pdf

which means it takes 0.115 gallons of oil to produce one gallon of refined gasoline."

Seems to me it takes 1.115 gallons NOT 0.115.

However math is not one of my strong points.