Is EV or Fuel Cell technology a viable alternative for Semi-Trucks?

Question

Within 20 years, large amounts of oil will be hard to come by and very expensive. Most people are saying that EV and hydrogen fuel cell technology will replace our gasoline engines in are cars, but, what about Semi-Trucks? They are much more important to our current society than personal transportation.

Too me, it seems you would need MASSIVE batteries to pull trailers, not counting refrigeration. I don't know if fuel cells could produce the power needed, but you would also need very large amounts of compressed hydrogen.

What do you guys think?

Answer 1

I currently run Bio Fuel (straight vegetable) in a 1999 Dodge 3500 truck. But all Cummins engines were modified from the factory to run on BioD since around 1992 without any modification.

Biofuel is recognized by both the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy as an alternative fuel, and qualifies for mandated programs under the Clean Air Act Amendments and the Environmental Protection Act of 1992 (EPAct).

USDA Clears Air with Biofuel: Buses and other diesel-burning vehicles run cleaner if they mix biofuel with regular diesel fuel, said the US Department of Agriculture at a biofuel fuel seminar at a USDA research center.

Conversely most major automotive manufacturers (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, etc) recommend the use of bio fuels, and nearly every car manufacturer in the world approves ethanol blends in their warranty coverage.

In fact your probably even driving an ethanol car and didn't even know it.

The trick is finding fuel.

I've been producing biofuel for about 3 years now, it's not extremely difficult. Basically you need general household ingredients, a processor (or still for ethanol) and some used oil. Blend it, let separate, screen and use. I complied a guide a while back to help walk you threw the process step by step, just email me or check out..

http://www.agua-luna.com/guides.html

• 1 liter of new vegetable oil, whatever the supermarket sells as cooking oil

• 200 ml of methanol, 99+% pure

• lye catalyst -- either potassium hydroxide (KOH) or sodium hydroxide (NaOH)

• blender or mini-processor

• scales accurate to 0.1 grams, preferably less -- 0.01 grams is best

• measuring beakers for methanol and oil

• half-liter translucent white HDPE (#2 plastic) container with bung and s***w-on cap

• 2 funnels to fit the HDPE container

• 2-litre PET bottle (water or soft-drinks bottle) for settling

• two 2-litre PET bottles for washing

• duct tape

• thermometer

Use the "Methoxide the easy way" method -- it's also the safe way. Here's how to do it.

Measure out 200 ml of methanol and pour it into the half-liter HDPE container via the funnel. Methanol also absorbs water from the atmosphere so do it quickly and replace the lid of the methanol container tightly. Don't be too frightened of methanol, if you're working at ordinary room temperature and you keep it at arm's length you won't be exposed to dangerous fumes.

Carefully add the lye to the HDPE container via the second funnel. Replace the bung and the s***w on the cap tightly.

Shake the container a few times -- swirl it round rather than shaking it up and down. The mixture gets hot from the reaction. If you swirl it thoroughly for a minute or so five or six times over a period of time the lye will completely dissolve in the methanol, forming sodium methoxide or potassium methoxide. As soon as the liquid is clear with no undissolved particles you can begin the process.

The more you swirl the container the faster the lye will dissolve. With NaOH it can take from overnight to a few hours to as little as half-an-hour with lots of swirling (but don't be impatient, wait for ALL the lye to dissolve). Mixing KOH is much faster, it dissolves in the methanol more easily than NaOH and can be ready for use in 10 minutes.

Using a blender. Use a spare blender you don't need or get a cheap secondhand one -- cheap because it might not last very long, but it will get you going until you build something better.

Check that the blender seals are in good order. Make sure all parts of the blender are clean and dry and that the blender components are tightly fitted.

Pre-heat the oil to 55 deg C (130 deg F) and pour it into the blender.

With the blender still switched off, carefully pour the prepared methoxide from the HDPE container into the oil.

Secure the blender lid tightly and switch on. Lower speeds should be enough. Blend for at least 20 minutes.

Using a mini-processor. Follow the instructions below and improvise where necessary -- there are many ways of building a processor like this.

Proceed with processing as above, maintain temperature at 55 deg C (130 deg F), process for one hour.

www AGUA-LUNA com

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:  

Answer 2

At this point in time and even in the next ten years hydrogen will not power trucks, to dangerous would not meet even current DMV regulation and the amount needed to haul 40 tons would cause the rig to use large amounts of fuel. As well We would need to convert current truck stops to hold hydrogen and the fear that hydrogen brings is going to be hard to overcome, think of the hydrogen bomb? The fuel system would have to be bullet proof, hydrogen cars have been around since the 1960's BMW has a fleet of them but all fueling systems are computer operated and robot operated and used with credit cards.Now emagine a car running into a fuel pump bib bag right? yep now imagine a truck out of control for whatever reason hitting a hydrogen fueling station which would have to be pressurized like propane, figure the average diesel truck carries 500 gallons of fuel with the ctane rating of hydrogen it would be at least 30% more and imagine what it would take to keep it from leaking?  Ev will be hard too where are we going to get the energy to charge all those batteries? Coal fired power plants? or Nuke plants? and the poison of the batteries is far worse than anything a gas engine puts out. However if nano technology evolves and we are able to build batteries that can hold a charge are kill the heat produced we might have a chance. I have worked on photocell since the Early 70's and it has not improved to this day in making electric energy so what do we do.We will have to go to Nuke energy or start walking. The power that is arrieved by burning diesel or JP4 jet fuel is goingto be hard to replace unless we all start flying small planes.

   So unless a magical sorce comes up we are going to be in trouble. we could build cars that run on the gas thats at the bottom of the ocean and some lakes but again people are afraid of what might happen, we could use wave technology to generate electricy but people are afriad of that so what we have to do is pour money into science and shut up the nay sayers and use all the things we have avalible to us to develope the resorces we need. IF we had replacators like on star trek problem solved bu I am sure somebody is going to complain that it takes to many protons out of the universe to use. Anyone else have some ideals than mine I'd like to here a different opinion.

Answer 3

i think the next step in the evolution of big rigs is going to be hybrid technology like the diesel electric locomotives. this will reduce the amount of fuel required to run a diesel engine since it would only run an electric generator and perhaps an a/c unit to keep the cab cool, while using electric motors at the wheels for motive power. it would also introduce dynamic braking technology to the big rigs reducing the load on hydraulic brakes. in the far future, a pure electric big rig is possible depending on battery technology at the time.

Answer 4

Hydrogen would be doable (though you'd need bigger fuel tanks although the superior efficiency of fuel cells would offset that somewhat) although batteries probably aren't viable for the distances trucks tend to travel (although hybrid trucks might be a worthwhile improvement, at the very least dynamic braking annoys residents less than compression braking and fuel cells would need a buffer due to their somewhat slow response).

Electric motors also have the advantage of providing full torque at zero rpm which would help with towing heavy loads (fuel cells won't have a problem producing the power needed to propel a truck)).

Transferring freight onto electrified rail is probably the easiest way to get freight carried by an EV, rail is more efficient for moving large amounts of goods anyway so replacing trucks with trains on the busiest routes would probably be a good idea (even if you don't electrify).

Answer 5

Actually...

Fuel cells are cheaper and more efficient per hp on a large scale (trucks) than for personal vehicles.

Also large vehicles offer more possibilities to store hydrogen.

Refrigeration can be solved by loading "phase change materials" (PCM) which can absorb a lot of energy by changing their phase.

Now the real problem if we really run out of oil (or if the demand by far exceeds the supply), is to produce the energy to create this hydrogen.

We are in a search for an affordable and clean source of energy. Moreover this energy would have to be transformed and used in an efficient manner in order not to make the price for using it (cost per mile) skyrocket.

Answer 6

Hi,

A fuel cell deffinately.

EV probably not.

Biodiesel would be the best for this purpose.

I hope that helps!