The Advantages and Disadvantages of Petrol, Diesel, LPG and Lithium Ion Batteries

PETROL Petrol, or gasoline, is a liquid mixture created form crude oil. It is made up of hydrocarbons and isooctane. It is a fuel most commonly used in internal combustion engines. Advantages

Relatively concentrated and you can travel many hundred km with one full tank of petrol It is highly available It is fairly cheap It is not difficult to make - it just has to be distilled and no waste is produced It is easy to carry around It is fairly safe to store Disadvantages

The supply of petrol is decreasing and we will one day run out of it Because of the high demand and decreasing supply, the price of petrol is increasing. It greatly affects the environment as carbon is produced when petrol is burned. Petrol can be much better used to create other products like plastics and chemicals Wars and international disputes have formed from petrol Petrol has an energy density of about 34.6 MJ/L. There are many different blends of petrol and energy density can vary. The difference is about 4%. Petrol is currently highly available and cars can be filled up with petrol at service stations all over cities. However, our oil reserves are depleting and we are nearly at the point where we are consuming more petrol than we are finding. Burning 100L of petrol emits about 250kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) LPG has many uses; from heating to vehicles. It is made up of hydrocarbon gases. When used for vehicles, LPG is a mixture of propane and butane (this is called autogas). When compressed, it turns into liquid form. 1L of LPG liquid is equivalent to 270L of LPG vapour. Advantages

LPG is cheaper than petrol (up to 50%) It produces less exhaust emissions than petrol It is better for the engine and it can prolong engine life In some vehicles, it can provide better performance Has a higher octane rating than petrol (108 compared to 91) Disadvantages

It isn't highly available The initial cost for converting your vehicle to LPG can cost up to $3000. However the average car can repay the cost of the conversion in about 2 years It has a lower energy density than petrol No new passenger cars come readily fitted with LPG (they have to be converted) The gas tank takes up a considerable amount of space in the car boot Liquid LPG (autogas with 60% propane and 40% butane) has an energy density of about 26.8MJ/L. LPG is not as available as petrol and diesel, but can be found at 45% of service stations in Australia(there are 3200 outlets). LPG in Australia is mainly refined locally. Burning 100L of LPG emits about 160kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. PETROLEUM DIESEL Like petrol, petroleum diesel (or diesel fuel), is made from crude oil and is a hydrocarbon mixture. Diesel is made from the fractional distillation of oil. It is denser and heavier than petrol. Diesel can only be used in diesel engines. Advantages

Has a very high energy density Greater fuel economy than petrol - up to 20-30% New forms of diesel have been developed; modern diesel is much cleaner, quieter and more efficient than they were previously. Better performance; faster acceleration In diesel engines, it has the power to pull larger and heavier loads Highly available in Australia Disadvantages

Diesel produces more carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide than petrol does Diesel cars emit more particles of soot into the air. This contributes to smog and health issues like asthma and lung cancer

The initial cost of buying a diesel car is more than a normal car running on petrol Diesel is slightly more expensive than petrol Diesel has an energy density of about 38.6MJ/L. Diesel is highly available in Australia and can be found at any service staion that sells petrol as well. However, in other countries like America, diesel is only available at truck stops and 30% of service stations as they have less diesel vehicles in use. Burning 100L of diesel emits about 270kg of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Compared to petrol, it may emit more carbon dioxide but it has much greater fuel efficiency and more kilometres per litre. LITHIUM-ION POLYMER BATTERIES Lithium-ion polymer batteries (or Li-Poly) are rechargeable battery packs that have evolved from Lithium-ion batteries. They are already in use in portable devices and the technology is already there for its use in electric cars. Advantages

They are much cleaner than petrol and diesel vehicles, especially if they are recharged with renewable energy. Cars with these batteries can be carbon neutral Li-Poly batteries are very energy efficient They provide enough distance per recharge for the average person to drive around a city Li-poly batteries can be easily recharged at home or at recharging stations They are 20% lighter, more robust and more efficient than other battery technologies like lithiumion and NiMH (used in the original EV1) Disadvantages

They are still fairly expensive to manufacture. They are usually the most expensive part of an electric car. However, prices of rechargeable batteries are rapidly decreasing The lifespan of the battery is currently only 2-3 years. However, technology is always developing and this is sure to increase There may not be enough infrastructure, like public recharging stations for electric cars Li-Poly batteries have an energy density of 300Wh/L or 0.72MJ/L. The more batteries you have, the more energy you get. This can be compared to Lithium-ion batteries' energy density of 270Wh/L or 0.58Wh/kg. Li-Poly batteries are currently not commercially available. However, vehicles like the Hyundai-Kia hybrid are currently being developed with these batteries and will be mass produced in 2009.

Li-Poly batteries can be carbon neutral if they are recharged with renewable energy. If they are recharged from coal-powered energy, they will have a bigger ecological footprint and the emissions depend on how much energy is used.

Advantages and disadvantages between two stroke and four stroke engines
Advantages Two stroke 1. High power to weight ratio 2. Less number of stroke per circle 3. Less moving parts eg no valve mechanism 4. High speed engine due to less moving parts 5. Low service and overhaul cost due to less number of parts

Four stroke 1. More torque even at idling speed 2. No scavenging problems 3. No fresh mixture escaping with exhaust gases

Disadvantages Two stroke 1. Scavenging problem 2. Fresh mixture is escaping with exhaust gases during exhaust stroke 3. Non stable at idling speed Four stroke 1. Low power to weight ratio 2. More moving parts,not suitable for high speed 3. More number of stroke per circle

4. High service and overhaul cost due to more parts

About diesel and petrol

Petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons and enhanced with aromatic hydrocarbons toluene, benzene or iso-octane to increase octane ratings, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines. Diesel is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum fuel oil or a washed form of vegetable oilthat is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel.

Production of petrol vs diesel

Petroleum is refined to produce petrol and diesel. Fractional Distillation process is used on petroleum and at varioustemperatures, different by products are formed from it. Petrol and diesel both are derived at varying temperatures during refining process. Petrol is produced at temperature between 35 degrees to 200 degrees while diesel is produced at a boiling point of 250-350 degrees. After distillation, in order to use these byproducts as commercially acceptable petrol and diesel, some blending with other elements has to be done. Petrol is produced first in this process as it is produced at a lower temperature than diesel.

Chemical composition
Diesel is composed of about 75% saturated hydrocarbons (primarily paraffins including n, iso, and cycloparaffins), and 25% aromatic hydrocarbons (including naphthalenes and alkylbenzenes). The average chemical formula for common diesel fuel is C12H23, ranging from approx. C10H20 to C15H28. Petrol consists of hydrocarbons with between 5 and 12 carbon atoms per molecule but then it is blended for various uses. Overall a typical petrol sample is predominantly a mixture of paraffins (alkanes), naphthenes (cycloalkanes), aromatics and olefins (alkenes). The ratios vary based on a variety of factors.

Volatility of petrol vs diesel

Petrol is more volatile than diesel, not only because of the base constituents, but because of the additives that are put into it.

Energy Content of petrol vs diesel

Gasoline contains about 34.6 megajoules per litre (MJ/l)while diesel contains about 38.6 megajoules per litre. This gives a higher power to diesel.

Global consumption of petrol vs diesel

The U.S. used about 510 billion litres (138 billion gallons) of petrol (called "gas") in 2006, of which 5.6% was mid-grade and 9.5% was premium grade. The U.S. annual consumption of diesel in 2006 was about 190 billion litres (42 billion imperial gallons or 50 billion US gallons).

Uses of petrol and diesel

Diesel is used to run diesel engines that are used in cars, trucks, motorbikes etc. Some varieties of diesel are also used in running heating systems in houses. Bad quality (high sulfur) diesel fuel has been used as a palladium extraction agent for the liquid-liquid extraction of this metal from nitric acid mixtures. Petrol is primarily used to run petrol engines in cars, motorbikes etc. Paraffin, another byproduct of crude oil produced at 190-250 degrees is used as airline fuel.

Cost of petrol vs diesel

In countries like India, diesel is subsidized because it is heavily used for transportation. There is almost a Rs.30 difference between petrol and diesel prices in India. In the international markets both are almost equally priced. In the US, petrol was priced at $3/gallon in December 2007, diesel was priced at $3.39/gallon.

Energy Efficiency
When discussed in terms of motor fuel, diesel is said to be more fuel effecient, giving almost 1.5 times the fuel efficiency of petrol.