Schaub, 6:00
L01
Carly Nolan (cmn27@pitt.edu)
My name is Carly Nolan, it is 2020, and I am leading the
United States research team for alternative fuel. We have recently been advised that we are dangerously close to a national, and soon to be world-wide shortage of fossil fuels.
Currently, Americans alone are using about twenty million barrels of oil per day [1]. In 2006, it was estimated that there is about twelve hundred barrels of oil left in the worlds reserves [2]. This brings us very close to running out of oil completely, with no reserves for hundreds of thousands of years. I was presented with two options to solve this problem that I must contemplate ethically. I can either tap into untouched oil reserves that are protected by the United States for emergencies and implement conservation techniques to help conserve our natural resources, I can implement a higher percent usage of biofuel in gasoline, or eliminate the use of gasoline for the time being and completely replace it with biofuels.
I must first research how these forms of fuel are produced and also the effects of these forms of fuel on humanity and the environment, then I will choose the best form of fuel for us to use in this crisis. I will also consult the code of ethics of chemical engineers in order to solve this problem.
As of today, the most abundantly used fuel is fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels are defined as “depletable energy sources, such as oil, natural gas, and coal, which were formed organically millions of years ago” [3]. It “is the cheapest and most efficient method of getting energy” [1]. Although this fuel is quickly running out and is the main reason for this debate, it is unarguably the most efficient way to use energy. But are fossil fuels ethical to use as highly as we are using them now?
There is much debate rising about global warming in the world today. “Global warming refers to the increase in the earth’s average temperature that occurs naturally, or as theorized in recent years, is induced by human activity” [3].
It is thought that global warming is caused by an increase of emitted carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and chlorofuorocarbons [3]. Much of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is attributed to vehicles (eighty percent) [3].
These emissions are very harmful to the ozone layer, which keeps living organisms protected from harmful UV rays, and this accumulation of gasses in the atmosphere also causes a rise in the temperature of air and ocean water [3]. There are many problems associated with fossil fuels, and the greenhouse gas emission is only one of them.
Another part of this debate is the actual drilling for this oil. Drilling for fossil fuels could potentially destroy many habitats and severely damage the environment around the drilling. There is the possibility of a repeat of the BP oil spill in 2010. On April 20, 2010, an explosion on a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 13 people and spilled about 206 million gallons of oil before it was put to a stop in July [2]. A loss of natural resources to this extent again would be catastrophic to our already dwindling supply. With so many consequences, problems, and debates along with fossil fuels coming to light, many wonder why we have relied so heavily on it to begin with. How could something so potentially harmful to us and the environment be ethical?
The chemical engineering code of ethics states that the choice I make must “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public, and protect the environment…” [4].
Although fossil fuels have been utilized since anyone can remember, they are starting to potentially take a toll on the environment, hence, global warming, which will in turn take a toll on the safety of the public. In the long run, fossil fuels are not an ethical choice to make, it may be a logical choice to many, but it is not ethical.
It is not widely known that when the combustion engine was first invented, it actually ran on biofuels, like ethanol and biodiesel [5]. “Ethanol and biodiesel are renewable fuels, made from organic substances like corn, sugarcane, saw grass, palm oil, rapeseed or even animal fats” [1]. Ethanol and biodiesel are the most widely known alternative fuel, and that is for viable reason. It is easy to produce, inexpensive, and it works. Another way of producing biofuels is from recycled “post-harvest waste such as straw, wheat bran, empty corn husks or corn stalks, and wood waste” [6]. This bioethanol is produced using a strain of yeast that more efficiently breaks down the waste products. This yeastinduced bioethanol contributed to ten percent of the energy consumed in Flanders, Germany in 2011 [6]
Biofuels are already found in our gasoline that we get at the pump, and not just the E97 corn oil. On most pumps, a sticker lets us know that there is up to ten percent ethanol added to our fuel already. This means that somewhere between the disappearance of biodiesel after the first combustion engines and now, biofuels have made somewhat of a comeback. “Liquid biofuels have revived…to mitigate expected climate changes that are caused by massive fossil fuel use and to reduce concerns related to limited oil reserves”
[5]. Ethanol and biodiesel are only two of the many typed of biofuels that are being researched and soon to be available readily.
Another type of biofuel on the rise is called Brassica carinata. Brassica carinata is produced from a seed, much like how canola oil is produced The difference here is that canola is used for cooking, and brassica carinata seeds have been turned into crude oil and successfully used to fly a T-33 jet,
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
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Carly Nolan the Falcon 20 [7]. This fuel meets the “energy density” and the “psychical density” specifications for future military-type vehicles [7]. This means that this biofuel does not have problems in the cold as other biofuels do. Another good thing about this amazing seed is that it is not a food seed, it is not even grown in areas utilized for good crop production. [8].
This means that production of jet fuel from this seed will not overthrow production of this seed for food. It will also not compete with food crops for land, as it is raised in semiarid areas, keeping the competition and the prices low. Food crop and fuel crop can be completely separated in this case, which is a major complaint with regular biofuel production. Having a new, renewable jet fuel that can take over nonrenewable jet fuel can save millions of gallons of fossil fuels. It can also reduce the price of flying, and keep the environment cleaner.
Considering how many jets and planes of all shapes and sizes are in the air at every moment in time, this could seriously save much of the natural resources that are so close to being depleted until they can be naturally replenished in a few million years. Conversion from the brassica carinata seed to crude oil that can be then sent to a refinery to be turned into a substance that is almost indistinguishable from gasoline [9] is done in three minutes and costs only about ten cents a gallon
[7]. The biggest issue with research on brassica carinata is that it is mostly done with jet fuel. It has not been tested with everyday automobiles. This is one setback, but it is comforting to know that there is a biofuel that has been tested not being mixed with gasoline, and knowing that one way has been engineered to reduce the use of fossil fuels in at least one way.
With all of its plus sides, biofuels as a whole, and separately, have their downfalls. Many believe that burning biofuels will decrease the amount of carbon dioxide let into the air, helping to stop or to slow global warming. This in fact is not true. It is a common fact in chemistry that in any combustion reaction involving a molecule consisting of carbon and hydrogen that burns in oxygen, carbon dioxide is a product. Burning any type of fuel will release carbon dioxide into the air. “[R]enewable energy sources release the equal amount of [carbon dioxide] when burned” [5]. That is the main problem that is associated with all biofuels. They will leave a lesser carbon footprint than current gasoline because they do not release the same smog that traditional fossil fuels do. The major issue associated mainly with bioethanol, is that ethanol cannot be transported through pipelines because it is corrosive. Ethanol must be transported by vehicle, essentially cancelling out much of the good that ethanol use would bring to the world. Another issue with ethanol is that it only creates two thirds of the energy that traditional gasoline produces [10]. As with any new technology, biofuel has its flaws, but is it ethical?
According to the chemical engineering code of ethics stated by AIChE, “members shall hold in paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and protect the environment in performance of their professional duties” [4].
I believe that with biofuels, the safety, health and welfare of the public are protected. It does not create dangerous plants and refineries, there is no rigs, as there are with fossil fuels, that will explode and harm people or the environment in that way. There are no harmful emissions produced with this fuel, other than potentially carbon dioxide, that may jeopardize the environment. The code of ethics also states that engineers will “use their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare” [4]. Biofuels will definitely enhance human welfare. Because they are less expensive to produce and renewable, the price of gas will decrease, saving the public money and helping them to be more financially stable. Also, with most of the ingredients for biofuel being nonfood crops or waste from food crops, they will not take away from the amount of food available, and will not raise the price of corn, soy, and meat as some fuels have in the past. I believe that biofuels are a very ethical solution to the fuel shortage.
In making my decision, I must make a choice between what is logical, developed, but not ethical, and what is underdeveloped with great potential, but many flaws, and is ethical. I believe that there is no straight answer to this.
Because fossil fuels are so heavily relied on, and biofuels are not where they need to be to completely take over the role of fossil fuels, there cannot be an either-or to this situation. My choice is to combine both solutions. I will implement the use of both fuels in America, and I will advise to the rest of the world to do so also. I will combine the fossil fuels with biofuels in order to successfully achieve the amount of energy and power needed to keep the country running, but to help it run cleaner and more ethically. I will have one hundred percent biofuel readily available at gas pumps, and the normal gas will have fifty to sixty percent ethanol now instead of eight to ten percent. I will conduct test flights with the brassica carinata fuel to ensure its safety, then begin using that in airplanes and military vehicles in order to preserve what we currently have.
In order to make sure that this biofuel is being made correctly, I will train new alternative fuel researchers and developers through Rob Adams, Franz Hofmann, Bill
McGlinchey, Richard Nelson, and Jenna Higgins, alternative fuel research trainers for AFVtraining.net [11]. These men and women are specialists in their field and can help to train the correct development techniques to the many people involved with creating a new fuel source, such as researchers, farmers, refinery workers, people associated with the delivery of the fuel, and any others involved in the process along the way.
I will also implement conservation techniques in order to save as much of our fossil fuels as I can. I will do everything in my power to keep the world with the power and energy that it needs to keep running the way that it needs to.
I believe that my decision combines both the logical side of keeping fossil fuels with the ethical side of switching to alternative fuel sources. I hope to continue to fund and grow
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Carly Nolan the research being made on alternative fuel and hope to one day be able to completely replace fossil fuels to help create a cleaner, less expensive, and healthier environment for
Americans to live in.
I would like to thank my roommates, Abigail Kulhanek and
Jen Clay, for keeping me on task to write this paper. I would also like to thank my floor mates, for keeping things quiet for me as I finished writing.
[1] J. Bowman and M. Griswold, "Counterpoint:
Alternative Energy Won't Solve All the Demands of
World Energy Consumption," Points of View, 2013.
[2] M. L. Issitt and T. Warhol, "Alternative Energy
Exploration: An Overview," Points of View:
Alternative Energy Exploration, 2013.
[3] S. Driscoll, "Global Warming: An Overview," Points of View, 2013.
[4] "Code of Ethics," 2013. [Online]. Available: www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics. [Accessed 24 10
2013].
[5] R. Fink and S. Medved, "Global Perspectives on First
Generation Liquid Biofuel Production," Turkish
Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, vol. 35, no. 5, pp.
453-459, 2011.
[6] "Yeast strain developed for efficient biofuel production from waste biomass," Industrial
Processing, 6 September 2013.
[7] R. Yakey, "Local Firm Using Seeds for Biofuel for
Jets," The News Herald, 9 10 2012.
[8] "Tests of Aviation Jet Biofuel to Start," UPI News
Track, 30 4 2012.
[9] H. Les, "Carinata: Valuable Biofuel Potential for
Florida Farmers," Southeast Farm Press, 17 August
2013.
[10] "Using engineered E. coli to produce fatty acids for biofuel production," Industrial Bioprocessing, 19 July
2013.
[11] "Alternative fuel experts join training network," Fleet owner, 20 June 2013.
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