Alternative Fuels in Automotive Industry: A Management Report

This report discusses the benefits of using alternative fuels in the automotive industry, highlighting their potential to reduce pollution, mitigate global warming, and offer economic advantages. It covers various types of alternative fuels, including biodiesel, ethanol, methanol, and hydrogen, and examines vehicles powered by these fuels, such as electric, solar, and hybrid vehicles. The report also explores the convenience and technological advancements associated with alternative fuel vehicles, such as wireless charging and advanced driver-assistance systems. Furthermore, it touches upon the development of connected cars and the importance of government involvement in promoting the adoption of alternative fuels. The report concludes that the future of automobiles looks promising with the evolution of connected cars and the use of alternative fuels, leading to cleaner, safer, and more efficient driving. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Communication in Automotive Industry
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Date: May 24, 2019
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Subject: Benefits of Vehicles Using Alternative Fuels.
Alternative fuels are known as the advanced and the non conventional fuels used in place of the
conventional fuels. Alternative fuels are found to be producing less emission that contributes to
air pollution, smog and global warming. In other words, alternative fuels represent sustainable
forms of the energy and are not derived from the petroleum. They mostly include biofuels,
alcohols, propane and natural gas. They primarily represent the solid, liquid or the gas biofuels
acquired from the vegetable oil, biomass or from the agricultural food crops.
Alternative fuel is expected to be economical, supplying a gain in energy, beneficial to
environment and delivering limited impacts. The alternative fuels commonly used across the
world include biodiesel, ethanol, and methanol. Also known as ethyl alcohol, ethanol represents
colorless liquid alcohols that are less dense. Biodiesel on the other hand refers to carbon neutral
fuel and is a mixture of the methyl esters and fatty acid. Methanol is liquefied methane which is
also a natural hydrocarbon produced through decomposition.
In present times, alternative fuels for the automobiles presently became a topic of growing
importance and interest. According to October 2013 data, there has been a sale of 34 million
flexible fuel vehicles and close to over 9 million hybrid electric vehicles. Production wise there
has been a production of close to 17.8 million vehicles made of natural gas and 17.5 million
vehicles have been powered by the Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG).

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It is to be noted that vehicles using alternative fuel are known as the alternative fuel vehicle since
they are powered by fuel other than petrol or diesel. Such vehicles are either electric powered,
solar powered or hybrid vehicles. Some of the benefits for the vehicles using alternative fuels are
as follows:
1. Vehicles Using Alternative Fuels do not have a Chance of Running Out: It is believed that
traditional fuels like petroleum would get depleted given the fact that the fuels are not renewable
and there would be a day when the demand for the fuels would be higher compared to supply
thereby leading to a world crisis. Non environmentalist have also put forward that most of the
oil fields across the world have been associated with problems both economic and political.
Presence of alternative fuels would not only reduce the conflict and unrest that results from the
dependence on the fuel supply of specific countries.
2. Vehicles Using Alternative Fuel Can Reduce Pollution: The use of the alternative fuels helps
in reducing the harmful emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and
emissions related to production of Ozone.
3. These Vehicles Protect Against the Global Warming: It has been found that burning of fossil
fuels causes the temperature to rise in the atmosphere of the earth thereby leading to global
warming. Although the aspect of global warming has been restricted to theory there has been a
belief that discovery of cleaner sources of burning fuel acts as a crucial step towards enhancing
the environmental quality.
4. Using These Vehicles Helps in Saving Money: Alternative fuels are lower priced not in
relation to the fuel itself but also in terms of having long service life which implies saving for
the future.

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5. Vehicles Using Alternative Fuels Suits Any Lifestyle: It is to be noted that people are
different since every person have their own opinions, requirements and preferences. The great
thing in regard to the alternative fuel and corresponding vehicle is that there exists something for
suiting each lifestyle.
6. These Vehicles have Easy Availability of Fuels: This is because alternative fuels are
domestically developed by using the resources of the country thereby strengthening economy.
7. Vehicles Driven by Alternative Fuel are Economical: Vehicles driven on the hydrogen fuel
cells have been more economical in comparison to gasoline vehicle.
8. These Vehicles Provides More Convenience: Most of these cars allow wireless charging
thereby making the alternative fuel cars increasingly convenient. For instance, automaker Nissan
displayed a technology with parking assist system that mechanically guided the vehicle to the
parking spot or the docking station. The driver simply needs to presses the button or utter a
command thereby releasing control over wheel while the vehicle is responsible for taking care of
the rest of the functions. The driver can turn the car off once it is parked and there is no
requirement of plugs or gas stations. What is required is a lower cost electricity and sufficient
gas in tank whenever an individual is travelling with the car.
These cars also have increased number of onboard sensors that provides the cars and ability of
tackling most challenging tasks related to driving that includes modification of the speed of
cruise for suiting the real time traffic situations, parking and emergency stopping. These cars are
also available with advanced GPS navigation and driver assistance systems and hence one can
look forward to a time when driving would become completely ‘hands free’.

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Nevertheless, the emergence of the alternative fuels led to the development of connected car
characterized by the seamless communication of automobile with sensor onboard system that
decrease the expanded time in traffic, prevented accident and connected the occupants to web
through on board and mobile devices.
Some of the alternative fuel car with single fuel sources is as follows:
Solar: Solar car remains powered by the solar energy from the solar panels present in car. It is
basically an electrical vehicle and is primarily used for racing in the competitions.
Air Engine: It refers to emission free piston engine utilizing the compressed air as the energy
source. The pistons of the modified engine can be driven through expansion of the compressed
air. The effectiveness of the operation was achieved the through the utilization of the
environmental heat at a regularized temperature for warming the expanded air. There was a
unique crank design within the engine.
Battery Electric: They are electric vehicles whose energy storage lies in the chemical energy of
the batteries. These vehicles create no emissions at operation spot. These vehicles take the
electric energy for propelling the motors.
Biofuels: Biodiesel and Ethanol serves as the major biofuel created from the bioenergy. Ethanol
is developed from the sugar cane in the other tropical countries and Brazil and usually from the
crops such as corn and Soya bean in United States. Biodiesel is however derived from the
vegetable oils and is utilized in diesel run automobiles devoid of the modification.

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Compressed biogas is used for the Internal Combustion Engines after the purification of the raw
gas. The usage of the biogas remains interesting for the climates where the heat waste produced
by the biogas powered power plant finds an application in course of summer.
Gasoline comprises close to 10 percent of the ethanol and is used in the modernized autos.
Higher mixtures of the ethanol have been found to be utilized in the Flexi Fuel Vehicles.
Hydrogen: Cars fuelled by hydrogen seems to be a distant dream as hydrogen is available in its
purest form.
Propane: Also known as the liquefied petroleum gas it represents a fossil fuel available in
abundance domestically and produces lesser harmful air pollutant and greenhouse gas. Usage of
propane as an alternative fuel not only provides convenience but also enhances the energy
security, improves public health and environment thereby offering performance benefits.
However, with respect to the fleet applications Propane seems lesser expensive in comparison to
gasoline and provided driving range compared to the traditional fuel.
Natural gas: This alternative fuel is used 20 percent in the buses and various converted vehicles.
It is considered to be a great fuel owing to the availability and also results in cleaner burning.
Some of the alternative fuel car with multiple fuel sources is as follows:
Hybrid: This vehicle uses multiple propulsion system for delivering power. The gasoline
powered electric hybrid vehicle is one of the well known hybrid vehicles that utilize the gasoline
and the electric batteries for utilization of energy for running the electric motors.
Flexible Fuel: This represents a dual fuel vehicle which is also a lighter duty truck or an
automobile with alternative fuel possessing multi-fuel engine that had more than single fuel

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mixed and blended into same tank and burned in combustion chamber. They are also known as
the flexible fuel vehicle (FFV). They are in fact unique bi-fuel vehicles having storage of the two
fuels in different tanks.
The future of the automobiles seems brighter with the evolution of the connected car in presence
of the alternative fuels. These cars not only result in cleaner but also safer and efficient driving.
Government involvement is necessary for ensuring that connected cars get on road. There should
also be building of newer infrastructure for such cars. Roads and parking spaces would also
require suitable sensors for the monitoring of the motorways that required the dedicated lanes.
These cars would also represent the fuel saving automotives on the motorways.

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References:
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