Gac04 Final Project
April 16 homework solutions
ME 496ALT, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2009
Page 1
1. Problem 7.2 in text. Estimate the rate at which energy flows from a gasoline pump to a motor vehicle during a “fill-up”. Express your answer in kW. If this rate of energy delivery were electric power, roughly how many people would it serve assuming a typical US residential community? Assume: the HHV of 1 gallon of gasoline is 145,000 Btu; 5 minutes for filling up a 16 gallon tank; and a 1 GW(e) electrical plant serves a residential community of one million people.
The flow rate required to fill a 16-gallon tank in 5 minutes is 3.2 gallons per minute. If each gallon has an energy content of 145,000 Btu, the energy rate is (3.2 gallons per minute)(145,000 …show more content…
This area fraction may seem sustainable, but the energy requirements for obtaining this wood and transporting it to power plants would overwhelm the gains obtained by using this energy source. Also, note that this is the high end. The low end of the growth range would require 4% of the forested land for this purpose. 5. The December 17, 2007 issue of Chemical and Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society had a cover story that pitted two experts who disagree on the benefits of fuel ethanol. Read the article at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/85/8551cover.html and write a short paper
(one to two pages) that tells which point of view you agree with and why. You can also pick a middle ground, agreeing with parts of one argument and parts of another; of course, you also have to give your reasons in this case as well.
As usual, there is no “right” answer to the essay question. I find it difficult to analyze the different arguments because each person seems to have a good argument when you read only one in isolation. If you and I have difficulty understanding these arguments, how does a policy-maker who does not have technical training decide if biofuels are a good or bad
ME 496ALT, L. S. Caretto, Spring 2009
Page 1
1. Problem 7.2 in text. Estimate the rate at which energy flows from a gasoline pump to a motor vehicle during a “fill-up”. Express your answer in kW. If this rate of energy delivery were electric power, roughly how many people would it serve assuming a typical US residential community? Assume: the HHV of 1 gallon of gasoline is 145,000 Btu; 5 minutes for filling up a 16 gallon tank; and a 1 GW(e) electrical plant serves a residential community of one million people.
The flow rate required to fill a 16-gallon tank in 5 minutes is 3.2 gallons per minute. If each gallon has an energy content of 145,000 Btu, the energy rate is (3.2 gallons per minute)(145,000 …show more content…
This area fraction may seem sustainable, but the energy requirements for obtaining this wood and transporting it to power plants would overwhelm the gains obtained by using this energy source. Also, note that this is the high end. The low end of the growth range would require 4% of the forested land for this purpose. 5. The December 17, 2007 issue of Chemical and Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society had a cover story that pitted two experts who disagree on the benefits of fuel ethanol. Read the article at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/85/8551cover.html and write a short paper
(one to two pages) that tells which point of view you agree with and why. You can also pick a middle ground, agreeing with parts of one argument and parts of another; of course, you also have to give your reasons in this case as well.
As usual, there is no “right” answer to the essay question. I find it difficult to analyze the different arguments because each person seems to have a good argument when you read only one in isolation. If you and I have difficulty understanding these arguments, how does a policy-maker who does not have technical training decide if biofuels are a good or bad