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Revision as of 15:02, 29 March 2008

Infrastructure investment and public policy set the stage for decisions made in the marketplace about which resources to use and how to use them. These decisions have life cycle implications from resource use through end of life.

This is a five year project initiated in 2006 by the Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and sponsored by the NSF MUSES program to examine material use, infrastructure change and environmental impacts for alternative fuels and vehicles.

Background

The Green Design Institute received a grant from the National Science Foundation as part of the Materials Use: Science, Engineering, and Society (MUSES) program to analyze infrastructure requirements and best technologies for a future of sustainable alternative fuels. The adoption of any alternative fuel requires changes throughout the supply chain. Even a liquid fuel such as ethanol, that is compatible with current infrastructure, can induce dramatic changes. Proper accounting of infrastructure requirements, technology capabilities, policy incentives, and likely market responses is critical to a complete analysis of material flows and environmental impacts for a transition to sustainable infrastructure. We are exploring different infrastructure options by creating scenarios for each alternative fuel and light duty vehicle option of interest. Results from this work will suggest the most promising alternatives based on multifaceted criteria considering environmental, social, and economic issues.

Approach

We use the concept of industrial ecology as our system-wide approach to analyzing the body of issues related to material flows. We conduct hybrid life cycle assessment involving both detailed process-level environmental data as well as economy-wide supply chain environmental impacts to assess the implications of infrastructure needed to produce and distribute alternative fuels. We also draw on engineering simulations and econometric models of consumer choice to predict attributes of alternative fuel vehicles and market responses to those attributes.

Scenarios

Some of the scenarios that we are examining include

• next generation gasoline electric hybrids improved from the current commercial versions;
• next generation gasoline electric hybrids with a recharging, plug-in capability;
• ethanol-fueled light duty vehicles, with infrastructure to refine and transport biomass-based ethanol;
• hydrogen vehicles relying upon either domestic or imported liquid natural gas supplies;
• oil sands fuels, primarily for diesel engines; and
• bio-diesel fuel.

References

• Graedel, T. E., and B. R. Allenby, Industrial Ecology, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2nd edition, 2003.
• The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R&D Needs. National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2004.
• Morrow, W. R., W. M. Griffin, and H. S. Matthews. “Modeling switchgrass derived cellulosic ethanol distribution in the United States.” Environmental Science and Technology. Vol 40(9), 2006. pp. 2877- 2886.
• Hendrickson, C.T., L.B. Lave, H.S. Matthews, J. Bergerson, G. Cicas, A. Horvath, S. Joshi, H.L. MacLean, D. Matthews and F.C. McMichael, “Environmental life cycle assessment of goods and services: an input-output approach,” Resources for the Future, 2006.
• MacLean, H. L.; Lave, L. B., “Life cycle assessment of automobile/fuel options.” Environmental Science & Technology 2003, 37, 5445-5452
• Michalek, J.J., P.Y. Papalambros and S.J. Skerlos (2004) "A study of fuel efficiency and emission policy impact on optimal vehicle design decisions," Journal of Mechanical Design, 126(6): 1062-1070.

Members

Faculty

• W. Michael Griffin, Tepper School of Business
• Chris Hendrickson, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Lester Lave, Tepper School of Business, Engineering and Public Policy
• H. Scott Matthews, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy
• Jeremy J. Michalek, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy

Students

• Paulina Jaramillo, Doctoral Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Matthew Lawrence Kocoloski, Doctoral Student, Engineering and Public Policy
• Aweewan Mangmeechai, Doctoral Student, Engineering and Public Policy
• Constantine Samaras, Doctoral Student, Engineering and Public Policy
• Ching-Shin (Norman) Shiau, Doctoral Student, Mechanical Engineering
• Heather Wakeley, Doctoral Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Seminar Schedule

MUSES seminars will be held biweekly on Wednesdays from 10-11am in Scaife Hall 206. Current presentation schedule for the Winter semester, 2008.

Contact

For more information, contact H. Scott Matthews (412) 268-2940 hsm@cmu.edu

Links

• Summary