How green are electric car batteries - Research Paper Example

? How green are electric car batteries Introduction Cars have been an important medium of transport right from the time the first vehicles of communication were invented by man. Cars can be powered by petrol (gasoline), diesel or even electric batteries. While gasoline and diesel are the more conventional forms of transport fuel, the concept of electric batteries is more modern. Transport vehicles running on electric batteries have been prevalent from the initial part of the 19th century and many people believe that in the near future, battery powered electric cars will be more popular than those driven by the power of internal combustion engines (Lampton, 2011). However, this trend is yet to be noticed as most of the vehicles in this 21st century are still powered by traditional fuels; electric cars are yet to become popular among the masses. The Electric Battery An electric car along with all its accessories is powered by its battery. The electric battery drives a controller which is used to run the main electric motor of the car. Cars driven by gasoline and diesel also have batteries, but they are mainly used to start the engine of the vehicle and also power some of its accessories like the radio, television or the air-conditioner. Just like fuel-driven cars need to be reloaded, once they are exhausted of their fuel reserves, the electric car batteries are required to be recharged when they are depleted of their initial power. Therefore, electric batteries need to be strong and enduring in terms of their power and longevity. Till recently, battery manufacturers were yet to invent dependable electric batteries that could bring electric vehicles at par with the fuel-driven cars. However, the production of electric cars have become more affordable in recent times and the main automobile manufacturers are expected to produce such electric cars on a large scale (Lampton, 2011). First Automobile powered by a Battery In 1873, R. Davidson of Edinburgh showed that a road vehicle could be driven by an electric battery. He experimented by driving a four-wheeler truck powered by a primary battery made of iron/zinc. After this, in 1881, G. Trouve of France constructed a tricyle, weighing 160 kilograms (350 pounds), which became the first vehicle to be driven with the help of a “secondary Plante battery”. Trouve utilized two customized Siemens motors to drive a huge propelling wheel with the help of two chains which in turn drove the tricycle. The Plante battery helped the motors to develop the strength of 1/10 horsepower which enabled the tricycle to move at a speed of 12 kilometres per hour (7 miles per hour). Later, Trouve demonstrated that electric batteries could be used to drive other forms of vehicles too. During the same year, he experimented by operating a motor boat on the river Sienne which was powered by electric batteries. In the following year (1882), Professors William Ayrton and John Perry of England, also demonstrated the utility of electric batteries in driving transport vehicles. They had also developed a tricycle powered by an electric battery which had a capacity of 1 ? kilowatt hour. This battery consisted of ten Plante type battery cells made up of lead/acid. Apart from this, the tricycle had a direct current (DC) motor having the strength of ? horsepower, which was fitted under the driver’s seat. The electric battery supplied a current of 20 volts to the DC motor which in turn propelled the vehicle. The tricycle could travel at a speed between 16 and 40 kilometers per hour (between 10 and 25 miles an hour), the speed varying according to the type of land terrain traversed. This speed could be regulated by switching the batteries sequentially in series (Westbrook, 2001, pp.9-10). How Electric Car Batteries are Made In the present-day world, the two most popular forms of electric car batteries are the “advanced nickel metal hybride battery (NiMH)” and the “advanced automotive lithium ion (Li-ion) battery”. Majority of these two types of batteries are produced by firms in China, Japan and Korea, with a small proportion being manufactured by US-based firms also. There are also other varieties of electric car batteries available in the market: nickel-based cells and lithium-based batteries. (Moore, 2008) Effect on the Environment Vehicles which are fuelled by conventional energy sources like gasoline, diesels etc. are an important means of transportation no doubt, but they emit exhaust gases which tends to pollute the environment. On the other hand, electric vehicles (EVs) powered by electric batteries do not generate such polluting gases and are thus considered to be a suitable alternative to these traditional fuelled cars. EVs are usually considered to be more environment-friendly than their conventional counterparts. However, this point requires further investigation. Do the electric vehicles and their respective electric batteries generate a comparatively less polluting effect on the surroundings than the fuel-driven cars? This question needs to be considered carefully. Most electric vehicles have zero local emissions, i.e they do not generate any environment polluting exhaust gases. This is a huge advantage of the EVs over the traditional vehicles. However, in evaluating the overall effect of the electric vehicles on the environment, one needs to consider the production, usage and discarding of the electric batteries that are used to accumulate the electrical power of these vehicles and also assess the sources of electricity utilized to charge these batteries. (Quick, 2010) The impact of the electric car batteries and the electric vehicle as a whole on the environment depends on the main source of electricity of the batteries. In other words, the environmental impact of an electric vehicle is determined by the type of electric power that is used to supply the required charge to its batteries. Car batteries powered by hydroelectric current tend to produce the least pollution in the surrounding air. Batteries driven by nuclear power also produce a low level of pollution and are desirable for maintaining clean air, but they generate nuclear wastes in the process. On the other hand, car batteries which are powered by coal-based electric current have an adverse effect on the surroundings. The emissions of these electric vehicles consist of sulphur dioxide (a form of acid rain) which contaminates the environmental air. (McCosh, 1994, p.8) Effect of the Lithium-ion Batteries The Lithium-ion types of batteries are very popular in powering majority of the electric vehicles of the modern world. The manufacturers of these batteries have repeatedly claimed that their products are not harmful to the environment. In 2010, a group of scientists hailing from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) undertook an elaborate evaluation of the life-cycle and the ecology balance of these lithium-ion batteries to assess their degree of environment compatibility. The results of the investigation showed that the source of electricity that was used to charge the Li-ion batteries determined whether they could be considered as environment friendly or not. For example, if the electric batteries are charged by electricity other than hydroelectric in nature, then the environmental effect of the electric vehicle is solely determined by its regular operation and functioning. In these cases, the ecological impact of the EVs became similar to that of the traditional fuel-run vehicles. The investigations found that the Li-ion electric batteries had a limited impact on the environment. The group of scientists had assessed the overall environmental impact of electric vehicles that were powered by such Li-ion batteries. They considered the entire life cycle of the vehicles starting with the production of the separate parts, the functioning of the car during its service period, right through to its disposal which included discarding of the individual parts. The team of researchers considered the electric vehicles which were equivalent to the VW Golf (a standard electric car) in capacity and power. The scientists further assumed that an average European amalgamation of electricities was utilized to supply electric charge to the batteries of the EVs. This mixture of electric powers was considered to be derived from an array of atomic, thermal and hydroelectric power plants. The scientists also considered a new petrol-driven car for comparing its emission standards with those of an electric car. The research group ensured that the traditional vehicle was one of the best available cars belonging to its section in the market. When it was tested under the new European Driving Cycle (NEDC), the car required an average of 5.2 litres of petrol (1.37 US gallons) to traverse per 100 kilometres (62 miles). This fuel consumption was considerably lower than that of average European vehicles in the market. In addition to this, the researchers also ensured that that conventional vehicle satisfied the norms under the Euro 5 emission rules. All these criteria helped in choosing the most efficient traditional petrol-driven car in the market. This car was expected to be environmentally compatible in its operations (compared to the other conventional vehicles in the market) and was thus considered suitable to be compared with the electric vehicles which specially manufactured in an ecologically-friendly manner. (Quick, 2010) The results of the investigations demonstrated that the “Lithium-ion battery drive” that was used to power the electric vehicle constituted a moderate portion of the vehicle’s overall environmental impact. According to the calculations of the scientists, the entire lifecycle of the Li-ion battery including its production, preservation and disposal accounted for only 15 per cent of the total ecological effect of the electric vehicle. The Lithium-ion battery is primarily comprised of copper and aluminum other than the main component lithium. The process of producing and refining these metal elements generate some amount of chemical gases which accounts for 7.5 per cent of the overall environmental pollution attributed to the Li-ion batteries. On the other hand, the process of manufacturing lithium, the main constituent of these batteries generate a comparatively lower amount of chemical gases, which accounts for only 2.3 per cent of the total ecological pollution caused by these batteries of the electric vehicles. The findings of the research have been recently published in the science journal “Environmental Science and Technology”. Dominic Notter, one of the team members of the research group opines, that earlier, people regarded lithium-ion rechargeable batteries to have a detrimental effect on the surrounding environment. However, the results of this study have revealed that the Li-ion batteries that are used to drive most of the modern electric vehicles do not produce much of an adverse impact on the environment. (Quick, 2010) The findings of the investigations of the scientists exhibit a different picture when one considers the long run in the life cycle of the electric vehicle. A normal electric vehicle is usually expected to traverse 150,000 kilometers (93,205 miles) during its lifetime. During this time period, the batteries are repeatedly exhausted of their electricity and need to be charged with sufficient electric power on a regular basis. This regular recharging of the batteries generates a significant amount of environmental pollution. In Europe, the Lithium-ion batteries are usually charged with an amalgamation of electric powers derived from the atomic, thermal as well as the hydroelectric power plants. This procedure of recharging the Li-ion batteries generates a considerable amount of polluting gases which are estimated to be three times as much as those emitted by a traditional fuel-driven vehicle. If one utilizes solely hydroelectric power to recharge the Li-ion batteries, then this process decreases the environmental pollution by as much as 40 per cent from the previous case. On the other hand, if the batteries are charged by purely thermal electricity produced by “coal-fired” electric plants, then this process increases the environmental pollution by 13 per cent compared to the case when it was charged by a mixture of electricities. Therefore, we can conclude that, it is most desirable to use hydroelectric power to charge the Li-ion batteries as this generates the minimum amount of environmental pollution. Based on the same reasoning, one should abstain from using thermal electricity to charge these batteries as this produces the maximum amount of polluting gases. As a final inference of the research, the group of scientists concluded that a traditional petrol-driven vehicle is required to be supplied with three or four litres of petrol for traversing an additional 100 kilometres of distance to be functioning in such a way so as to be compatible with the environment. Only, in such a case, the conventional vehicle can be compared to a modern electric car driven by Li-ion batteries which have been electrically charged by a standard European amalgamation of different forms of electricity (Quick, 2010). Conclusion Vehicles that are driven with the help of conventional sources of fuel like gasoline and diesel have always been an important medium of transport for the human population. However, a serious allegation against these vehicles has always been that they are a constant source of pollution to the environment through their share of gas emissions. For this reason, the electric vehicles powered by electric batteries have often been considered as a practical alternative for these fuel-driven cars. There are a host of electric vehicles which are driven with the help of a variety of electric batteries. These electric batteries are usually made up of different metal elements and require to be charged with the help of different forms of electric powers. Ultimately, it has been found that these electric batteries are also a source of significant environmental pollution. The process of recharging these batteries often generates chemical gases which contaminate the environment. In such a case, the question of electric cars serving as an effective substitute for traditional fuel-driven vehicles becomes shrouded in doubt. References 1. Lampton, C. (2011), How Electric Car Batteries Work, HowStuffWorks, retrieved on November 30, 2011 from http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/vehicles/electric-car-battery.htm 2. McCosh, D. (April 1994) Popular Science Bonnier Corporation 3. McCardle, G. (2011), Electric Cars are not Really Green, Skeptoid retrieved on November 30, 2011 from http://skeptoid.com/blog/2011/06/17/electric-cars-not-really-green/ 4. Moore, B. (2008), Short Supply: American-made Electric Car Batteries, eeGlobal retrieved on November 30, 2011 from http://featured.matternetwork.com/2008/12/short-supply-american-made-electric.cfm 5. Quick, D. (2010), Just how environmentally friendly are electric vehicles?, Gizmag, retrieved on November 30, 2011 from http://www.gizmag.com/empa-study-environmental-impact-electric-car/16181/ 6. Spoolman, S, & Miller, G. (2011) Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections and Solutions USA, Cengage Learning 7. Westbrook, M.H. (2001). The Electric Car: development and future of hybrid, battery and fuel-cell cars., UK, USA: The Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers Read More