Annotated Bibliography and Research Summary Hybrid Car

Annotated Bibliography

Argonne National Laboratory et al. Total Energy Cycle Assessment of Electric and Conventional Vehicles: An Energy and Environmental Analysis, Vol. II: Appendices to Technical Report. Washington, D.C.: Argonne National Laboratory, Jan. 1998.

This is a detailed analysis of the life cycle of electric vehicles. This information is particularly important from the point of view of the analysis of the development of hybrid cars based on the use of electricity. The analysis provide ample information about first efforts to create hybrid vehicles working on the electric power.

DasGupta, S. et al. A Long Range, Ultra-Safe, Low Cost Electric Vehicle. April 2005. Retrieved July 26, 2007 from <http://bioage.typepad.com/greencarcongress/docs/Electrovaya%20EVS21%20Paper.pdf>

This paper is created by Electrovaya, Canadian lithium-polymer battery manufacture. The authors basically focus on the description of the electric vehicle created by this company, named Maya 100. The paper contains detailed characteristics of the vehicle its technical capabilities and experiments conducted by the researcher. The paper is noteworthy due to the detailed information on the electric SUV since this segment of the automobile market is particularly perspective and vehicles of this type are very popular, though hybrid vehicles are not accessible to mass consumers,

Farell, Alexander E., et al. “Ethanol Can Contribute to Energy and Environmental Goals”. Science, 311, Jan 27, 2006: 506-508. Retrieved July 26 2007 from <http://rael.berkeley.edu/EBAMM/FarrellEthanolScience012706.pdf>.

The report focuses on the effects of the use of ethanol as a bio-fuel which is viewed as an alternative to conventional, gasoline-based fuel. The researchers have conducted a carefull study and find out the fact that ethanol, which may be produced from corn, is less petroleum-intensive compared to gasoline but, at the same time, it still has some greenhouse gas emissions similar to gasoline.

Sanna, Lucy. “Driving the Solution: the Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle”. EPRI Journal, Fall 2005: 8-17. Retrieved July 26, 2007 from <http://www.epriweb.com/public/000000000001012885.pdf>.

The article provides detailed information on Plug-in Hybrid Electronic Vehicles (PHEV). Basically, the author focuses on one of the recent developments, the result of EPRI’s cooperation with DaimlerChrysler AG, a PHEV version of Dodge Sprinter. The author describes the vehicle, the results of tests and its perspectives. The article is particularly noteworthy since this will be one of the first PHEVs available to customers in the nearest future.

 

 

 

 

Research Summary

Nowadays, when the problem of global warming is really threatening to the normal life of people worldwide, the necessity to develop alternative sources of energy and minimization of the greenhouse effect is vitally important. In this respect, the development of hybrid cars is particularly perspective since they can reduce considerably the emission of the greenhouse gas considerably.

At the same time, as my research shows, among the variety of good vehicles using alternative fuel, such as ethanol or electricity, it is still quit difficult to find models which will be really available to mass consumers in the nearest future. To put it more precisely, starting from the earliest experiments on hybrid vehicles till the recent developments, such vehicles are still more expansive compared to conventional ones and, what is more, their production is still limited.

Nevertheless, the recent efforts of scientists and automobile producers make me quite optimistic about the future of hybrid vehicles which can potentially replace conventional vehicles and decrease the negative effect of traffic on environment. However, it is necessary to continue researches in this field and create really effective and accessible hybrid vehicles.

 



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