Faculty Code: REL Project Sequence: 6342 IQP Division: 42 Alternative Fuels in Puerto Rico An Interactive Qualifying Project Report Submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science Sponsoring Agency: Puerto Rico Energy Affairs Administration Submitted by: _______________________ Sean Dillon _______________________ Fatima Zahra Mahhou _______________________ Kortni Violette Date: May 5, 2011 Submitted to: Damarys González and Alexis Miranda Puerto Rico Energy Affairs Administration Prof. Reinhold Ludwig and Prof. Svetlana Nikitina Worcester Polytechnic Institute i | P a g e Abstract Puerto Rico relies completely on imported fossil fuels for transportation fuels. This has had negative impacts on the environment and the economy. The Puerto Rico Energy Affairs Administration (PREAA) is interested in adopting an alternative fuels policy similar to the EPA‟s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The alternative fuels that this project focuses on are biodiesel and ethanol. The goal of our project was to determine what federal and state policies exist in the United States and how these fuel policies could be applied to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in an effort to introduce biodiesel or ethanol as a transportation fuel. ii | P a g e Acknowledgements Our group would like to express our appreciation to the following people whose contributions helped us to complete this project: Damarys Gonzalez, our project liaison The Puerto Rico Energy Affairs Administration (PREAA), Alexis Miranda, Odin Castillo, Erica Rivera, Luis Osorio, Luis Bernal, and Andre Mesa Reinhold Ludwig and Svetlana Nikitina, our project advisors Susan Vernon-Gerstenfeld, the Puerto Rico project site advisor Thank you for your insight and support throughout the project. We are grateful for your time and guidance. iii | P a g e Authorship Page As with any collective project, the ideas presented within the report reflect the understanding of the authors as a whole. Due to the size of this project, individual sections of writing were separated among members to complete the report in a timely fashion. Individual authors wrote about various topics and chapters as follows: Sean Dillon contributed to the Abstract as well as Background sections titled „The Use of Biodiesel‟, „The Use of Ethanol‟, „Other Alternative Fuels‟, and „Other Energy Policies Around the World‟. Additionally he contributed to the Results and Analysis sections „Biodiesel as an Alternative Fuel for Vehicles‟, „Ethanol as an Alternative Fuel for Vehicles‟‟, „Available Incentives for Biofuels‟ and Summary. Mr. Dillon also collaborated with Fatima Zahra Mahhou on the Recommendations chapter. Fatima Zahra Mahhou contributed to the Background sections „Other Alternative Fuels‟ and „Alternative Fuel Adoption in Puerto Rico‟. Ms. Mahhou wrote the Objectives chapter. She also contributed to the Results and Analysis section „Transportation Policies‟. Additionally she collaborated with Sean Dillon on the Recommendations chapter. Kortni Violette contributed to the Executive Summary and the Introduction chapter. Ms. Violette also contributed to the Background sections titled, „Legislative Efforts to Promote Alternative Fuels in the U.S.‟ and „Other Energy Policies around the World‟. She also contributed the Methodology section „Public Knowledge of Transportation Related to Alternative Fuels‟. Additionally she contributed to the Results and Analysis section „Public Knowledge and Opinion‟, and wrote the Conclusion chapter. The Appendices were written in collaboration by Sean Dillon, Fatima Zahra Mahhou, and Kortni Violette. The report was edited and revised as a group. iv | P a g e Table of Contents Title Page.......................................................................................................................................................i Table of Contents..........................................................................................................................................ii Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... iii Authorship Page ........................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... viii List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. viii Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: Background ................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 The Use of Biodiesel ............................................................................................................................ 4 2.1.1 Advantages of Using Biodiesel ..................................................................................................... 6 2.1.2 Disadvantages of Using Biodiesel ................................................................................................ 7 2.2 The Use of Ethanol .............................................................................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Advantages of Using Ethanol ....................................................................................................... 9 2.2.2 Disadvantages of Using Ethanol ................................................................................................. 10 2.2.3 Flexible Fuel Vehicles ................................................................................................................. 11 2.2.4 Ethanol Infrastructure ................................................................................................................ 12 2.3 Other Alternative Fuels ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.3.1 Natural Gas ................................................................................................................................ 13 2.3.2 Hydrogen Fuel Cells .................................................................................................................... 15 2.3.3 Electric Vehicles ......................................................................................................................... 16 2.4 Legislative Efforts to Promote Alternative Fuels in the U.S. ............................................................. 17 2.4.1 Reformulated Gasoline .............................................................................................................. 17 2.4.2 Renewable Fuel Standard .......................................................................................................... 18 2.4.3 New Energy for America ............................................................................................................ 19 2.5 Other Energy Policies around the World .......................................................................................... 20 2.5.1 China’s Fuel Economy Standard ................................................................................................. 21 2.5.2 United Kingdom Policy ............................................................................................................... 22 v | P a g e 2.6 Alternative Fuel Adoption in Puerto Rico ......................................................................................... 24 2.6.1 The Island of Puerto Rico ........................................................................................................... 24 2.6.2 Transportation in Puerto Rico .................................................................................................... 25 2.6.3 Fuel Infrastructure and Energy Use ........................................................................................... 28 2.7 Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 3: Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 30 Chapter 4: Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 31 4.1 Current Transportation Policies ........................................................................................................ 31 4.1.1 Environmental Quality Board Interview .................................................................................... 31 4.1.2 Environmental Protection Agency Interview ............................................................................. 32 4.2 Public Knowledge of Transportation Related to Alternative Fuels ..................................................