2005 Transportation News & Highlights

Recycling Automotive Plastics Is Profitable and Good for the Environment

November 15, 2005 -- Recycling is not just good for the environment, it is good for business. Argonne researchers have developed a technology to successfully recover plastic from obsolete automobiles that may add plastic to the list of valuable materials recycled from old cars and trucks. (More...)

GREETing a Cleaner, More Energy-Efficient Future

November 3, 2005 -- Argonne researchers have developed software that is now the government and industry standard for evaluating various vehicle and fuel combinations on a consistent fuel-cycle basis from extracting the energy feedstocks –petroleum and natural gas – through fuel production to final vehicle operation. (More...)

SAE Award for Excellence in Oral Presentation

October 21, 2005 -- Kyeong Lee of Argonne National Laboratory received the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Excellence in Oral Presentation Award for his presentation entitled, “Effects of Exhaust System Components on Diesel Particulate Morphology for a Light-Duty Diesel Engines." (More...)

Characterizing Emissions Reduction Technologies By Using In-Cylinder Endoscope Imaging

August 3, 2005 -- Researchers compared emissions resulting from the use of an HF-333 diesel fuel (D2) with EGR to control NOx reaction kinetics and those from a new SunDiesel fuel derived from wood chips (made by the Choren Company in Germany using a process similar to Fischer-Tropsch). (More...)

Argonne Oxygen Sensor Wins R&D 100 Award

August 3, 2005 -- Researchers at Argonne and The Ohio State University will share a 2005 R&D 100 award, given annually by R&D Magazine to the 100 most significant technical products of the year. They have developed a compact sensor to monitor combustion processes in coal-fired power plants, petrochemical plants, blast furnaces, glass processing equipment, and even internal combustion engines. Because the sensor can withstand high temperatures up to 1,600°C, it can monitor in real time, providing performance information that is important to manufacturers seeking to increase energy savings and efficiency. (More...)

Argonne Awarded Lithium Battery Technology Patents

August 1, 2005 -- Argonne has been granted two U.S. patents on new "composite-structure" electrode materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Such electrodes offer superior cost and safety features over state-of-the-art LiCoO2 electrodes that power conventional lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, they demonstrate outstanding cycling stability and can be charged and discharged at high rates, making them excellent candidates to replace LiCoO2 for hybrid electric vehicles. (More...)

Challenge X: Year One Results

July 15, 2005 -- The University of Waterloo won first place in Year One of the Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainability competition at the General Motors University in Auburn Hills, Mich. Challenge X is a three-year-long competition to minimize energy consumption and reduce emissions of hybrid vehicles while maintaining performance. (More...)

DOE Officials Visit Argonne's Transportation Facilities

May 6, 2005 -- Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Office of Science Director Ray Orbach visited Argonne’s transportation research facilties and discussed Argonne's work in fuel cell development, diesel engine combustion studies, and hybrid vehicle testing with researchers. (More...)

Argonne Presents PSAT Software License to CATARC

April 15, 2005 -- The PSAT licensing agreement represents another step in the broadening collaboration between Argonne and CATARC following the signing of a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding on March 9, 2004, to help promote commercialization of energy-efficient vehicles and clean transportation fuels in China. (More...)

Team Receives $14.5 Million to Develop Advanced Combustion Technology for Vehicles

March 1, 2005 -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies Program has awarded a $14.5 million research project to a team of industry, university, and national laboratory innovators — including Argonne National Laboratory — to develop high-efficiency, clean combustion technology for vehicles. Participants will conduct research for the development and application of homogenous-charge compression-ignition (HCCI) combustion over as large an operating range as possible by integrating commercial or near-commercial fuel, air, and engine technologies with advanced controls. (More...)

Chinese-American Olympics Planning Group Meets at Argonne National Laboratory

January 25, 2005 -- Argonne National Laboratory recently hosted approximately 90 Chinese and American scientists and policy makers working toward the goal of creating a cleaner Beijing. The December gathering was the first American meeting of the Chinese-American Joint Working Group on Olympic Cooperation to develop sustainable technologies for the City of Beijing and the 2008 Olympic Games. (More...)