Quantitative analysis of alternative transportation under environmental constraints

This thesis focuses on the transportation sector and its role in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and conventional pollutant emissions. Specifically, it analyzes the potential for hydrogen based transportation, introducing this technological option within a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the economy. The transportation sector accounts for an important part of CO2 emissions and analyses that have imposed carbon limits on the economy have shown relatively limited reductions in transportation emissions with current technology, thus the interest in technological options that would make it economic to reduce emissions. The US Federal government has been particularly focused on developing fuel cell technology for vehicles that, when powered by hydrogen, would offer a technological solution that potentially eliminates emissions of both CO2 and other conventional pollutants from the transportation sector. This work examines the economic conditions under which such a technology might successfully compete in the market. The thesis begins with an overview of the fuel-cell vehicle technology and the technologies used to produce hydrogen. This review serves as a basis for modeling this technological option.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Sandoval López, Reynaldo

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• john Reilly and David H. Marks .

• Technology and Policy Program.
• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34661

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34661