Absolute environmental sustainability assessment of renewable dimethyl ether fuelled heavy-duty trucks.

ABSTRACT: In recent years, liquid fuels from renewable carbon that can replace fossil ones with minimal infrastructure changes have attracted increasing interest in decarbonising the heavy-duty long-haul sector. Here we focus on dimethyl ether (DME), a promising alternative to diesel due to its high cetane number, oxygen content, and more efficient and cleaner propulsion that results in low particulate matter and sulphur oxide emissions. Going well beyond previous studies that quantified the environmental impact of DME, often in terms of global warming, here we evaluate DME use in heavy-duty trucks in the context of seven planetary boundaries, all essential for maintaining the Earth's stability. Focusing on several scenarios differing in the feedstock origin, we find that routes based on fossil carb

SUBMITTER: Charalambous MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10089250 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature