Evaluation of KDOT's Vehicle Fleet's CO2 Emissions and Possible Energy Reductions

Abstract

Increasing energy demands require more energy extraction from fossil fuels. The energy is extracted through combustion and results in mainly CO2 emissions as well as other trace emissions. Reducing energy usage can save money and CO2 emissions. The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) employed the University of Kansas to perform an energy and CO2 audit in order to identify potential areas for energy savings, as well as create a Microsoft Access database to manage and analyze entries more effectively. Analysis of records provided by KDOT showed an overall decreasing trend in total miles traveled and fuel consumed. It also found that replacing older vehicle models with new models does not show the expected increase in vehicle fleet efficiency across all major vehicle types in the fleet. Using more efficient means of transportation can significantly decrease their fuel demand, namely replacing truck travel with car travel. Additionally, increasing biofuel use in their fleet will decrease their net CO2 emissions when a full life cycle analysis is considered, although some fuel system problems may arise with higher biofuel blends especially in cold weather.