Electric vehicles: A descriptive study of their environmental impacts

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v11i11.32235

Keywords:

Electric vehicles; Greenhouse gases; CO2 emissions; Renewable energy; Fossil fuel; Environmental impact.

Abstract

Invented in the 19th century, electric cars were not competitive enough to compete with combustion cars during the 20th century. With the growth of sustainable thinking and the debate about pollution, the environment and climate change, the burning of fossil fuels and the pollution generated by the process have become hotspots in the ecological debate. Due to the urgency of climate change, greater investments were made in technologies that minimize the problem and companies with more ecological proposals appeared on the market. This work aimed to concatenate and compare the main conclusions available in the contemporary literature regarding the use of battery electric cars, in order to describe their environmental impacts, especially when compared to conventional cars. It was concluded that the switch to electric cars is environmentally positive when combined with the change in energy matrix to renewable sources, reaching a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in certain studies. However, it is noteworthy that there was great variability of results regarding the reductions in emissions of these gases, with similar studies reaching results that differed 4.5 times from each other, due to the assumptions used. Alternatives were also found to enhance this migration of transport technology, such as carbon taxation policies, and negative aspects of electric cars, such as ocean and soil acidification and high human toxicity compared to combustion cars.

Author Biographies

Igor Rodrigues Arangues, University of São Paulo

Chemical engineer graduated from USP de Lorena (EEL-USP), with experience in a multinational in the areas of Continuous Improvement, Project Management and Data Optimization via AIMMS. Always interested in Engineering with Social and Environmental Responsibility of the impacts of his work.

Adriano Francisco Siqueira, Universidade de São Paulo

He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of Lorena (1993), a Master's degree in Statistics from the University of São Paulo (1998) and a PhD in Statistics from the University of São Paulo (2003). He is currently Professor MS3 at the University of São Paulo and Professor at the School of Engineering of Lorena at USP. He has experience in the area of Probability and Statistics, with an emphasis on Probability. Working mainly on the following topics: Probability, Particle System with infinite particles, Nearest Neighbor Dependent Hop Rates, Markov Particle Systems.

Leandro Gonçalves de Aguiar, University of São Paulo

He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Universidade Santa Cecilia (2006), a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of São Paulo (2009) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of São Paulo (2013). He has experience in polymerization reaction engineering, with an emphasis on mathematical modeling of reactions involving polymers. He currently works in the area of catalysis and chemical reactors at EEL / USP in the development of polymeric catalysts for application in organic reactions.

Patrícia Carolina Molgero da Rós, University of São Paulo

She is currently a professor at the University of São Paulo, in the Chemical Engineering Department of the Lorena School of Engineering (EEL-USP). She was a Junior Post-Doctoral fellow at CNPq between 2012 and 2014, at EEL-USP. She holds a PhD in Sciences in the area of Industrial Biotechnology from the School of Engineering of Lorena of USP (2012), a Master's in Chemical Engineering from the School of Engineering of Lorena of USP (2009) and a Degree in Pharmacy from the Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense (2006). She has experience in the development of biochemical processes, working mainly on the following topics: lipase, enzyme immobilization, enzymatic transesterification, enzymatic hydrolysis, microwave-assisted enzymatic processes and biofuel production, with emphasis on the synthesis of biodiesel using raw materials. Third-generation lipids: oleaginous microorganisms.

Diovana Aparecida dos Santos Napoleão, University of São Paulo

Graduated in Chemical Industrial Engineering from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of Lorena - FAENQUIL, Master's degree in Industrial Biotechnology from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of Lorena, Department of Biotechnology, PhD in the area of Energy Transmission and Conversion at Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Department of Energy and post doctorate in the area of Energy Transmission and Conversion at Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Department of Energy. She is currently a professor/researcher at the Department of Basic and Environmental Sciences (LOB) at the School of Engineering of Lorena EEL / USP (defunct Faenquil). She has experience in the field of Mechanical Engineering, with an emphasis on energy use and in Environmental Engineering in the treatment of effluents with advanced oxidative processes.

Hélcio José Izário Filho, University of São Paulo

He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of Lorena (1985), a master's degree in Materials Engineering from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering of Lorena (1993) and a PhD in Chemistry from the State University of Campinas (1999). He is currently a professor at the School of Engineering of Lorena-EEL / USP, with Research Productivity PQ-2. He has experience in the field of Chemistry, with an emphasis on Analytical Instrumentation, specifically in atomic absorption and emission spectrometry and spectrophotometry, working mainly on the following topics: inorganic characterization and the environment (analytical characterization of solid and liquid waste and Advanced Oxidative Processes).

Marco Aurélio Kondracki de Alcântara, University of São Paulo

Marco Aurélio Kondracki de Alcântara studied Agricultural Engineering at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS. He holds a Master's Degree in Soil Sciences also at UFRGS, a Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering at the State University of Campinas – FEAGRI-UNICAMP and a Post-Doctorate at the Center for Research and Development of Soils and Agro-environmental Resources at the Agronomic Institute of Campinas-IAC-CPDSRA. Areas of expertise: waste treatment by advanced oxidative processes and soil pollution. He also works in the area of Currently, he is a Professor at the School of Engineering of Lorena, University of São Paulo – EEL-USP, where he teaches courses in Soil, Basic Ecology and Environmental Engineering. In High School at Colégio Técnico de Lorena, he teaches Biology subjects. He is currently a Member of the Environmental Engineering Course Committee – CoC-EA, as a Substitute for the Course Coordination.

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13/08/2022

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ARANGUES, I. R.; SIQUEIRA, A. F.; AGUIAR, L. G. de; RÓS, P. C. M. da; NAPOLEÃO, D. A. dos S.; IZÁRIO FILHO, H. J.; ALCÂNTARA, M. A. K. de. Electric vehicles: A descriptive study of their environmental impacts. Research, Society and Development, [S. l.], v. 11, n. 11, p. e10111132235, 2022. DOI: 10.33448/rsd-v11i11.32235. Disponível em: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/32235. Acesso em: 23 nov. 2024.

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Vol. 11 No. 11

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Review Article

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Copyright (c) 2022 Igor Rodrigues Arangues; Adriano Francisco Siqueira; Leandro Gonçalves de Aguiar; Patrícia Carolina Molgero da Rós; Diovana Aparecida dos Santos Napoleão; Hélcio José Izário Filho; Marco Aurélio Kondracki de Alcântara

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