Alternative Fuel Automotive Wisdom

Posts Tagged ‘Alternative Fuel’

In the United States today, more and more people are demanding alternative fuels instead of strictly gasoline powered vehicles, and for many reasons. One reason is that alternative fuels are better for the environment and help fight global warming, which is an ongoing and increasing concern of many in the U.S. as well as globally. The cost of gasoline and other petroleum based products are rising at rate that has, heretofore, been unprecedented. Automobile travel is becoming very expensive as a result, and the U.S. is a nation that relies on its transportation. Consequently, there is an increasing demand for less expensive, alternative fuels. Scientists are charged with a double task, creating fuels that are inexpensive and better for the environment. New alternative fuels currently becoming available offer a number of advantages and U.S. consumers are beginning to seriously consider the newly available options, over continued dependence on fossil fuels.

When consumers choose alternative fuels both for their automobiles and their homes, they are helping to save the environment and themselves some money. In 2005, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences issued a joint statement with 10 other National Academies of Science stating “the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. It is vital that all nations identify cost-effective steps that they can take now, to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions.” Alternative fuels are one step toward lessening greenhouse gas emissions.

What Does “Alternative Fuel” Mean?

Put simply, alternative fuel is not created through refining crude oil. Alternatives should replace conventional petroleum products as a means of powering vehicles or warming homes. The Clean Air Act of 1990 was written to encourage the development, sale, and use of alternative forms of energy. However, the Clean Air Act also stresses that the “alternative” fuels have beneficial effects for the environment, in short, whatever form the alternative takes; it can’t be as polluting as petroleum-based products.

“Alternative fuels” is a title that encompasses many different types of energy – Ethanol, is one that has been in the news quite a bit lately. It is made from corn, which can provide a tremendous boost to the agricultural industries, as well as to the environment and end-users. Some basic facts about ethanol includes: One acre of corn can produce enough ethanol to run a car for some 72,000 miles on E-10 Unleaded. About 46 percent of U.S. gasoline contains ethanol-and most of that is in the form of E-10 Unleaded. It can be made from other organic materials also, such as soybeans, waste, plant material left from logging, paper and trash. So, it can also be produced through recycling, another huge environmental advantage. In addition, automobile manufacturers are looking at ways of using ethanol only; however, since it is a grain alcohol, it is more highly combustible than regular gasoline. Currently, research is focusing on ways of buffering the ethanol to reduce its potentially dangerous properties.

Ethanol is also found in regular alcoholic beverages. The ethanol used for gasoline has been “denatured”; this means poison has been added so that it is unfit for human consumption. While some argue that ethanol production more energy than it produces, which is initially true when starting up a plant, Ethanol production results in a net energy gain-producing 67 percent more energy than it takes to grow and process the corn into ethanol in the long run. In addition, technologies are in development to increase the efficiency of plant production.

The movement toward alternative fuels will increase as people become more conscious of the economic and environmental costs of fossil fuels. In addition, many Americans feel that, for a variety of reasons, dependence upon foreign oil is not in the best interests of their nation. New, alternative fuels offer the best option for ending the U.S. dependence upon fossil fuels. While ethanol has been getting a lot of attention lately, there are many other types of fuel under development that offer a selection of future options for energy.

With pollution an increasingly important concern as worldwide energy consumption continues to rise, research into alternative fuel is at an all time high. Here are some of the currently available alternative fuels, and what’s still to come.

1. Alcohol Fuels

Probably the most widespread alternative fuel is ethanol. Ethanol is just plain old grain alcohol, made from corn or soybeans. There aren’t very many vehicles at the moment that can run on pure ethanol. Most of the time, what is available are ethanol blends, which is just ethanol blended with varying percentages of gasoline. At this time, the highest percentage available is 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline.

Methanol is also used, but is not as common as ethanol. Methanol is also called wood alcohol, and can be produced from wood fermentation or from coal, but is usually made more cheaply from natural gas.

2. Natural Gas Fuels

Another alternative fuel is natural gas. This petroleum-based gas burns more cleanly than gasoline, but still suffers from the renewability problems of all petroleum products. It is also an actual gas, unlike liquid propane, and thus suffers from storage issues. Propane is the alternative, and is a liquid when stored, but still suffers from renewability problems.

3. Electricity

Electricity is the focus of much research, because it is not tied (from the consumers point of view) to any particular fuel source and produces zero emissions at the vehicle. This shifts the burden of utilizing cleaner, often harder-to-handle fuels, away from the average end user and into the hands of organizations with the resources to safely handle the alternative fuels. The main problem with using electricity is, again, storage. Current batteries often require large banks to provide enough power for reasonable speeds and distances. For this reason, electricity is still more often found in “hybrid” vehicles that use petroleum products to generate extra electricity when needed.

4. Hydrogen – The Holy Grail of Alternative Fuels

Hydrogen is the most promising alternative fuel source currently under development. It is extremely clean, producing only water vapor as an emission, and is one of the most abundant elements on the planet in the form of water. All that is needed to produce hydrogen is a source of electricity to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The biggest drawback is that hydrogen is only liquid at extremely low temperatures, and extremely explosive when mixed with air in gaseous form. These characteristics make hydrogen hard to safely store and transport, especially in an end-user safe fashion.

These are only a sampling of the various types of alternative fuels available or under development. With petroleum prices skyrocketing, pressure to develop an alternative fuel fit for mass consumption is at an all-time high. Many other possible alternative fuels are being developed and studied every day. In the end, the mass use of these fuels will result in an overall better quality of life on this planet.

Globally, more and more people are expressing an interest in switching from gasoline powered vehicles to ones that operate using alternative fuels. Alternative fuels that are environmentally friendly, can actually help to conserve the natural resources that are used to produce gasoline, and protect the environment as well. Drilling and other invasive methods will no longer be necessary, protecting the habitats of many endangered creatures.

For those who are thinking of making the switch to an alternative fuel vehicle or AFV, it’s important to investigate all the alternatives available before settling on just one choice. While almost everyone agrees that AFV’s are better for the environment, costs and the limitations of owning them should be carefully considered. At this time, AFV choices are somewhat limited but the growing consumer demand will inevitably drive the costs lower and improve the choices available.

Four Facts About Alternative Fuels

1. Electricity, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol, ethanol, and compressed natural gas, produce fewer vehicle emissions than traditional gasoline and diesel. Studies have shown that each of them contributes toward a cleaner environment.

2. Unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate materials; standard tailpipe emissions from gasoline and diesel powered vehicles, are responsible for about one-third of U.S. air pollutants. Vehicles powered by alternative fuels would reduce these emissions considerably. Also, many alternative fuels promote the U.S. economy because they can be produced domestically.

3. On a gallon-per-gallon basis, some alternative fuels will not permit consumers to travel as far or as long as they could in a gasoline or diesel propelled vehicle. So they have a lower energy output. At this time, an alternatively fuel vehicle also costs more than a conventional automobile.

4. Alternative fuels utilize a wide variety of materials, for example old grease that restaurants used for frying, vegetable oils, electricity, recycled paper and plant wastes are used to create fuel. These are all cleaner burning that petroleum products, and have less impact upon the environment.

The above are only a few of the facts concerning alternative fuels. Each individual type of “green fuel” has its own pluses and minuses but they all deserve investigation by those who are sincerely interested in cutting energy costs and protecting the environment. Every day, new advances are being made as research into this area grows. New sources of alternative fuels are under investigation and development. Perhaps, the answer is not just one type of alternative fuel being better than the rest, but that a group of “green” energy sources will be optimal.

The natural world is constantly changing, but many environmental changes today are being brought about by the pollution emissions of our automobiles. When we consider the global impacts of changing to alternative fuel vehicles, it becomes obvious that this is more than just an option. In the very near future, it must become an active part of our lifestyles. We owe it to the future of our planet to make changes now.

Ever since the military allowed the design of the hummer to be made public, people have gone crazy over its design. General Motors acquired the brand name and marketing rights of the hummer and now that alternative fuels have begun to grow in popularity, they are also beginning to make an alternative fuel hummer.

Classically, the hummer has been a non-favorite vehicle for environmentalists because it gets horrific gas mileage and uses more gas than a regular vehicle. That is why it made sense for someone to come up the design for an alternative fuel hummer that would be easy on the environment as well as the drivers pocketbook.

There is a pioneer in the green movement to make a hummer that could run on alternative fuels. He is with a non-profit organization who promotes cleaner air by using cars that burn alternative fuels instead of gasoline. He decided that he was tired of his gas guzzling hummer and wanted to make it more environmentally friendly considering his association with him. So he set out to make an alternative fuel hummer. And he succeeded.

He now sells alternative fuel hummers that have shown to be very popular and selling at a really quick rate. He tricks out his vehicles and makes them visually appealing as well. He is highly thought of especially among the young crowd who want an environmentally safe vehicle that looks cool and can run on alternative fuel and that would be Toms hummers.

His alternative fuel hummers run on bio-diesel made from soybeans and corn. They use less petroleum than a hybrid car and are capable of running entirely on vegetable oil alone. That is right, you can run one of his alternative fuel hummers on Crisco! This alternative fuel hummer may be the biggest thing on the road, but it does not use one drop of petroleum and gets 23 miles per gallon.

Celebrities are big fans of these alternative fuel hummers including California governor Arnold Schwarzneggar who owns two hummers that run on bio-diesel. He recently had one of his hummers modified to run on hydrogen as well which emits absolutely no greenhouse gas which, of course, is great for the environment.

If you love the look of a hummer but want one that runs on alternative fuel, fear not. The product is out there to buy ready made or you can one converted into an eco-friendly vehicle. Keep in mind it will cost you some money, but when you consider what you are doing for our planet, owning and driving an alternative fuel hummer can be well worth the cost!

The truth is oil and automobile companies are creating alternative fuel expansions to help with the escalating prices of gas and oil, and global warming. The companies are at the point where they realize it is time to do something because consumers are fed up, the environment is in danger and there are cheaper methods.

Alternative fuels are not made from crude oil, which would end the United States dependency on foreign countries. Such alternatives fuels are made from corn, wheat, vegetable oil, pretty much anything that is organic. Companies have even used old car parts to create fuel. These types of alternative fuel expansions are amazing because it is taking natural products that can be grown anywhere, or garbage that needs to be disposed of and using it in a productive, cost efficient manner.

It isn’t all about the money either. The global warming problem has received international attention as of late and many countries, citizens and people are taking a stand to help the environment. The alternative fuels burn cleaner and produce less CO2, which is a major culprit in global warming. Less garbage, less CO2 and cleaner air. Alternative fuel expansions sound like a winning combination.

Major car companies are taking the biggest leaps when it comes to alternative fuels expansion. With the price of oil, car companies have taken the biggest hit. Consumers are looking for more fuel efficient vehicles or even those that don’t require the gasoline that is available at the pump these days. Car companies are creating cars that run on electricity, ethanol, E85 and biodiesels. With the new wave of technology these car companies are creating also come the growth of jobs. Some of the alternative expansions are still in its infancy stages, but many vehicles such as E85, ethanol and biodiesel are already on the road.

Australia and Sweden have been developing alternative fuel expansions. Those countries already have E85 vehicles on the road. E85 means the fuel is 85 percent ethanol. It also becoming popular in the Midwestern part of the United States where large crops of corn are grown.

Big oil companies are taking notice and are now putting different kinds of pumps at gas stations where there is a demand. As a child, when you used to think about how electric cars would run in the future, you probably never thought it would happen in your lifetime. Well, buckle up because the future is coming. Alternative fuel expansions are changing the way people think and changing lives.