Andrew Bicknell asked:


If you are growing tired of the continuous rise of the price of gasoline and of humankinds growing disregard for the natural environment then it may be time to start seriously considering the benefits of biodiesel fuel. The reasons are many why this alternative fuel source could be the answer to our future energy problems, but one thing is certain, reliance on fossil fuels is a dead end road because sooner or later they will run out.

Let’s look at this from an alternate view point, namely the growing popularity of hybrid vehicles. These cars use small gasoline powered engine to continuously charge their batteries. This has the advantage of great gas mileage with lower emissions.

But there is a trade off. They cost significantly more then their gas powered predecessors, so much so that the cost of purchasing a hybrid in many cases is much greater then any long term savings on gas purchases. You also have to consider that these cars still rely on crude oil as their fuel source, which as time goes on will become prohibitively expensive even for these high mileage wonders.

This is where biodiesel fuel has a distinct advantage over even the new generation of high mileage hybrid cars. It is a clean burning alternative fuel that is made from renewable and recycled natural materials. In fact a vehicle using biodiesel will produce up to 60% less pollutants then any gas burning engine. While the fuel mileage is not as good biodiesel also does not suffer from the pressures of dwindling supplies driving prices up.

Here’s the true beauty of making biodiesel; it can be made from any number of natural sources including vegetable oil (both fresh and used), animal fats, treated sewage, and lately studies have been successful in refining it from certain types of seaweed. This is what helps keep the cost down, the overwhelming supply of raw materials.

Another caveat of the alternative fuel is the fact that you can make it in your backyard. After the initial investment of procuring and setting up your own biodiesel kit you can produce your own fuel almost cost free for as long as you wish. Before you do this you do need to make sure that you have a diesel powered vehicle, but if you do you can soon be self sufficient when it comes to your daily driving fuel needs.



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John Lux asked:


Whether or not it is done deliberately, it seems as though the huge swings in oil prices encourages us to put large amounts of money into alternative energy when the price of oil is up, only to see all these ventures fail when the price of oil swings down and makes them uneconomic.

We saw this happen in 1986 when the price sank to $10 per barrel and ethanol refineries were being given away by state governments that had taken them for unpaid taxes. We are seeing this now as the price plummeted from $150 to $35 in only a few months.

Thus, the ideal energy source must have an equivalent price below the lowest possible price of oil. According to the Financial Times, the Mideast price of oil is about $30 per barrel.

How do the alterative energy sources compare? Coal to liquids and oil shale have a cost equal to $100 per barrel of oil. Oil sands maybe $85. US ethanol costs about $65.Onshore wind costs $75.

We have a massive investment in fossil fuel infrastructure. Our challenge now is to convert this infrastructure to a new fuel. According to the IEA, about 80% of our energy base is fossil fuel. Years would be needed to convert our electric power plants from coal to anything different. To switch from oil, we have to change the production system from oil wells and refineries to something else, and change over countless gas stations and vehicles. Even if we have the right technology, do we have enough money?

We need an energy system with minimal capital investment in production that can be implemented by inexpensively adapting conventional delivery systems and engines ? diesel, gasoline, and gas turbines.

Finally, even if we have the right system, do we have the time? How many years will be needed to change a large amount of our energy mix to a new system? Predictions are that by 2030, over 20 years from now, fossil fuels still will be two-thirds of the mix. It seems that we do not anticipate a real solution to fossil fuels.

So the ideal alternative fuel solution, the answer to our energy problems would have at least these characteristics: (1) cheap variable cost, below $30 per barrel equivalent of oil, (2) predictable cost, (3) low capital cost for production facilities and delivery systems and other infrastructure, (4) provide a fuel that can be used in existing infrastructure, (5) and a fuel that can with be implemented rapidly implemented at a low cost. This would be the ideal alternative energy, the ideal alternative fuel, the real answer to our energy problems.



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Hilal Abdelwali asked:


Right now in the United States, there is a huge push for people to use alternative fuels as opposed to gasoline. There are many reasons for this push. Generally, it is because alternative fuels are kinder to the environment and can help to combat the ever-growing problem of global warming.

The price of driving a car is rising at an alarming rate. It has become very expensive to drive a car, so people are looking out for ways to save money on their fuel. Scientists are developing alternative fuels that can help not only the environment, but also the consumers checkbook. The new alternative fuels offer advantages in so many ways that people are really starting to take a look at these as an option over paying astronomical gasoline prices.

When consumers use alternative fuels both to gas up their car as well as heat and cool their homes, they are helping the environment as well as helping themselves. The toxins that are released into the air when we burn gasoline and other fuels have shown to contribute to global warming and before we know it, winter will be as warm as summer.

In the simplest form, an alternative fuel is one that is not produced by using crude oil. They are simply fuels that replace conventional gasoline as a means of powering vehicles. Alternative fuels have desirable energy efficiency and pollution reduction features. The 1990 Clean Air Act encourages development and sale of alternative fuels.

There are many different kinds of alternative fuels at the most prominent one as well as the one that has been around the longest is ethanol. Ethanol is made from corn which is a great help to our farmers as well as to consumers and the environment. Ethanol is sometimes called grain alcohol. It can also be made from organic materials including agricultural crops and waste, plant material left from logging, and trash including paper.

The alcohol found in alcoholic beverages is ethanol. However, the ethanol used for motor fuel is denatured, which means poison has been added so people can not drink it. Some people believe that producing ethanol takes more energy than it gives back and for the most part, this is true. However, technologies have evolved in such a way that it is possible to increase the efficiency of producing ethanol.

The growing trend toward alternative fuels will probably grow as we become more and more conscious of how we are damaging our environment through our habits and products we use. New alternative fuels are being developed all the time and having a choice will certainly be a nice alternative itself.



JOSUE

Gregg Hall asked:


With so many countries cutting back on energy use, there are many governments looking for alternative sources of fuel, especially with the rapidly climbing gas prices. The US is working harder than ever to get other sources of power onto the market. Experts say that not only are gas (octane) fuels pollutant, but the supplies buried beneath the earth are dwindling quickly. Now, with the anxiousness of a fuel crunch looming over our heads, America is finally stepping up and trying to find some other way to fuel our mechanical marvels. Here are the top candidates for alternative fuel king.

Bio diesel is the result of the European effort to remove a considerable amount of the polluting attributes of diesel fuel. This has created a 60% reduction in hydrocarbons, a 40% reduction of carbon monoxide, and a 40% reduction in particulates. Bio carbon is produced from raw materials called feedstock. This material absorbs carbon monoxide in an amount equal to the amount the car using the fuel emits. With this new diesel fuel, diesel engines are working at 50% higher fuel efficiency than normal gas powered engines

Ethanol is, by far, the most popular of the alternative fuels. Ethanol has a very down home farm essence to it as it is made from starch producing plants like corn. Yes, corn is the fuel of the future, although some producers prefer sugar to corn in the ethanol making process. Today, most of the information you hear about ethanol is the E85 mixture, which is a mixture of 85% ethanol, and 15% gas. This alternative fuel can only be used in vehicles especially designed for them as well as vehicles that are 22 E85 compatible. Using ethanol can reduce smog production up to 50%, gas can’t say that much. Unfortunately, despite E85’s smog emission reduction it is still contributing to ozone depletion, although many experts disagree, and still others have no idea how it happens in the first place.

CNG, or Compressed Natural Gas, is another of the top candidates for the king of alternative fuels. In comparison to gas, CNG comes from domestic, not Middle Eastern Reserves, burns cleaner, and is cheaper. Unfortunately, vehicles that run on CNG require some changes which include: storing natural gas in pressurized tanks, burning the CNG with a modified combustion engine, and it is more economical than gas burning engines. Although, CNG cars emit fewer smog emissions than Hybrid cars, they release more greenhouse gases than Hybrid cars as well.

Besides these top 3 candidates for alternative fuel king, there are other less developed methods. There is liquid coal, which will be too costly to use. There is hydrogen fuel, which will also be costly, because hydrogen isn’t naturally found. Fuel cell technology, which sounds a lot like Star Trek, is light years away from being developed. As of now, the hybrid vehicle is probably your best bet as far as fuel efficiency, and fuel alternative. Unfortunately, it doesn’t cure us of our dependency on gas. The king of alternative fuel may soon be crowned, but that soon is far away.



PATSY

James Nash asked:


With gas prices continuing to stay high, many people are looking at other fuel options, such as, for example, diesel fuel. Ethanol is another alternative fuel option that can also save you some money at the pump.

Ethanol, grain alcohol made mostly from corn in the U.S., has seen a resurgence in interest lately, including new federal mandates to produce at least 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2020. Most ethanol today is blended into gasoline in a mixture called E10, 10 percent ethanol to 90 percent gasoline. All new cars can use E10.

More controversial is a small amount that is blended into a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline called E85, which only a small percentage of cars can use without damage to their fuel systems.

Engineers are developing ways to make ethanol out of material other than food stocks, such as wood chips and old tires. This cellulosic ethanol will be needed to meet upcoming mandates for ethanol production, and will work in cars the same way corn ethanol does.

More than 7 million vehicles today can run on E85, and new biorefineries are increasing capacity. This has the added benefits of reducing dependence on foreign oil.

However, using ethanol as an alternative fuel source has a number of disavantages: firstly, cars running on E85 get 27 percent worse fuel economy than they do on gasoline, and less than 1 percent of U.S. gas stations currently sell E85. Secondly, federal fuel economy credits for ethanol may actually be reducing fuel economy in cars overall. And thirdly, increasing demand for ethanol has been blamed for driving up food prices.

The main problem, however, with ethanol is that the majority of engines on the road today are not designed for it. One exception is the Saab 9-5 Biopower engine, which IS optimized for ethanol. It outperforms gasoline, getting 20% more power, 16% greater torque, and 10% better mileage. The Lotus Exige 265E gets 45 more horse power on E85 than it gets on gasoline. Within the next two years, Suzuki, Ford, GM and numerous other car makers will introduce engines which exploit the advantages of ethanol for (a) its higher octane, (b) faster flame speed, (c) lower burn temperature (d) less heat loss, and most importantly (e) for its compatibility with water.

Our system of blending 15% gasoline into ethanol is not necessary. Ethanol can be denatured without using gasoline. That was how politicians created an incentive for oil companies to distribute ethanol, by giving them a 51 cent per gallon tax credit to blend it with gasoline. The problem is, ethanol performs better when it’s mixed with water rather than gasoline. This is called hydrous ethanol.

This is nothing new. In the 1920’s, the model A Ford cars and trucks ran on 165 proof ethanol, 17.5% water and 82.5% ethanol. Recently, a Hyatt Community College engine testing team lead by instructor Frank Petri, mixed 20% water with pure ethanol, and efficiency in the combustion chamber doubled. When the ethanol explodes, the water instantly turns into additional power in the form of steam and also provides hydrogen and oxygen inside the cylinder. Next year, Ford is introducing the EcoBoost engine, which may also have advanced ethanol technology that improves efficiency even more. Brazil has been using 4% hydrous ethanol for years.

John Roseby, Mechanical Engineer, University of Missouri said: From 1981 to 1989, I worked with Sean Hanley, who had been an engineer on a WW II submarine, and a former captain of a nuclear submarine. We developed two prototype cars, a Ford Pinto Station Wagon and a Mitsubishi Sedan, that ran as well on 65 proof ethanol (2/3 water and 1/3 ethanol) as they did on unleaded regular gas.

So if we can dilute pure ethanol with 2/3 water and run our vehicles on it, why aren’t we doing that? Its coming. The State of Louisiana is now planning an experimental hydrous ethanol program that may also be replicated in other states. Dongfeng, a major Chinese auto maker is introducing a car this year, with a slightly modified fuel system, that runs on 65% ethanol and 35% water. They claim hydrogen is formed. Toyota also has a similar hydrous ethanol prototype that produces on board hydrogen.

The argument that ethanol is inferior to diesel and gasoline is not valid. Pure ethanol has higher octane, faster flame speed, lower burn temperature which translates into less heat loss, and most importantly, it mixes with water. With advanced engine technology, it can outperform gasoline 2 to 1 or better. Major automakers are scheduled to produce smaller, lighter, high compression, turbocharged ethanol optimized engines that are a lot more efficient than current gasoline and diesel engines. The fuel will be cheaper, cleaner and made in the USA.

If you prefer an ethanol powered fuel cell, the Tacton Direct Proton Fuel Cell developed by Pinto University’s Research Park in Savannah, Georgia is about $2,000, only 1/10 the price of a hydrogen fuel cell. No need to compress hydrogen into ultra high pressure hydrogen tanks, which increases the cost of the fuel and the vehicle. Put safe and friendly ethanol in your conventional liquid fuel tank. Maybe that’s why Toyota is building ethanol plants in Brazil, and GM is investing in ethanol development in the U.S. They must know something we don’t know about ethanol.



HIPOLITO