Archive for the ‘Fuel Alternatives’ Category
Perpetual Prototypes: Oddball Designs That Haven’t Hit the Mainstream
Among the shiny new electric hybrids, flex-fuel vehicles, and biofuel conversions, a few ideas got missed along the way. Some are in limited use by various municipalities on an experimental basis; others died for lack of financial backing or some critical deficit which may yet be addressed.
The oil crisis of the 1970’s sent many a backyard inventor to the workbench for an answer that would stand the test of time. Many intriguing novelties ensued, though few which have entered mass production. Here are a few of the lesser-known developments in alternative fueling which are on the verge of feasibility:
Types and Sources of Biofuels
As the mounting price and ecological cost of gasoline and diesel drives more and more consumers to demand a cheaper and safer alternative, governments and corporations around the globe are sleepily responding to the call, investing unprecedented resources toward finding a renewable substitute for fossil fuels.
The majority of developments have looked in two directions: biofuels, and electric-based solutions. Each of these have shown both tremendous potential as well as pitfalls, and proponents of each method are vocal in pointing out the shortcomings of the other.
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Food Vs. Fuel: The Future of Ethanol
When seeking an alternative to petroleum-based combustibles for use in passenger vehicles, corn-based alcohol originally showed some distinct advantages over gasoline. Burning more cleanly than the heavy hydrocarbons drilled in the oil fields, ethanol as an additive or replacement reduces emissions of greenhouse gases to a considerable extent.
It’s renewable, too-unlike fossil fuels, which experts say may be entirely diminished before the century’s end. The supply of ethanol can be replenished each year, bringing fallow farmlands back into production and returning farmers to the field.
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Jatropha: Seeds of Hope for Alternative Fuel
One unintended side effect of developing fuels agriculturally has been an attendant increase in the price of those crops we depend on to feed the planet. While largely a result of futures speculations and commodity trading, the alarming spike in the cost of essential food products has dimmed the enthusiasm of many biofuel advocates.
Water requirements, fertilizer contamination, and competition for prime farmland all combine to render corn and soybean models of biofuel unsustainable for the future, despite government mandates and a strong public impetus toward green vehicle alternatives.
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