Fuel Alternatives

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.

Biofuels are made from plant sources or from organic waste. For gasoline-based engines, the fueling options encompassing various types of alcohol blends, including ethanol, made primarily from feedstock corn, and methanol, which can be manufactured from landfills or animal manure. Engines must be retooled to run purely on these fuels, although most vehicles are able function, without modification, using an ethanol blend of up to 85%.

Biodiesel is made from transesterification of fatty oils, particularly the seed oils of plants. The original Diesel engine was designed to operate on pure peanut oil, and only later came into use in heavy industry using the unrefined petroleum product which now bears the same name.

Some farmers have always known that the flexible invention of Rudolph Diesel could burn oil pressed from seeds as easily as that drilled from the ground, but the mainstream only recently learned of this compelling option.

During the 1990’s, biodiesel was rediscovered by pioneering environmentalists, who began recycling used waste oil from restaurants as an ecological and inexpensive alternative. Many installed a second tank and heater in order to burn straight vegetable oil, touring the country to spread world of this remarkably simple natural solution to the fuel crisis.

Unlike pure vegetable oil, biodiesel can be used in most diesel engines without any modification, although newer models may void warranties by doing so. In addition, the rubber fuel delivery lines of vehicles manufactured before 1992 must be replaced prior to the use of biodiesel, and the fuel filter replaced after the first tank, because the tar-like deposits from previous petro-diesel use will be swept away by the cleansing effect of the biodiesel.

There are a number of fuel and hybrid alternatives which can be used to allow us to maintain our mobility and free us from nonrenewable oil sources at the same time.