S it true there is a replacement petroleum based engines?

Question

but governments won't use the tech as it may be bad for their economies

Answer 1

The government in most countries would look more favorably upon a new technology rather than an aging technology. In the long view there is more to gain. The USA has a president that is born and bred with the oil industry so that can lead to conflicts of interest. Not that I think he is immoral.

There have been other fuels for engines in the past and presently. Gasoline packs more energy per unit of volume than any of the other fuels though. Alcohol, either Ethanol or Metrhanol has a higher octane than gasoline which makes it very suitable for race car engines but is very corrosive and gets worse fuel economy.

The same can be said for natural gas, CNG and LNG plus you have the problem of storeage tanks that must be in a compresed state at all times or the high compression that makes natural gas liquid will become a low compression and will become merely compressed natural gas and the range of your vehicle drops way off.

Other fuels have been tried, like liquified coal, hydrozine, nitromethane, vegetable oil (the original fuel used by Dr. Deisel) and even gunpowder. Nothing has worked as well (nor as poorly) as gasoline.

I like the prospects of electric powered cars. Batteries are the big drawback in regard to range and power. Battery technology is improving rapidly since the advent of the hybrid car has made it profitable to invest in R&D for exotic batteries.  

We need not rely on batteries to power electric vehicles either. We could have power in the commuter lanes that can be picked up by your commuter car. Disney and other amusement park ride developers has been using this means of powering their thrill rides for decades. Big Rigs could use this Linear Induction System also as there is a lot of power in the electric motor, think of the power used to move Freight Trains. They are hybrids too.

Answer 2

I don't care if people believe me or not i did see a motor the size of a lawnmower motor you could hold in one hand that was delivering 150 horse power well capable of 100 miles a gallon that would burn on any kind of fuel made by the Muller Corporation and i swear on my life the government took it over . Yes it is true the government doesn't tell us c**p unless there's a profit in it for them . I sometimes believe there's a bigger force out there then our governments far beyond what we think  .Not sure who or what it is men in black as far as i know but there hear.

Answer 3

The paranoid and conspiracy fans among us belive that this is the case.

It is _possible_ that government/big business is suppressing alternate fuel technology, but not probable.

Tales of the 100MPG carburetor, hydrogen fueled cars with hydrogen-on-demand generators, self-regenerative batteries for electric cars, etc abound here in the net.

You can research all this technology and more at http://www.uspto.gov (the U.S. patent office).  

I just did a quick search and came up with:

Patent # 7,100,542    -- Hydrogen oxygen generation system for an internal combustion engine

Go check it out.  You may be the one who gets just stupid rich by developing one of these alternative technologies.

Answer 4

Fox Mulder, is that you?

It's all lies I  tell ya!

There is and never has been such a thing as a non petroleum based engine, all results of fertile imaginations.

Now excuse me please while I get some groceries in in Bio-diesel / electric / sterling / steam / nuclear powered

vehicle.

True and been going on for ages, just look how slowly the US is moving compared to the rest of the world, or better yet look at the US stance on global warming, same thing different name.

Answer 5

No, that is ridiculous. There is no such thing.

Answer 6

It has nothing to do with the economy, it has to do with corporations loosing money!

Answer 7

There is no such thing as a water powered car.  Making hydrogen from water and burning it is NOT a source of energy, it takes energy to seperate the water.  A lot of it.

Hydrogen is an alternative, but we currently make hydrogen from natural gas or venting crude oil.  So still a fossil fuel.

CNG and LNG (natural gas) are alternatives as well but still fossil fuels.

Feel free to believe ethanol is the solution to CO2, these engines are still internal combutstion engines (same technology).

Also biodiesel is just another of many fuels that can be used to run a diesel engine.

Batteries again, are NOT a source of energy.  They must be re-charged which requires energy.  However, if the recharging occurs from solar, wind, nuclear, or hydro, this would be an alternative to fossil fuels.  But more expensive than gas and a PURE electric car is currently small, lightweight, and has a short range.

So my answer is no, though you may hear otherwise.

Answer 8

You mean like some magic secret technology that's being suppressed by the men in black?  No, no, nothing like that.

However there are some known techologies that work. And the government is guilty of either not promoting them, or actively interfering with their development.  

For instance, electric cars were mandated by CARB (California EPA) in the 1990s.  It was actually too tough for the automakers to meet, but rather than backing off a bit, CARB let themselves be talked out of it entirely.  So the promising EV programs of the 1990s were all totally scrapped.

The government is totally neglecting electric vehicles (EVs). They aren't even supporting citizens who do home conversions of gas cars to EVs, with simple law changes to make it easier to obtain parts, register EVs and drive them in carpool lanes.

Ethanol is a really bad biofuel, it just doesn't work, it take 2/3 gallon of fuel to make 1 gallon's worth of ethanol.    It's nothing more than government pork for factory farmers, paying them to grow corn instead of to grow nothing.  Taxing the soil with crop monoculture is actually bad for the environment.  

Whereas biodiesel, which does work, doesn't get nearly that kind of support from the government.   They just changed all the diesel laws, but they neglected to mandate that diesel cars be certified for 100% biodiesel, let alone demand the minor engine changes that would make used fry oil easier to work with.

Answer 9

There is a variety of replacements for petroleum, or gas, based engines. Large advances have been made in ethanol based engines, water based engines, battery based engines, and even grease based engines. The movement for such engines is not specifically stifled by government, but also car companies and primarily Big Oil. There are many options you can purchase and modify your own car with, whether battery or water powered.

Answer 10

Actually, what is being replaced is the petroleum, not the engine. Hence the term alternative fuels.

Ethanol, biodiesel are just a few of them. They both can be used on existing engines running on petroleum based fuels.

Answer 11

Lot of them. Expensive, not reliable and reliant on other energy sources than oil.