Which alternative fuel is the best and why?

Question

Which alternative fuel is the best and why?

Answer 1

Biodiesel out of the current choices.

First off, diesel is more efficient that gas-hybrid.

Second, biodiesel can be made from some waste products.

Third, biodiesel can be run in current vehicles with very minor changes.

Ethanol actually increases smog.

Hybrids currently require nickel from that environmental sore in Canada.

Hydrogen is currently obtained from crude oil or natural gas--so not really an "alternative."  We are a long way from being able to supply even our electrical energy needs with wind, solar, and hydroelectric dams.

Answer 2

SVO (straight vegetable oil) wins hands down, with biodiesel as a close second.  Ethanol takes too much energy to distill.

SVO is made by growing a crop which contains a lot of oil, then squeezing the oil out of it.  Simple as that.  

However, if you go to your kitchen and look at a jar of vegetable oil, you see it's kinda thick, especially if it's cold (put it in the fridge).  So either the diesel engine must be modified to pre-heat the fuel so it's thinner...  or the fuel can be chemically altered to be thinner, which is called biodiesel.

The biodiesel conversion process is relatively efficient, it requires only heating the fuel to 150 degrees F and adding a small amount of methanol and lye.   The main energy cost of biodiesel and SVO is growing the crop.  Better yield crops (like algae) could greatly improve that.

Crude oil must be heated to boiling (300-500 degrees F) to separate out gasoline, diesel and other fractions from the crude oil.  This takes a lot of energy, about 20% of the fuel is burned just to make the other 80% into usable fuel.

Ethanol must be fermented into a weak brew (10-15% ethanol) and then distilled, which is to say boiled.  This takes even more energy, so much that it's almost not worth doing.   It takes nearly a gallon's worth to make a gallon :(   See the web site below for how much fossil fuel it takes to make different kinds of fuel.

http://www.mda.state.mn.us/renewable/ren...

Answer 3

There really is no 'good' fuel, since all fuels have a down side.

Those fuels which are burned typically produce heat and waste products (gas, water, ash, etc).

Fuels such as electricity (from geo-thermal, wind, wave, solar sources) have the 'side effect' of extracting energy from the environment (which may change weather patterns etc).

Nuclear fuels such as uranium/plutonium often produce toxic waste which lasts for a very long time. They also require massive mining operations.

In my opinion the 'best fuel' is hydrogen. It has the highest energy density and is probably the most abundant element in the universe. It can be extracted from sea water using electrolysis (possibly powered by a hydrogen fusion micro reactor) and when 'consumed' turns into either water or helium. Although this isnt practical/economical YET it only requires time.

Of those currently available/usable, replenishable fuels such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel may be better since they can be produced in large quantities and are easy to store and transport.

One other possible fuel that may not have been considered is methane from human/animal waste. This could be used in proton exchange stacks to produce electricity.

I guess we should really be considering how effectively we use the fuels that are available to give the most benefit with the least impact on the environment.

Answer 4

I personally believe hydrogen (produced with solar, wind and ocean current energy) would ultimately be the best. No emissions would be produced in either it's production or it's use (except pure water). Some people would debate that the infrastructure is not yet existent, but you've got to start somewhere. Once the demand is there, the fueling stations will follow. In the meantime, E85 and gasoline/electric hybrids are the best solutions.

Answer 5

Both gravity, and our earths magnetic field. The supply is unlimited, and produces no byproduct.

Answer 6

If a car is available a solar-panel car with a battery for the engine.

For the time being the hybrid is the best alternative fuel because it burns a lot less fuel and is not completely dependent on gas because of the battery power.

Answer 7

I am totally sold on bio-diesel made from Algae, although it isn’t available commercially yet.  However huge strides are being made and it will most likely be available in the next few years.  Here is why I think it is so great:

-The way that it is produced doesn’t require that we grow it on land used for food crops (as opposed to the multitude of crops that can be grown for other biofuels)

-It can be done on a scale large enough to actually replace gasoline (as opposed to used vegetable oil)

-There has recently been a successful project where the algae that is being grown for biofuel is being used to clean up the Co2 coming out of a smokestack at a power plant (see here: http://www.aps.com/general_info/newsrele...     )  How cool is that?

-I know some say hydrogen is better and maybe if they solve all the problems it would be.  But my understanding is that the problems are big and unlikely to be solved anytime soon.

Answer 8

Green 1971 is absolutely correct, Lets get behind this and force the bunch on the hill in Washington to hustle and get these cars into the hands of each of us and get rid of the gas hogs before the planet is to far gone to be able to recover from the damage already done. The auto manufactures should make these cars affordable for everyone immediately if not sooner.

Answer 9

The old fossil fuels  is the best as the earth has a recycle system  that will recycle it back into fossil fuels. It is done by plants ,and the plants first recycle our air and in a longer time it also recycles our fossil fuel. Most all fuels will get the true energy from the Corbin.

Answer 10

BioButanol or similar designer fuels will be the best.

The whys:

1) It isn't corrosive. This is ethanol's biggest problem.

2) It has almost as much power as standard gasoline. Ethanol has 1/3 less power.

3) It is less likely to evaporate than gasoline today. Gasoline changes their mixes around the year to prevent evaporation. Those treatments affect the fuel's performance. Butanol doesn't need any such treatments.

4) It can be distributed across the existing network for gasoline. So their is already a infrastructure to support it.

5) It can be ran in any engine at 100% pure butanol. Ethanol would damage a flex fuel vehicle at that purity.

Butanol could replace gasoline directly. There are two different efforts to develop this fuel that I'm aware of. If there are more, they aren't advertising it. There is one pilot plant in the US being designed and built, and one in the UK.

2010 seems to be the target to have a working plant by the end of according to http://www.butanol.com/.

Answer 11

Plug in Electric is the best fuel solution. You don't burn anything to run it. No co2 at all. I know somebody is going to say something about coal burning power plants. There are two responses that should end that misconception.

One is that if you had a solar-voltaic array at your home you would not need to use power from the grid to power  your car.

The second is that at night, when you would be charging your car (you would be wouldn't you?) that coal burning power plant is making more power that is being used so they shunt the excess electricity to the earth. It is destroyed power. Use that power and it will be power that is generating no more co2 than is already being generated.

You will add nothing to the green house gases, and as newer cleaner technology is implemented even that co2 will be eliminated.

The important thing to remember is that if you burn anything, whether it is bio-diesel, vegetable oil, ethanol, methanol, LPG, CNG, gasoline or coal it is making co2. Only solar, wind, geothermal or tidal generated electricity burns nothing.

Answer 12

Hydrogen - from renewable sources.   Hydrogen from renewables used in fuel cells which are electric is the future of land transportation for the human race.   It's cleanest and it's easiest to produce, doesn't depend on growing cycles, or take away from valuable food crop land use.  So let's make one change instead of 4 or 5.

Convert the currently existing world fleet to burn hydrogen instead of gasoline in the next 1-2 years.   Build the refueling stations over the next 1-5 years.  Have new car replacements that have specifically designed hydrogen engines until such time that the fuel cells are ready for market.

I'm busily working on conversion methods and hydrogen production methods.   Burning hydrogen in regular car engines, go-kart engines, etc actually reduces the pollen and carbon monoxide in the air......hydrogen burning engines are minus emissions vehicles that clean the air.

Please checkout the following www.clean-air.org and www.knowledgepublications.com

Answer 13

FOOD.

The stuff you eat for breakfast lunch and dinner.  Once digested it is known as body fat.

It is easily renewable you enjoy eating it. When combined with walking and riding a bicycle it produces virtually no co2 (maybe a little methane) and can get you to most places that you need to get too. Available to almost everybody. The exercise does you good and it is the cheapest form of transport.

During peak hours riding a bicycle is often the quickest form of transport also. Many fit people commute  20 miles (32km) plus each way most days. 100 200 mile plus journeys are also completed on bicycles.

Answer 14

From what I have heard on the TV channel 2 CBS  is that corn oil which costs $1.65, but you must be able at the present time to use Diesel Fuel, and Convert from that to corn by a Conversion That costs $3,000.00 to install, then you can buy Corn oil at the store by the gallon, and save 1/2 of your foul bill. That's what I would like to do, when I get a Car, but for right now I will stick to using the bus, which saves thousands per year on gas, Insurence, repairs, tire changes, oil filters, and just money in general. I get a smart pass for VIP $16.50 each month, and none VIP [disabled very important persons] can buy one $33.00 for a smart pass and go card, which is so easy to get, and maintain. We go to the STA Station, and reload it up just before the month ends.

Answer 15

The best right now is gas-electric hybrids because they get the best mileage and lowest CO2 emissions.

When a good affordable electric car is developed, it will become the best alternative fuel because electric engines are very efficient and thus electric cars produce the least CO2 emissions, even if much of the power grid is composed of coal burning power plants.

Answer 16

Ethanol is the best fuel.  It is clean, renewable, and made in America!