Why can't we use alternative fuels with non-diesel engines?

Question

Can anyone point me to some material that gives some deeper explanations of how alternative fuels work in internal combustion engines?

Answer 1

the best alternative fuel, electric, does not work in diesel engines.

Electric motors are just smoother, quieter, & smell free, plus higher torque & lower maintenance.

why do you want to consider infernal combustion now-a- days?

http://www.evuk.co.uk

Answer 2

There are more that a few alternative fuels that will work in a standard internal combustion engine.  Alcohol, Propane and natural gas just to name a few.  To the poster hyping Electric vehicles,  when they come up with one that will go 4-5 hundred mile at highway speeds before it needs to be recharged and when the recharge takes no longer than it takes to fill a gas tank I'll consider buying one.

Answer 3

They are supposed to replace some or all of the gasoline/diesel and work in the same manner. None of which do. Ethanol is horrible on your engine, kills fuel economy and thus increases emissions. It burns too hot, which destroys the internal workings of your engine and that hotter burn means less efficiency. We want the burn to operate as cool as possible in order to get good fuel economy and low emissions. Operating at high temps causes the formation of pollutants like oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide. Bio diesel is great down south in summer, (it actually gets better fuel economy and helps lubricate the engine better) but can't be used in the northern climates because it won't ignite at such cold temperatures on start up and ends up turning to a thick, molasses like substance in the fuel tank.

Answer 4

Most alternative fuels don't work in non-diesel engines because internal combustion engines work when a spark ignites a flammable fuel. Diesels run on compression, not spark.

Answer 5

There are two basic classes of "alternative fuels": alcohols, and plant oils.  Ethanol can be made from plants by fermentation, and is widely used as at least a partial substitute for gasoline.  Its problems are several: alcohol has only 2/3 the energy content of gasoline; it requires special shipping (you can't send it through a petroleum pipeline); and it requires as much energy to make as it provides.  So, making alcohol as a fuel is a complete waste of time and effort.

Plant oils are now used to a limited extent as a substitute for diesel fuel, and work well.  The molecules are too heavy to be suitable as a substitute for gasoline, and production is limited by the shortage of crops capable of making fuel at an acceptable price; most bio-diesel is reclaimed from commercial food processing, where the used oil would otherwise have to be discarded.