Fuels of the Future

Home Fuels Of The Future Ethanol Biodiesel Hydrogen Links

Recently alternative fuels have been gaining popularity especially here in the United States. The advantages of many of these fuels are being recognized with the rising cost of crude oil. Other countries around the world have been using alternative fuels for years, such as in Brazil where they have good feedstock for some fuels such as ethanol. Biofuels are also becoming cost effective with higher crude oil prices and can be completely renewable. The best thing about many of these alternative fuels is they can be readily used in standard internal combustion engines with little or no modification. The list of alternative fuels can go on forever, but some of the most common and readily adaptable fuels are: ethanol, biodiesel and hydrogen. Of course these fuels all have their drawbacks, but so do petroleum based fuels, we have just engineered around some of the disadvantages. The same thing can be done with these alternative fuels; engineer around the disadvantages. Most of these fuels do not release new carbon into the atmosphere which is a good thing, we don't need any extra carbon in the carbon cycle. The following pages explain what some of these more common fuels are as well as some advantages and disadvantages of each.