What is the fuel of the future? With petroleum finally on the way out there are a myriad of alternative fuels vying to take its place. Among there are perhaps the top three competitors for most available, and most sustainable source, consisting of ethanol, vegetable oil, or compressed natural gas. Let’s look at each individually.
Ethanol has a reputation already for providing a cleaner alternative to petroleum-based fuels, but as of yet is not approved for 100% pure use in mainstream automobiles. In most cases gasoline is supplemented with ethanol, at east up to 25%, in order to both save gasoline reserves and produce fewer emissions.
But the history of ethanol shows us that 100% ethanol cars are a possibility. Brazil already has a whopping 20% of its cars running on pure ethanol- a number sure to rise as the nation continues to produce the fuel themselves. Ethanol’s local production and renewability make it a very real alternative. While there are still problems, such as the fuel vs. food debate and studies that show E85 may do more harm than good, which are causing major problems in passing ethanol legislation, pure ethanol is very much on the way in.
But what about vegetable oil? This is an interesting phenomenon in alternative fuels- almost an underground movement if you will. Affectionately called “Greasecars,” veggie oil cars are automobiles converted to run off the vegetable oil, the most common source of which is fast food restaurants.
As a concept the use of vegetable oil is a win-win, from eliminating excess restaurant grease to cutting down on petroleum emissions to saving about $4 a gallon on fuel. But there are downsides. The car being converted must run on diesel and be in decent condition, while the cost of conversion can run anywhere between $500 and $5,000 depending on the car and who does the work.
But most of all, while vegetable oil is a good source for smaller companies and individuals, there is a lack of overall infrastructure for the fuel. In the end the amount of vegetable oil produced in the US would only be enough to fuel .07% of the current petroleum market. Without the cheap, leftover fuel source the merits of vegetable oil go quickly downwards, but not to dismay, time may prove vegetable oil the best source of all.
Compressed natural gas is an interesting alternative, popular with European automakers and Brazilian public transportation systems. Cars equipped with CNG can usually run on either their internal combustion or CNG tank, much like most vegetable oil cars can.
So what is CNG? It’s a fossil fuel derivative of natural gas (methane) that is compressed into 1% of it normal volume and stored in a tank attached to the automobile. The propulsion produced by slowly freeing the gas allows the car to run. But CNG is a fossil fuel, and as such does emit greenhouse gasses, but at nowhere near the rate of normal petrol-powered vehicles, giving CNG the label of “bio-fuel” as well.
So what is the answer? Each method has their ups and down, but only one appears to be truly “renewable.” Is ethanol, perhaps, the one to break free in the future? Only time will tell.
