What other fuels are there, other than fossil fuels, that you could use to energize transportation? With all of the compounds in the world, both natural and synthetic, I'm amazed that we are still in the dark ages when it comes to alternative fuels. Electricity is great for propulsion, but what else is there that can help us in generating the electricity?

Anybody??

 

Is there anyone that can comment on this?

 

I'd written a couple of paragraphs but dropped them when I noticed there wasn't any hybrid-electric technology involved. I'm a technie-cheapie hybrid owner, the greenie part is amusing but doesn't 'crank my tractor.' Now if you want to get into thermodynamic efficiency, I'm all ears.

Bob Wilson

 

I have heard of harvesting methane as a different alternative fuel. How would they do that? I have read that they take the leftover parts of animals at the meat packing companies and place it in a vat containing enzymes that, at constant temperatures, break the waste into a form of a soup. This soup is fermented for 30 days in this vat and constant temperatures to help create the methane gas. The methane gas is then captured and stored for use in different manufacturing facilities for different reasons.

I have also read that methane is produced by cattle worldwide and that it is eating our atmosphere and causing the highest amount of greenhouse gasses.

I propose this as a different way to power automobiles: You could take some piping from the fuel management system from your vehicle and lead it to the passenger compartment. From there, link up to a manifold system in which there are equal numbers of inlets to the available seating capacity of the vehicle. Place funnels under all available seating and connect them to the manifold. Instant methane burning!!

And with gas prices fluctuating like they do, you could always count on Taco Bell and White Castle to keep their foods at a respectable level.

Just my $.02

 

I drive a Honda Civic GX at work, which runs on natural gas.

Natural gas is methane.

The only downside is having to fill up more often. Compressed natural gas is not as energy-dense as gasoline.

Like it or not, gasoline is an ideal fuel. Now if we could all just agree to burn less of it by driving more fuel-efficient cars, and just drive less.

Global warming is going to burn all of us.

Harry

 

Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane but including significant quantities of ethane, butane, propane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium and hydrogen sulfide[1]. It is found in oil fields and natural gas fields, and in coal beds. When methane-rich gases are produced by the anaerobic decay of non-fossil organic material, these are referred to as biogas. Sources of biogas include swamps, marshes, and landfills (see landfill gas), as well as sewage sludge and manure by way of anaerobic digesters, in addition to enteric fermentation particularly in cattle. Natural gas is often informally referred to as simply gas, especially when compared to other energy sources such as electricity. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, all the materials other than methane have to be removed in a process called sweetening. The removed paraffins and the helium all have commercial applications and are sold on as by-products of the sweetening process

Methane is a significant and plentiful fuel which is the principal component of natural gas. Burning one molecule of methane in the presence of oxygen releases one molecule of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and two molecules of H2O:

CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O

Methane's relative abundance and clean burning process makes it a very attractive fuel. However, because it is a gas (at normal temperature and pressure) and not a liquid or solid, methane is difficult to transport from the areas that produce it to the areas that consume it. Converting methane to derivatives that are more easily transported, such as methanol, is an active area of research. Certain microorganisms can effect this selective oxidation using enzymes called methane monooxygenases.

Methane is a relatively potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential.[1] When averaged over 100 years each kg of CH4 warms the Earth 23 times as much as the same mass of CO2.

The Earth's crust contains huge amounts of methane. Large amounts of methane are produced by methanogenesis. Other sources include mud volcanoes which are connected with deep geological faults.

Sorry Earthling, the two are not the same...

Again I ask, why not find a way to make a methane burning mode of transportation?

 

Well, they are almost the same.

Methane is being collected from landfills and sewage treatment plants now as a fuel source. Quite a few sewage treatment plants burn collected methane for heat and/or to generate electricity.

I don't see why compressed methane wouldn't work in a Civic GX, as an example.

Recovering methane from landfills, farm wastes, and sewage treatment plants would not only provide fuel, but would also, as you have identified, reduce the release of a potent greenhouse gas.

Harry

 

Alternatives:

Electricity - Make it at home from solar or wind, never buy transportation energy from someone else again. The most efficient alternative by far and can be carbon neutral.

Corn Ethanol - Very poor return on energy investment as a result of fossil fuels, fertlizers and energy required in distilllation. Sometimes uses more energy to make than you get back.

Cellulosic Ethanol - Much better than corn, easily energy positive, can use switchgrass or waste straw / wood chippings etc but still not a great energy yield per acre.

Rape-seed oil - Made into biodiesel makes 5% of diesel in France today, 100 gallons per acre per year. Yield per acre still too low to make a big impact on global supply.

Palm oil - For biodiesel, up to 400 gallons per acre per year, at $50 per barrel currently cheaper than crude oil, but only grows in tropics and very real danger forests will be cut down to produce it.

Algae oil - Up to 10,000 gallons of oil per acre per year, can grow at most latitudes on land not used for farming, cost competitive with fossil fuels, some companies making good progress.

 

How does hemp seed oil compare? I heard that it burns quite bright. This is NOT a bait. This is searching for answers

 

Hemp seed oil is roughly 80 gallons per acre, so not a volume competitor.