Alternative energy sources are becoming more and more popular, and because of this more alternative energy sources are being found. Many non-renewable energy sources are being innovated to make them become renewable. Three types of new renewable energy sources are mentioned in this research paper. Biomass, Compressed Air Tanks, and Fuel Cells are all alternative energy sources that can power cars, but Fuel Cells are the best. Biomass can be used to produce energy, which is called biopower (Renewable Energy 2008). Biopower is powered by two types of biofuels, which are ethanol and biodiesel (Biofuels Basics). Ethanol is fermented plants, such as corn, that is produced in a process "that is similar to making alcoholic liquors" (Renewable Energy 2008). Biodiesel, "a nontoxic, biodegradable liquid fuel", is produced from a mixture of gasoline and vegetable oil (Renewable Energy 2008). Biopower is made by burning waste wood and other sources, which then heats waters that then turns into steam, which then turns a turbine (Alternative Sources of Energy). There are many drawbacks to biopower; to produce the biomass a large amount of land and materials is needed (Renewable Energy 2008). Biopower does release carbon dioxide, but the plants that are used in biomass use the carbon dioxide given off (Ibid). The burning of biodiesel might also increase the emissions of a greenhouse gas called Nitrous Oxide (Ibid). The future for biopower is that bigger countries will use it for heating and cooking instead of energy production (Ibid). Compressed air car has "two hearts pumping" or "separate motors running at different times," these motors do this so that they run more efficiently (CNN). The compressed air turns the pistons, which then turns the wheels on the vehicle (Ibid). The only emission that comes with compressed air tank is cold air (Car Runs on Compressed Air). The tank that holds the compressed air can be trashed or recycled with little toxic waste (Environmental Research Letters). According to CNN, the compressed air tanks would reduce the cost of making cars by at least twenty percent. The cost would reduce because the cars will not need cooling systems, fuel tanks, and spark plugs (CNN). A prototype for a car with this new technology was sold for nearly ten thousand dollars (Car Runs on Compressed Air). One of the 6 most widely used types of fuel cells is Phosphoric (Fuel Cells Explained). According to NASA, the different types depend on the different way that the hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water.
The U.S. Department of Energy projects that if a mere 10% of automobiles nationwide were powered by fuel cells, regulated air pllutants would be cut by one million tons a year and 60 million tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide would be eliminated. DOE projects that the same number of fuel cell cars would cut oil imports by 800,000 barrels a day which is about 13 percent of total imports.
Fuel efficiency in automobiles has become a topic of much discussion in recent years in the United States. This is due largely to the environmental devastation that fuel emissions cause, but it is also sparked by the rising fuel costs. Making cars with high fuel efficiency not only saves consumers money, but also will drastically reduce the pollution that is caused by emissions. Today automakers are putting a tremendous amount of effort into making their cars more fuel efficient, both to meet government regulations and to make their car more appealing to the consumer.
of Britain. The main type of hydrogen fuel cell is the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane, or Proton
There are many different types of alternative fuels. Ethanol is derived domestically from corn and other crops it creates less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels. (fueleconomy.gov) Bio diesel is produced from oils which are from vegetables also some animal fats; it will most likely create less air pollutants than petroleum based fuels do in the environment. (fueleconomy.gov) Natural Gas is a fossil fuel that produces less air pollutants and greenhouse gases than most other fuels do. (fueleconomy.gov) “Hydrogen may be produced domestically from fossil fuels such as coal, nuclear power, or other things like renewable resources, such as hydro power; fuel cell vehicles which are powered by pure hydrogen do not tend to create any harmful pollutants in the environment.
Cars are a fantastic invention. They make our lives even more carefree by getting us from place to place quickly while eradicating the need for legs altogether. There is no doubt that the benefits of driving from place to place are numerous. However, driving takes a whole lot of fuel, and everyone knows that fuel for cars isn’t the most plentiful (or cheapest!) of resources.
Biogas has been found to be a sustainable source of energy which is creates less emissions compared to coal and oil (1). Due to everyday needs and wants of the growing populations of the world, natural resources have been used and over used to a point where they are no more as available, such as fossil fuels in Kristianstad(2). This unfortunately creates concern for the future however, an alternative source of energy has been found and is being implemented in the Swedish city so that the strain on the over use of natural resources can be relieved(3). Biogas is produced from biomass and it is the best sustainable plan as a source of energy and a way to be more environmentally conscious(4).
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
Alternative energy sources are renewable, and are most commonly referred to as free energy sources. There are many alternative energy sources such as hydro power, solar power, wind, biomass, and geothermal. Using alternative sources is more expensive in the long run, but it is the much safer option for our environment compared to fossil fuels. Although everything used is completely free, such as water and wind, the equipment used to generate these things is expensive. There are several pros and cons that come with the utilization of alternative energy sources.
Energy, especially from fossil fuels, is a key ingredient for all sectors of a modern economy and plays a fundamental role in improving the quality of life in less developed economies. In 2007, India is ranked fifth in the world in terms of energy demand; accounting for 3.6% of total energy consumed, and is expected to grow at 4.8% in the future. India imports 70% of the oil it uses, and the country has been hit hard by the increasing price of oil, uncertainty and environmental hazards that are concerned with the consumption of fossil fuels. In such context, bio energy constitutes a suitable alternative source of energy for India, as large amounts of raw material are available to be harnessed.
Biomass gasification is a process by which biofuel is produced. It has been used for over 180 years but in the last decades it has been reconsidered as an interesting technique due to the fact that oil supplies are decreasing. As mentioned before, gasification is a thermal process. Heat is added up in order to convert the organic mass to biofuel. The biomass usually undergoes drying, pyrolysis, partial oxidation and reduction. Nowadays the configurations used for gasification are three: fixed bed gasifier, fluidized bed gasifier and entrained bed gasifiers. The simplest configuration is the
Most people today fill up their car with different qualities of petrol, because that's what the average car takes. They don't usually consider an alternative for the petrol that they load into their cars. Although petrol is widely used, it is not the only source for a car to get its power from; diesel and electricity are alternatives to the general petrol used by most cars. Although different from each other, diesel and electricity are alternatives to the average gasoline received at a gas station. Diesel is a more concentrated type of fuel that is usually used by big automobiles because they require a lot of power in a little amount of time. Electricity is a method that uses the power of batteries to produce a low horsepower but, nevertheless fast automobile. Electric cars are generally created to be soundless and environment friendly. The purpose of this paper is to classify and educate the reader of the different types of fuel available for an automobile to use: petrol, diesel, and electricity. The general petrol, used by most people, is usually the only type of fuel accepted on the average car in the United States today.
More farmers are now planting crops for biofuel, resulting to an intense drop in food production. According to experts this promising alternative energy source is seemingly causing a global decrease of food supply. As the demand for biofuels increases, more industrialized countries are offering encouragements and subsidizing farmers to grow crops for fuel rather than for food. The biofuel production method was also anticipated to be carbon neutral, as the crops would absorb the carbon dioxide released when the biofuel was burned. However crops for fuel are now grown at such a rate that they need more energy to cultivate, grow and harvest. By the time it reaches households, it would have consumed more energy and released more greenhouse causing substances than the feared fossil fuels would have. The fact that emissions are released during production, processing, fertilizer application and as a result of land use change is highly ignored. Somehow biofuels can sidetrack less harmful and clean resources like renewable energies such as solar and wind energy. Large scale cultivation of biofuel crops, unlike small scale, locally produced and biofuel owned farms are commonly challenged by problems such as severe use of water, chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides. These also often lead to pollution, depleting and degrading available water resources which can cause famines. According to contrary believe of analysts, it has also shown that there is not enough farming land on earth to produce biofuel crops to meet the huge energy needs encouraged by our current and unmaintainable ways of living. http://www.greenerideal.com/science/0516-biofuels/ &
There are different kinds of resources that we can use in order to produce renewable energy. Solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power are just some of the kinds of renewable energy that might be the best options to obtain energy because they come from natural resources. Although renewable energy can be expensive to build, it has less environmental damage in comparison to non-renewable energy. Besides the natural resources such as sun, wind, water and hydrogen, we also have geothermal power, and biofuels as renewable sources.
In an age where our dependence on fossil fuels and other expendable resources is dramatically increasing as our supply is decreasing, it is imperative that new forms of energy arise. Although it is still in very early stages, it is fundamentally plausible that hydrogen could become a major fuel source in cars. For example, Honda has already released five hydrogen fuel cell cars.