Types of Alternative Fuels

One of the prominent dictionary definitions of the word fuel defines it as an energy source for engines, reactors, or power plants.

When mentioning the word fuel, most people automatically think of the fuel that drives their vehicles. The average American owns at least one car; some people even own several of them. A significant percentage of a vehicle owner’s paycheck goes toward gasoline or diesel.

Currently, the vast majority of fuels are based on petroleum products. Because of the rising cost of petroleum and the vast majority of it coming from the Middle East, many people are starting to look for other types of alternative fuels. The long list of available types of alternative fuels is beginning to increase in markets throughout the world.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) - a.k.a. Propane

One of the downsides to many of the top alternative fuels is that they either utilize petroleum in the creation process or are partially made of petroleum. One of these products, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), comes from petroleum, but is still considered an alternative fuel.

It is essentially a byproduct of normal petroleum refining and consists of hydrocarbon vapors, rather than liquids. The normal name for LPG is propane and is available at just about any location.

Propane can be used to run a vehicle, heat a home, or even run appliances such as water heaters and ovens. The biggest advantage of using propane is its availability and as long as petroleum is being refined, propane is plentiful.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

Another plentiful types of alternative fuel that is considered to be an alternative source is also based on fossil fuels. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is currently being used for the same applications as propane.

Just like propane, vehicles have been designed to run on CNG for many years. In fact, Honda, one of the major vehicle manufacturers has a mainstream production car that runs on CNG. Any homeowner can have a CNG pump installed at their home location for a relatively low amount of money.

Like propane, the biggest advantage is availability, however it is somewhat cleaner than propane and when used in engines helps them last longer. Its counterpart, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is a similar type of alternative fuel source, but it is much purer than CNG. The downside to LNG is that it must be cooled at extreme temperatures to liquefy.

Methanol

Methanol, also known as M85, makes the lists of prominent types of alternative fuels. While methanol is normally made from natural gas, it can also be created through fermentation biomasses. It is currently not very competitive on the market, but it is available for anyone’s usage.

The most common place to find methanol comes from where it gets its name. In vehicles, M85 is 85 percent methanol and 15 percent unleaded gasoline. Future development projects that incorporate methanol are using pure methanol to create fuel cells.

The advantage of methanol is that it uses much less petroleum and current vehicles only need minor modifications to incorporate it into engines.

Ethanol

A more prominent types of alternative fuel similar to methanol is ethanol. Ethanol, commonly grain alcohol, is made by fermenting biomass, usually corn. The most common use of ethanol on the market consists of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent unleaded gasoline.

The biggest advantage of a switch to ethanol is that it is commercially available in many areas and several of the leading vehicle manufacturers are producing E85 compatible vehicles. Ethanol is a renewable resource and contributes nothing to global warming.

Biodiesel

Like methanol and ethanol are to gasoline, biodiesel is a natural replacement for diesel. Biodiesel, B20, is currently becoming more and more available on the market. It is commonly made from canola oils or soybean oils and is considered a renewable resource.

The biggest advantage of biodiesel is that with only a modest invest at just about any local hardware store, any homeowner can produce their own biodiesel. A current diesel engine only requires small modifications to run on biodiesel and it can be mixed.

Hydrogen as Fuel

Another type of alternative fuel gaining more and more media attention is hydrogen. The single problem with hydrogen is that it only occurs naturally at the outer edge of the atmosphere. Creating hydrogen as a fuel source comes from either reforming natural gas or electrolyzing water.

Currently the creation of hydrogen takes almost as much energy as hydrogen produces. The reason it is getting the attention as one of the most “alternative” of the alternative fuels is that when burned, only produces drinkable water, leaving a zero carbon footprint. Currently there are a few tests going in various places around the world to test hydrogen as a feasible replacement of gasoline.

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