Posted by
J.P. Farris on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 7:56:39 PM
A few years ago there was a game called Simcity 2000. I understand there has been another version created since then. It was a city management simulation game. Anyway in normalplay there were the problems of running out of money, polution and a lackof needed resources. But I had the Buddamus code. When I typed it in I had all the money I needed and extra, plus I had access to a means of clean, sustainable energy that wasn't normally available for the time period I was supposed to be playing in.
In real life there is no Buddamus code to maintain resources. I read in today's San Antonio Express News that a key oilfield's decline in output is causing economic fears. In the report Maria Dickerson of the Los Angeles Times writes:
Output of the nation's most important oil field has fallen steeply this year,raising fears that wells there that generate 60 percent of the country's petroleum are in the throes of major decline.The report got me thinking about how dependent the world is upon oil. With gas prices on the rise, especially with the current crisis in the Middle East, alternate fuel sources are badly needed. I'm writing with the crazy idea that with the world's consumption of oil just suppose that one of these days that particular fossil fuel dries up. What about other more sustainable alternative fuels? Think about it. Give it some thought.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is a domestically produced, renewable fuel that can be manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant greases. Biodiesel is safe, biodegradable, and reduces serious air pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and air toxics. Blends of 20% biodiesel with 80% petroleum diesel (B20) can generally be used in unmodified diesel engines.
Electricity
Electricity can be used as a transportation fuel to power battery electric and fuel cell vehicles. When used to power electric vehicles or EVs, electricity is stored in an energy storage device such as a battery. EV batteries have a limited storage capacity and their electricity must be replenished by plugging the vehicle into an electrical source. The electricity for recharging the batteries can come from the existing power grid, or from distributed renewable sources such as solar or wind energy.
Fuel cell vehicles use electricity produced from an electrochemical reaction that takes place when hydrogen and oxygen are combined in the fuel cell "stack." The production of electricity using fuel cells takes place without combustion or pollution and leaves only two byproducts, heat and water.
Ethanol
Ethanol is an alcohol-based alternative fuel produced by fermenting and distilling starch crops that have been converted into simple sugars. Feedstocks for this fuel include corn, barley, and wheat. Ethanol can also be produced from "cellulosic biomass" such as trees and grasses and is called bioethanol. Ethanol is most commonly used to increase octane and improve the emissions quality of gasoline.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen (H2) will play an important role in developing sustainable transportation in the United States, because in the future it may be produced in virtually unlimited quantities using renewable resources. Hydrogen has been used effectively in a number of internal combustion engine vehicles as pure hydrogen mixed with natural gas.
Methanol
Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, can be used as an alternative fuel in flexible fuel vehicles that run on M85 (a blend of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline). However, it is not commonly used because automakers are no longer supplying methanol-powered vehicles.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is domestically produced and readily available to end-users through the utility infrastructure. It is also clean burning and produces significantly fewer harmful emissions than reformulated gasoline or diesel when used in natural gas vehicles. In addition, commercially available medium- and heavy-duty natural gas engines have demonstrated over 90% reductions of carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter and more than 50% reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) relative to commercial diesel engines. Natural gas can either be stored onboard a vehicle as compressed natural gas (CNG) at 3,000 or 3,600 psi or as liquefied natural gas (LNG) at typically 20-150 psi.
Propane
Propane or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a popular alternative fuel choice for vehicles because there is already an infrastructure of pipelines, processing facilities, and storage for its efficient distribution.
Besides being readily available to the general public, LPG produces fewer vehicle emissions than gasoline. Propane is produced as a by-product of natural gas processing and crude oil refining.
P-Series
P-Series fuel is a unique blend of natural gas liquids (pentanes plus), ethanol, and the biomass-derived co-solvent methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF). P-Series fuels are clear, colorless, 89-93 octane, liquid blends that are formulated to be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFV's). P-Series are designed to be used alone or freely mixed with gasoline in any proportion inside the FFV's gas tank. These fuels are not currently being produced in large quantities and are not widely used.
Since 1992, when the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) was passed, only one new fuel has been recognized as an alternative fuel under the EPAct petitions provision. P-Series fuels were added to the list of alternative fuels in 1999.
The world is, and will for a long time remain, dependent upon oil, but alternative renewable fuels are available.
{http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/}