Alternative Fuels Reid Anderson P.4

Possible sources of fuel Ethanol Methanol Electricity

Ethanol Ethanol is a fuel made from common food crops like sugar cane or corn It is Ethyl Alcohol and is the same as the alcohol found in beer or wine Henry Ford designed his first car to run on Ethanol

Pros and Cons of Ethanol Pros: Source can be re-grown Crops used are very common Cons: Reduces car performance Takes from the food supply Doesn’t produce fewer emissions than gas Very inefficient Problems starting in the winter

Progress on Ethanol Ethanol: Ethanol is already mass produced Trucks and cars would have to changed to use it More of the crops that produce Ethanol will have to be planted Less water will have to be used Crops that aren’t used for food need to be used in Ethanol

Methanol Similar to Ethanol, methanol is alcohol based It is produced using methane This methane can be harvested in a landfill when the material inside decomposes it releases methane gas Used in many racing circuits

Pros and Cons of Methanol Pros: Landfills are very common One time cost of putting in the pipes Can be used as a natural gas substitute Cons: Methane is a poison Corrodes metal quickly Doesn’t start well in the winter

Progress on Methanol Large numbers of landfills would have to be outfitted with pipes More efficient ways of decomposing garbage would have to appear. Cars and Trucks would have to be modified for fuels that are more than 15% methanol

Electricity Car runs directly off electricity Car pulls power from a battery Would be charged by plugging it in to the power grid at night

Pros and Cons of Electricity Pros: No emissions from the car Makes use of electricity when plants aren’t busy Reduces the cost required to drive a car Less foreign oil being used Cons: Power still has to come from somewhere Limited range for the car before having to recharge

Progress on Electricty The first fully electric cars are due to be released in 2010 Would result in more electricity being pulled from the grid Batteries need to improve to increase range Cars would have to be completely redesigned and retrofitted

Sources http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=trash-based-biofuels http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/