What exactly is deriving oil prices high. Is less shortage of oil, oil production issues or simply demand for oil has sky rocketed. What we see today is only tip of iceberg. The day is not far when we will see oil barrel at 0 or more. While emerging economies are battling with established economies for control of third world oil for growth of business. The nations have started capturing untapped oil market for future expansion, along with current rising consumption of oil is the leading cause of price touching record high. What exactly, we have options for Fuel To Burn beyond Oil.
According to statistic, the America consumed 20 million barrels of petroleum every day in year 2006. This is really a big number but when we look at the numbers of China and India and other emerging economies the situation looks more grim.
There is urgency to come up with alternate fuel solution to oil, the world leaders, corporate leaders and environmentalist are working closely to create alternate fuels. The research universities are working tirelessly and corporate leaders are pumping huge amount for future fuel technologies.
We all know oil is made up of fossilized remains of ancient marine plants and animals, we also know this process takes millions of years to convert fossil into crude oil. The problem is there is a long process to get oil, where as demand for consumption is growing every minute in leaps and bounds.
What happens when we run out of oil?
Now the big question is, where do we stand if we run out oil. Already signs are not good. Refineries are running at high out put still not able to keep consumption requirements, Some of the oil rigs are running dry, sure signs of bad days. Some of the oil regions are involved in long conflict, resulting into delay and short supplies. Bottom line we no longer can depend upon on oil as major energy source.
Another factor, why alternate technologies for fuel are being pursued is the risk to environment. The most damage to earth has happened in last century, with explosion of industrial revolution and expansion of industries across all fields has created tremendous impact on global warming. People are able to see changes in environment, changing weather patterns, too much or no rain in different part of world, temperature soaring and glaciers shrinking all are signs of global warming.
The future needs are not only alternate fuel to gasoline but the future fuel has to be clean and no hazard to environment, unlike oil which creates greenhouse gases a prime reason of global warming. The next fuel will be clean, environment friendly, cheap and will be available in all countries. One more thing next generation fuel will help in reducing the tension among nations fighting for oil share.
The emerging economies China, India and Mexico are buying or leasing oil fields in Asia, Africa and Europe to keep their counties interest intact. The developed countries are busy in filling their oil reserves to safe guard national reserves. All this fight for oil and fierce competition among nation is bound to create conflict and war. The next generation fuel not only will help in reducing consumption demand but also help in keeping peace in world.
Now we have talked in length about the current issues related in respect to gap in demand supply of oil. Let's look at alternate fuels available and which one are in research.
"What is Ethanol fuel" and "how Ethanol fuel works"
One of the alternative fuel sought for oil or gasoline is Ethanol fuel . Any feed stock, which is based on carbon and after going through conversion process gives Ethanol. There is long list of carbon based items, such as sugar beets, corn, sugar cane, switch grass etc. The Ethanol fuel came in picture as clean alternate fuel and is environment friendly.
Currently Ethanol fuel is used as blend mixture with gasoline and is common at pump station across north America. It is also being used as oxygenate additive for gasoline and replacement for MTBE ingredient. The MTBE is a fuel compound which is responsible of contamination of ground water. Many states in America have put ban on use of MTBE and is being replaced by Ethanol. Read more on Ethanol ... How Ethanol Fuel Helps!
"What is Fuel Cell" and "how Fuel Cell works"
The Fuel Cell is a hardware device used in converting energy (Chemical) of a fuel such as "Natural Gas", "Hydrogen", "Gasoline". The conversion of chemical energy takes place with the help of an oxidant such as "Air" or "Oxygen" into an electricity. There are lot of similarities between Fuel Cell and Battery in principle, the major difference is Fuel Cell don't drain energy and don't require recharging. The fuel cell will keep generating energy as long it is supplied fuel and an oxidizer. Read more on Fuel cell ... How Fuel Cell Helps!
"What is Switchgrass fuel" and "How Switchgrass fuel works"
Another good candidate for alternate fuel source is the Switchgrass. The Switchgrass is described as a "Perennial Graminoid" and is native to America. The active period for this grass to grow is in summer. The life span of Switchgrass is long as compared to other plant species. The Switchgrass has rapid growth. The grass can grow from 5 ft to 12 ft. Most of the growth takes place in summer. The Switchgrass is resistant to drought and requires little attention or any fertilizer.
How fuel is produced from switchgrass feedstock - The Switchgrass is used as raw material to produce a distilled fuel known as Cellulosic ethanol. The Cellulosic fuel is derived by a chemical process , which involve breaking the Cellulose (Cell Wall in Plant) into basic components. Further, Yeast is assed and is left for fermentation process to create alcohol. Once alcohol goes through refined process, the resultant Ethanol can be used as Fuel. Read more on Switch grass .... How Switchgrass Energy Helps!
"What is Hydrogen fuel" and "how Hydrogen fuel works"
The initiative of using Hydrogen fuel as energy resource came from American government, scientist and environmentalist. The hydrogen fuel technology is based on simple chemical reaction between Oxygen and Hydrogen, the reaction generates energy. The resultant energy can be used as power a Car producing only water, not fumes.
The California state (America) was first to use hydrogen powered cars, currently few hundred automobiles are running in California. The cars have special storage to store Hydrogen in form of gas or liquid and process converts the hydrogen into electricity for the engine using a fuel cell. This project is still in early stage, with more research the technology will become more robust and commercially viable. Read more on Hydrogen fuel .... How Hydrogen fuel Helps!
What is Biodiesel Fuel and "how BioDiesel Fuel works"
Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
The BioDiesel fuel is clean, very efficient and clean burning alternative fuel. The Biodiesel fuel is more environment friendly. The fuel can be easily mixed with petroleum diesel and can be used in diesel engines (Compression Ignition).
The process of making Biodiesel is through a chemical process called Transesterification" , In this process the "glycerin" is separated from the vegetable oil or fats. The result of chemical process is two products. One is "methyl esters" and other is "glycerin". The chemical name known for Biodiesel is called as "methyl esters". Read more on Biodiesel fuel ... Help Biodiesel Fuel Helps!
"What is Wind Power (Wind Turbine)" and "how Wind Power works"
The wind power is not new concept, it has been used as energy source in western countries for some time. Only now it is catching fast at commercial scale not only in western countries but also in developing countries. The concept behind Wind Power is to capture kinetic energy through fast moving wind. Even air has fluid in the form of small particles is gas. These particles move quickly in the form of wind.
The quick motion through air means kinetic energy. This kinetic energy is captured by specially designed turbine blades. After capturing the kinetic energy, the turbine start moving, the movement of blade spins underneath shaft that has connection with generator. Rest of the processing is done by generator by converting rotational energy into electricity. Read more on Wind Energy ... How Wind Power Helps!
"What is Nuclear Fuel" and "how Nuclear fuel works"
The word Nuclear is enough to scare any one and on top of it subject as nuclear energy is enough to confuse people. The global energy is much talked subject, thanks to scientist, environmentalist and government agencies people now know the impact of it. The quest for alternate energy is at war foot, tons of money is being poured into research by government and private industries. Countries around world are debating about building more nuclear reactors and how to safeguard them. Read more on Nuclear fuel ... How Nuclear Power Helps!
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