The Pros and Cons of Alternative Fuels
Posted on April 4th, 2011 by admin
Traditional fossil fuels like petroleum are energy-rich and easy to refine, but the environmental consequences of their use has become dangerously clear. Any alternative fuels need to be as convenient to use, but cleaner and renewable. These are being developed, but there’s no obvious solution yet.
Most clean fuels are endlessly renewable, but aren’t practical today. Hydrogen fuel cells are a potential alternative, but there are serious technical challenges to deal with before this could happen. It takes a lot of energy to produce industrial hydrogen, for example, and at the moment this primarily comes from power plants that run on fossil fuels — we need cleaner power technology before we can rely on hydrogen as fuel.
Biodiesel could be used in the short term, because it works in any diesel engine and can be produced from common animal or vegetable fats. It won’t be widely available until it can be efficiently mass-produced without affecting food crop prices, probably by using algae or inedible plants as a source.
Right now, there are no easy replacements for traditional fuels. The science behind the alternatives makes sense, however, and their economic value is quickly catching up as public interest in them grows.