Alternative Transportation Fuels

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We have tough choices. We’ve been requiring the use of ethanol in our fuel, to lower our consumption of foreign oil. Now, we find we can (actually, now that the price of fuel is high enough, it makes sense to) obtain even more fuel from American sources, or at the very least from Canadian sources.

In 2010, 8% of our transportation fuel was obtained from corn-based ethanol. Which meant that our imports of oil from overseas were greatly reduced. But, the costs were very high. 40% of the corn we produced that year was diverted for fuel usage. That’s some 4.4 billion bushels of corn (225 billion pounds of corn) to yield about 6.5 billion gallons of alcoholic fuel. Not including the irrigation needs, that means some 25 billion gallons of water were also required. The land needs for this production of corn are also astounding.

Switching to algae may be a better approach. Algae grows much quicker than does corn, which cuts the land usage down dramatically. Some folks are now growing algae using the carbon dioxide that is emitted from cement plants. (The production of cement releases copious quantities of carbon dioxide).

The problems with these concepts is that the capital costs for these production facilities are fairly high. Specialized reactors must be used.   (For example, the plant in Spain uses polycarbonate structures that cost about $ 1 million per hectare- and yields about 2.5 barrels of oil daily.). Adding in the costs to mix the algae reactors renders the costs of production close to $ 18 a gallon- hardly economical.

We have tried growing algae contiguous to power plants,  using the heated carbon dioxide emitted from the stacks. (This combination not only affords the carbon dioxide reactant, but the higher temperature of the flue gases also increases the algal production rates,) Instead of producing oil, we opted to produce methane (the main component in natural gas), via a subsequent operation on the algal masses. The problem with this concept is that the current glut of natural gas at very reasonable costs priced our system out of reality.

If the goal of these alternatives is not just to supplant our importation of fuels, but to reduce our carbon footprint, then, with the exception of a process such as ours, the systems fail. We end up with the same carbon footprint as before- unless we adopt some carbon dioxide sequestration systems at the fermentation stage for ethanol (at higher costs, still) that can remove about 30% of the carbon- by incorporation into concrete.

As I said- we have tough choices to make…

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14 thoughts on “Alternative Transportation Fuels”

  1. The topic of alternative fuel absolutely is over my head. I do like the sound of algae though. I know this is going to sound oh so bleeding heart, but the concept of using corn and soy for fuel never tripped my trigger…for one reason…people are still hungry, and it’s food. This alt fuel sounds super neat, if they can make it cost affective.
    Lisa Brandel recently posted..Only What You See by Lisa Brandel

  2. Pingback: Benefits Of Alternative Energy | Alternative Energy Facts
  3. The topic of alternative fuel sure is a very interesting somehow. I don’t understand the technicalities most of the times but I try. When I was around 15 I went to a very polluted Delhi for vacation. It was a horror to see the amount of smoke all around – thanks to the overwhelming number of auto rickshaws in the city (though they weren’t the only ones to be blamed). After about 5 years, the same city was transformed, thanks to a green revolution – more trees and also use of Compressed Natural Gas in all autos (compulsory) and in cars too (optional). Though I see a lot of cars opting for it – better on the pocket and though Delhi still is heavily polluted, it is cleaner than what it was!

    The CNG revolution is slowly catching up this end too; though oil is cheaper here! It is the Middle Eat after all! 🙂
    Hajra recently posted..Will the real men please stand up

    1. To be honest, with the glut of natural gas here in the States, I am somewhat surprised that there has not been a bigger push for that choice in autos, too. However, it may be related to the higher costs of engines, the lower power produced… Who knows? Maybe, we need India to lead the way, Hajra.

  4. Well I think that would be a great idea. As a matter of fact. Having these alternative fuel can help us in order to save more energy from the old fuel we are using.
    TracyAnn0312 recently posted..tactical gear

    1. Not sure that alternative fuels save “fuel”- may of these alternatives actually provide lower efficiencies than the fuels they replace. But, if the price is right, it means we need to import fewer products, don’t have to transport the fuels as far, and have a secure supply.

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