Alternative Fuels

Alternative Fuels

By: Olivia Evers

Pros:

• Byproducts are only water and heat/energy
• 3/4 of the elements of the world are hydrogen/renewable resource
• Can help conserve petroleum(flammable and oily form of pollution)
• Do not emit greenhouse emissions
• When it is actually being used, no byproducts are harmful to the environment
• The fuel cell will automatically shut off when stopped at a stoplight, traffic, or stop sign
• In certain driving modes, regenerative braking can be used to retrieve lost energy and charge the battery
• It is non-toxic
• Hydrogen is more powerful and secure than fossil fuels
• Pound for pound, hydrogen has more energy in its atoms than gasoline, causing the car to go farther compared to fossil fuels

What Are Alternative Fuels?

Examples of Alternative Fuels

Cons:

• Electricity
• Biodiesel
• Biomass
• Ethanol
• Methanol
• Natural Gas
• Hydrogen
• Solar

• Storing the hydrogen(it has to have the right conditions such as temperature and pressure)
• The hydrogen stations and fuel cells are very expensive
• Fuel stations are rare
• Expensive to transport hydrogen
• Currently hydrogen fuels are made from nonrenewable resources that create large amounts of CO2 (must do electrolysis)
• Are flammable, but the containers are put through many tests to avoid problems
• If there is a leak, there would need to be sensors to tell (hydrogen has no smell)

Alternative fuels are a form of fuel that is a substitute for gasoline such as hydrogen or biomass that is used for powering vehicles or machines.

Science of Hydrogen

Fueled Cars

Why Do We Need Alternative Fuels?

Hydrogen cars have fuel cells that use the chemical energy found in hydrogen to power cars with electricity.

Alternative fuels are needed because the gasoline we use now is causing a majority of the pollution in our environment.

Sources:

How the Fuel Cell Works

This is similar to a battery, but a battery needs to be recharged and the hydrogen fuel cell can receive its oxygen from the outside and supply it to the anode(where the electric current enters in the fuel cell). Hydrogen cars use an electric motor that is powered by oxygen and hydrogen to create electricity. Because of this, hydrogen cars are considered electric vehicles.

The hydrogen fuel cell is what converts the hydrogen into energy. It creates heat(energy) and water, and the fuel cell helps remove the water so all that is left is energy. There is a tank for hydrogen, and oxygen enters the car through the front of car. In the fuel cell, it makes electricity. There is a part of the motor called a Power Drive Unit which controls when the energy stops and goes. The motor propels the car when it receives the energy.

• https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2011/05/pros-and-cons-a-reality-check-on-alternative-fuels/index.htm
• https://www.cleverism.com/10-reasons-to-use-alternative-fuels/
• https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/current.shtml
• http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/alternativefuel.pdf
• https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.files/fileID/14522
• https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/pros-and-cons-of-hydrogen-energy.php
• https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/hydrogen_benefits.html
• http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/how-do-hydrogen-fuel-cells-work#.Wg9deYGPLrc
• http://sepuplhs.org/high/hydrogen/hydrogen.html

Acid rain, global warming, oil spills, and just pollution in general are all terrible results of the fuel we use today.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Diagram