Alternative Fuel Options

 Alcohols, e.g., ethanol and methanol.

 Biomass-based diesel fuels. Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters, FAME)
Renewable hydrocarbon diesel.
 Methane, e.g., natural gas, biogas and synthetic natural gas (SNG)
 Hydrogen.
 Synthetic fuels.
 Dimethyl ether (DME) and other heavier ethers.
 Ammonia.
 What are the importance of alternative fuels?
 Most are produced domestically, reducing our dependence on imported oil,
and some are derived from renewable sources. Often, they produce less
pollution than gasoline or diesel. Ethanol is produced domestically from corn
and other crops. It produces less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than
gasoline or diesel.

 Alternative fuels are important if we’d like to have a future.

 Many people aren’t aware of what exactly alternative fuels are because
they’re so used to thinking about gasoline as fuel. The truth is that
conventional fuels are harming the environment and draining thousands of
dollars from people every year.

 We’ve built the modern world around vehicles so we practically need them if
we’d like to continue living our lives. However, that doesn’t mean we have to
keep buying gasoline. There are several alternative fuels that are much safer
and affordable.

 Continue reading to learn more about the importance of alternative

fuels.

 Conventional Fuels Are Limited

 One of the main reasons why people are turning away from conventional fuels
like oil and petroleum is that they’ll eventually run out. Conventional fuels
usually consist of those that aren’t renewable, so many people are concerned
about the future. A world crisis will occur the day that the demand for these
fuels is higher than the supply.
 Many people believe that the sources of these fuels are associated with a
plethora of problems. For example, the oil fields in the Middle East are often
under heavy scrutiny because they’ve created somewhat of a monopoly.
Coming out with new methods prevents people from having to rely on the
Middle East.

 Pollution and Global Warming

 The use of conventional fuels has a negative impact on the environment

because they have harmful exhaust emissions. Things like carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide all reduce the quality of air, making it
difficult to survive in.

 As people continue using these fuels, the chemicals start causing the
temperature in the earth’s atmosphere to rise (global warming). Global
warming is something that many people speculate about, but there’s evidence
that suggests it exists. For example, Greenland’s ice melt is accelerating.

 What Is an Alternative Fuel?

 Alternative fuel is something that’s used in place of gasoline to power

vehicles. Planes, boats, and cars all use gasoline to operate, but many
companies are introducing vehicles that can operate on things like electricity
and air.

 Because conventional fuels are so harmful, the development of alternative

fuels is important if we’d like to continue making use of our vehicles. Although
vehicles that use alternative fuels are somewhat expensive compared to
traditional vehicles, they’ll soon become affordable as we come up with better
ways to develop them.

 The Convenience of Alternative Fuels

 Not only are conventional fuels harmful to the environment, but they’re also a
hassle to use. Consider how many gas stations are set up around the world.
 Gas has to be transported to each of these then people have to drive to the
gas station to fill up.

 Alternative fuels are allowing people to power their vehicles without having to
drive somewhere. Vehicles that are powered from electricity can be charged
at home. Tesla has even set up stations around the world that people can visit
to charge their Teslas for anyone that would like to do long-distance traveling.

 Solar Energy

 Solar energy is one of the best alternatives to gasoline because it comes

directly from the sun. The thing about solar energy is that we currently don’t
have the technology to allow a car to run off of it. However, it can be used to
give electric vehicles a little more power when they’re traveling.

 People typically equip their vehicles with solar panels when they’re competing
in electric vehicle races. As technology develops, we’ll soon see vehicles that
can run solely on solar energy.

 Air-Engine

 An air-engine is a type of engine that doesn’t use any emissions. Instead, it

used compressed air as its main source of energy. These pistons can be used
in a piston engine that allows a vehicle to run solely on compressed air.

 Air-engines use both warm and cold air to operate. The warm air is used to
expand air within the storage tank and the cold air is used for air conditioning.
Air-engines use an injection system to allow air to enter.

 Electric

 Battery electric vehicles are vehicles that have been used for several years.
These vehicles run on nothing but electricity that comes from batteries. Over
the years, several companies have been developing battery electric vehicles,
but it wasn’t until recently that they became mainstream.
  With companies like Tesla offering nothing but electric vehicles, other
companies are taking note and releasing electric vehicles. Electric vehicles
don’t use emissions and they don’t require much maintenance as a standard
car does.

 There are also hybrid vehicles that make use of both electricity and
conventional fuels. These are designed to allow drivers to choose what type
of fuel they’d like to use. Whenever a hybrid vehicle runs out of fuel, it will
switch to electric as its main source of energy.

 The electric that’s drawn from the batteries is used to power everything from
the engine to the lights. Most electric vehicles can go as far as 200 miles, but
the range varies depending on what car you get.

 Consider Getting a Vehicle That Uses Alternative Fuels

 It’s no myth that conventional fuels harm the environment, but many people
look past that and continue using them. We’re witnessing the world change
both environmentally and economically, and conventional fuels are one of the
main reasons for that.

 If you’re someone that cares about the environment or would like to save on
gas costs, you should buy a vehicle that uses alternative fuels. You can get
something like a Tesla for around $35k and you won’t ever have to worry
about paying for gas.

Here is our Top Eight list of alternative fuels.

1. Ethanol. An alcohol-based alternative fuel made by fermenting and distilling
crops such as corn, barley or wheat. ...
2. Natural Gas. ...
3. Electricity. ...
4. Hydrogen. ...
5. Propane. ...
6. Biodiesel. ...
7. Methanol. ...
8. P-Series Fuels.
An alternative fuel is defined as biofuel, ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, coal-derived
liquid fuels, electricity, natural gas, propane gas, or a synthetic transportation fuel.
 Fossil fuels principally consist of carbon and hydrogen bonds. There are three types of fossil
fuels which can all be used for energy provision; coal, oil and natural gas. Coal is a solid
fossil fuel formed over millions of years by decay of land vegetation.

What are three examples of alternative fuels?

Some well-known alternative fuels include bio-diesel, bio-alcohol (methanol, ethanol,
butane), refuse-derived fuel, chemically stored electricity (batteries and fuel
cells), hydrogen, non-fossil methane, non-fossil natural gas, vegetable oil, propane
and other biomass sources.
Types of alternative fuels and vehicles
 Hybrid electric vehicles. The most common alternative-fuel vehicles are
gas-electric hybrids (HEVs). ...
 Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. ...
 Electric vehicles. ...
 Natural gas vehicles. ...
 Fuel cell electric vehicles. ...
 Flexible fuel vehicles.
 Is electricity an alternative fuel?
 Electricity is considered an alternative fuel under the Energy Policy Act of
1992. Electricity can be produced from a variety of energy sources, including
natural gas, coal, nuclear energy, wind energy, hydropower, as well as solar
energy and stored as hydrogen or in batteries.
 Where is fuel found?
 Coal, natural gas, and petroleum are all fossil fuels that formed under similar
conditions. Today, petroleum is found in vast underground reservoirs where
ancient seas were located. Petroleum reservoirs can be found beneath land
or the ocean floor. Their crude oil is extracted with giant drilling machines. ৫
 Why is petrol used as a fuel?
 Originally a by-product of the petroleum industry (kerosene being the
principal product), gasoline became the preferred automobile fuel because of
its high energy of combustion and capacity to mix readily with air in a
carburetor
 Which type of fuel is used in vehicles?
 Gasoline
 Gasoline is the most common type of fuel used for automobiles today.
This petroleum-based fuel is refined for four to six-cylinder engines, found in
most of today's common cars. Gasoline provides many advantages in running
a car or other vehicle.
 Which type of fuel is used in vehicles?
 Gasoline
 Gasoline is the most common type of fuel used for automobiles today.
This petroleum-based fuel is refined for four to six-cylinder engines, found in
most of today's common cars. Gasoline provides many advantages in running
a car or other vehicle.
What are the common sources of fuel?
The most common examples of solid fuels are:
 Wood: Includes firewood, charcoal, woodchips, pellets, sawdust, and so on.
 Charcoal: Produced by heating wood in the absence of oxygen.
 Biomass: Natural plant materials, such as wheat, straw and other fibrous
material
 Which fuel is ideal fuel?
 Ideal fuel is a fuel which on burning doesn't emit harmful gases it is easy to
transport and store it is also of very low cost and gives more heat per
weight ,It also have a high calorific value.It should have low ignition temp. ex.
-Natural gas,LPG,CNG.
 What is a good fuel?
 A fuel is considered good or valuable if it has a low ignition temperature and
it produces a large quantity of heat. It represent its calorific value it high.
Ideal fuels should be easy to store, leave behind ash after being burnt and
burn easily. They are cheap, easily available, produce no harmful odor.
What are examples of alternative energy?
Alternative energy refers to energy sources other than fossil fuels (such as coal,
petroleum, and diesel) and includes all renewable and nuclear energy sources.
...
They are:
 Wind energy. ...
 Solar energy. ...
 Nuclear energy. ...
 Hydrogen gas. ...
 Tidal energy. ...
 Biomass energy. ...
 Biofuels.
 What is the cleanest fuel to burn?
 natural gas
 When natural gas is burned, it produces mostly carbon dioxide and water
vapor -- the same substances emitted when humans exhale. Compared with
some other fossil fuels, natural gas emits the least amount
of carbon dioxide into the air when combusted -- making natural gas the
cleanest burning fossil fuel of all.
 What is the most environmentally friendly fuel?
 Gas burns cleanly with no soot or ash, and therefore produces lower
emissions than oil for example. It is considered the most environmentally
friendly fossil fuel.
 What is the cleanest fuel for cars?
 natural gas
 We use natural gas to heat our homes and cook our food, but did you know it
is also used as a vehicle fuel? Inexpensive, domestically produced and one of
the cleanest burning fuels for vehicles with internal combustion engines, it is
no wonder that nearly 20 percent of all new buses run on natural gas.
 What is new clear power?
 Nuclear power is a clean and efficient way of boiling water to make steam,
which turns turbines to produce electricity. ... And because uranium is one of
 the world's most abundant metals, it can provide fuel for the world's
commercial nuclear plants for generations to come.
 What are future fuels?
 Alternative fuels such as E85 and biodiesel that were once fringe fuels, are
now mainstream and projected to be the future fuels of use. ... Most of the
vehicles that burn natural gas have to be specially converted from gasoline or
diesel to burn the gaseous fuel.
 What is fuel used for?
 Fuels are dense repositories of energy that are consumed to provide energy
services such as heating, transportation and electrical generation. Even
though most fuels ultimately get their energy from the sun (see energy
conservation) they are usually considered to be a primary energy source
What are the two most common types of fuel for vehicles?
Types of Fuel for Cars
 Gasoline. Gasoline is the most common automobile fuel and is used all
over the world to power cars, motorcycles, scooters, boats, lawnmowers, and other
machinery. ...
 Diesel Fuel. ...
 Bio-diesel. ...
 Ethanol.
What are characteristics of ideal fuel?
Expert Answer:
 (1) it should have high calorific value so that high amount of energy available
by burning lower quantity of fuel.
 (2) easy to store and transport.
 (3) it should not produce any poisionous and polluting gases while burning.
 (4) it should not leave any harmful residue and tar after burning.
 What is fuel and how the fuel is classified?
 Solid fuels are mainly classified into two categories, i.e. natural fuels, such
as wood, coal, etc. and manufactured fuels, such as charcoal, coke,
briquettes, etc. (Table 3.1). (a) They are easy to transport.
 Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional and advanced fuels, are any materials
or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels like; fossil
fuels (petroleum (oil), coal, and natural gas), as well as nuclear materials such
as uranium and thorium, as well as artificial radioisotope fuels that are made in nuclear
reactors.
 Some well-known alternative fuels include bio-diesel, bio-
alcohol (methanol, ethanol, butane), refuse-derived fuel, chemically
stored electricity (batteries and fuel cells), hydrogen, non-fossil methane, non-
fossil natural gas, vegetable oil, propane and other biomass sources.
 The main purpose of fuel is to store energy, which should be in a stable form and can be
easily transported to the place of use.
 Almost all fuels are chemical fuels. The user employs this fuel to generate heat or
perform mechanical work, such as powering an engine. It may also be used to generate
electricity, which is then used for heating, lighting, or other purposes.
alternative fuels’ means fuels or power sources which serve, at least partly, as a substitute for
fossil oil sources in the energy supply to transport and which have the potential to contribute to
its decarbonisation and enhance the environmental performance of the transport sector. They
include, inter alia:

 electricity,

 hydrogen,

 biofuels as defined in point (i) of Article 2 of Directive 2009/28/EC,

 synthetic and paraffinic fuels,

 natural gas, including biomethane, in gaseous form (compressed natural gas (CNG)) and
liquefied form (liquefied natural gas (LNG)), and

 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG);

— Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on
the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

Definition in the USA[edit]

In the US, EPA defines alternative fuel
Alternative fuels include gaseous fuels such as hydrogen, natural gas, and propane; alcohols
such as ethanol, methanol, and butanol; vegetable and waste-derived oils; and electricity. These
fuels may be used in a dedicated system that burns a single fuel, or in a mixed system with other
fuels including traditional gasoline or diesel, such as in hybrid-electric or flexible fuel vehicles.

Alternative fuel means fuel that is

(a) for use in motor vehicles to deliver direct propulsion,
(b) less damaging to the environment than conventional fuels, and
(c) prescribed by regulation,
Bio-fuels are also considered a renewable source. Although renewable energy is used mostly to
generate electricity, it is often assumed that some form of renewable energy or a percentage is
used to create alternative fuels. Research is ongoing into finding more suitable bio-fuel crops and
improving the oil yields of these crops. Using the current yields, vast amounts of land and fresh
water would be needed to produce enough oil to completely replace fossil fuel usage.

Biomass in the energy production industry is living and recently dead biological material which
can be used as fuel or for industrial production. It has become popular among coal power
stations, which switch from coal to biomass in order to convert to renewable energy generation
without wasting existing generating plant and infrastructure. Biomass most often refers to plants
or plant-based materials that are not used for food or feed, and are specifically called
nitrocellulose biomass.[2] As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via
combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various forms of bio-fuel

Algae-based bio-fuels have been promoted in the media as a potential panacea to crude oil-
based transportation problems. Algae could yield more than 2000 gallons of fuel per acre per
year of production.[6] Algae based fuels are being successfully tested by the U.S. Navy [7] Algae-
based plastics show potential to reduce waste and the cost per pound of algae plastic is
expected to be cheaper than traditional plastic prices.
Bio-diesel is made from animal fats or vegetable oils, renewable resources that come from plants
such as atrophy, soybean, sunflowers, corn, olive, peanut, palm, coconut, safflower, canola,
sesame, cottonseed, etc. Once these fats or oils are filtered from their hydrocarbons and then
combined with alcohol like methanol, diesel is brought to life [clarification needed] from this chemical
reaction. These raw materials can either be mixed with pure diesel to make various proportions
or used alone. Despite one’s mixture preference, bio-diesel will release a smaller number of
pollutants (carbon monoxide particulates and hydrocarbons) than conventional diesel, because
bio-diesel burns both cleanly and more efficiently. Even with regular diesel’s reduced quantity of
sulfur from the LSD (ultra-low sulfur diesel) invention, bio-diesel exceeds those levels because it
is sulfur-free

Alcohol fuels[edit]
Main articles: Alcohol fuel, Butanol fuel, Ethanol fuel, and Methanol fuel

Methanol and ethanol fuel are primary sources of energy; they are convenient fuels for storing
and transporting energy. These alcohols can be used in internal combustion engines as
alternative fuels. Butane has another advantage: it is the only alcohol-based motor fuel that can
be transported readily by existing petroleum-product pipeline networks, instead of only by tanker
trucks and railroad cars.[10]

Ammonia[edit]
Ammonia (NH3) can be used as fuel.[11][12] Benefits of ammonia include no need for oil, zero
emissions, low cost, and distributed production reducing transport and related pollution. [citation
needed]
 Nitrogen reduction is being considered as a possible component for fuel cells and
combustion engines through research of conversion of ammonia to nitrogen gas and hydrogen
gas.[13]

Emulsion Fuels[edit]
Diesel can also be emulsified with water to be used as a fuel. [14] It helps in improving engine
efficiency and reducing exhaust emissions.[15]

Carbon-neutral and negative fuels[edit]

Carbon neutral fuel is synthetic fuel—such as methane, gasoline, diesel fuel or jet fuel—
produced from renewable or nuclear energy used to hydrogenate waste carbon dioxide recycled
from power plant flue exhaust gas or derived from carbolic acid in seawater.[16][17][18][19] Such fuels
are potentially carbon neutral because they do not result in a net increase in
atmospheric greenhouse gases.[20][21] To the extent that carbon neutral fuels displace fossil fuels,
or if they are produced from waste carbon or seawater carbolic acid, and their combustion is
subject to carbon capture at the flue or exhaust pipe, they result in negative carbon dioxide
emission and net carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere, and thus constitute a form
of greenhouse gas remediation.[22][23][24] Such carbon neutral and negative fuels can be produced
by the electrolysis of water to make hydrogen used in the Sabbatical reaction to produce
methane which may then be stored to be burned later in power plants as synthetic natural gas,
transported by pipeline, truck, or tanker ship, or be used in gas to liquids processes such as
the Fischer–Troopship process to make traditional transportation or heating fuels.[25][26][27]

Part of a series about

Environmental economics
 Concepts

 Bright green environmentalism

 Circular economy
 Degrowth
 Eco commerce
 Ecological economics
 Environmental enterprise
 Environmental finance
 Fiscal environmentalism
 Green accounting
 Green economy
 Green growth
 Green job
 Green recovery
 Green trading
 Natural resource economics
 Renewable energy commercialization
 Sustainable design
 Sustainable development
 Sustainable energy

Policies

 Ecotax
 Environmental pricing reform
 Environmental tariff
 Free public transport
 Green New Deal
 Net metering
 Pigovian tax
 Sustainable tourism

Dynamics

 Green paradox
 Green politics
 Marginal abatement cost
 Pollution haven hypothesis

Carbon related
  2000-watt society
 Carbon credit
 Low-carbon diet
 Carbon emission trading
 Carbon finance
 Carbon footprint
 Carbon offset
 Carbon-neutral fuel
 Carbon neutrality
 Carbon pricing
 Carbon tax
 Emissions trading
 Feed-in tariff
 Food miles
 Low-carbon economy
 Personal carbon trading

 v
 t
 e

Carbon-neutral fuels have been proposed for distributed storage for renewable energy,
minimizing problems of wind and solar intermittent, and enabling transmission of wind, water,
and solar power through existing natural gas pipelines. Such renewable fuels could alleviate the
costs and dependency issues of imported fossil fuels without requiring either electrification of
the vehicle fleet or conversion to hydrogen or other fuels, enabling continued compatible and
affordable vehicles.[25] Germany has built a 250-kilowatt synthetic methane plant which they are
scaling up to 10 megawatts.[28][29][30] Audi has constructed a carbon neutral liquefied natural
gas (LNG) plant in Werlte, Germany.[31] The plant is intended to produce transportation fuel to
offset LNG used in their A3 Sportback g-tron automobiles, and can keep 2,800 metric tons of
CO2 out of the environment per year at its initial capacity. [32] Other commercial developments are
taking place in Columbia, South Carolina,[33] Camarillo, California,[34] and Darlington, England.[35]
The least expensive source of carbon for recycling into fuel is flue-gas emissions from fossil-fuel
combustion, where it can be extracted for about US $7.50 per ton. [18][21][26] Automobile exhaust gas
capture has also been proposed to be economical but would require extensive design changes
or retrofitting.[36] Since carbonic acid in seawater is in chemical equilibrium with atmospheric
carbon dioxide, extraction of carbon from seawater has been studied. [37][38] Researchers have
estimated that carbon extraction from seawater would cost about $50 per ton. [19] Carbon capture
from ambient air is more costly, at between $600 and $1000 per ton and is considered
impractical for fuel synthesis or carbon sequestration. [21][22]
Nighttime wind power is considered[by whom?] the most economical form of electrical power with
which to synthesize fuel, because the load curve for electricity peaks sharply during the warmest
hours of the day, but wind tends to blow slightly more at night than during the day. Therefore, the
price of nighttime wind power is often much less expensive than any alternative. Off-peak wind
power prices in high wind penetration areas of the U.S. averaged 1.64 cents per kilowatt-hour in
2009, but only 0.71 cents/kWh during the least expensive six hours of the day.
[25]
 Typically, wholesale electricity costs 2 to 5 cents/kWh during the day.[39] Commercial fuel
synthesis companies suggest they can produce fuel for less than petroleum fuels when oil costs
more than $55 per barrel.[40] The U.S. Navy estimates that shipboard production of jet fuel from
nuclear power would cost about $6 per gallon. While that was about twice the petroleum fuel cost
in 2010, it is expected to be much less than the market price in less than five years if recent
trends continue. Moreover, since the delivery of fuel to a carrier battle group costs about $8 per
gallon, shipboard production is already much less expensive. [41] However, U.S. civilian nuclear
power is considerably more expensive than wind power. [42] The Navy's estimate that 100
megawatts can produce 41,000 gallons of fuel per day indicates that terrestrial production from
wind power would cost less than $1 per gallon.[43]

Hydrogen & formic acid[edit]

Main article: Hydrogen fuel

Hydrogen is an emissionless fuel. The byproduct of hydrogen burning is water, although some
mono-nitrogen oxides NOx are produced when hydrogen is burned with air. [44][45]
Main article: Formic acid

Another fuel is formic acid. The fuel is used by converting it first to hydrogen and using that in
a fuel cell. Formic acid is much more easy to store than hydrogen. [46][47]

Hydrogen/compressed natural gas mixture[edit]

Main article: HCNG

HCNG (or H2CNG) is a mixture of compressed natural gas and 4-9 percent hydrogen by energy.

[48]
 Hydrogen could also be used as Hydroxy gas for better combustion characteristics of C.I.
engine.[49] Hydroxy gas is obtained through electrolysis of water. [50]

Compressed air[edit]
The air engine is an emission-free piston engine using compressed air as fuel. Unlike hydrogen,
compressed air is about one-tenth as expensive as fossil fuel, making it an economically
attractive alternative fuel.[citation needed]

Propane autogas[edit]
Main article: Autogas

Propane is a cleaner burning, high-performance fuel derived from multiple sources. It is known
by many names including propane, LPG (liquified propane gas), LPA (liquid propane autogas),
Autogas and others. Propane is a hydrocarbon fuel and is a member of the natural gas family.
Propane as an automotive fuel shares many of the physical attributes of gasoline while reducing
tailpipe emissions and well to wheel emissions overall. Propane is the number one alternative
fuel in the world and offers an abundance of supply, liquid storage at low pressure, an excellent
safety record and large cost savings when compared to traditional fuels. [51]
Propane delivers an octane rating between 104 and 112 [52] depending on the composition of the
butane/propane ratios of the mixture. Propane autogas in a liquid injection format captures the
phase change from liquid to gas state within the cylinder of the combustion engine producing an
"intercooler" effect, reducing the cylinder temperature and increasing air density. [53] The resultant
effect allows more advance on the ignition cycle and a more efficient engine combustion.
Propane lacks additives, detergents or other chemical enhancements further reducing the
exhaust output from the tailpipe. The cleaner combustion also has fewer particulate emissions,
lower NOx due to the complete combustion of the gas within the cylinder, higher exhaust
temperatures increasing the efficiency of the catalyst and deposits less acid and carbon inside
the engine which extends the useful life of the lubricating oil. [citation needed]
Propane autogas is generated at the well alongside other natural gas and oil products. It is also a
by-product of the refining processes which further increase the supply of Propane to the market.
Propane is stored and transported in a liquid state at roughly 5 bar (73 psi) of pressure. Fueling
vehicles are similar to gasoline in the speed of delivery with modern fueling equipment. Propane
filling stations only require a pump to transfer vehicle fuel and do not require expensive and slow
compression systems when compared to compressed natural gas which is usually kept at over
3,000 psi (210 bar).
In a vehicle format, propane autogas can be retrofitted to almost any engine and provide fuel
cost savings and lowered emissions while being more efficient as an overall system due to the
large, pre-existing propane fueling infrastructure that does not require compressors and the
resultant waste of other alternative fuels in well to wheel lifecycles.[citation needed]

Natural gas vehicles[edit]

Compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are two cleaner combustible
alternatives to conventional liquid automobile fuels.

Compressed natural gas fuel types[edit]

Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles can use both renewable COG and non-renewable
COG.[54]
Conventional CNG is produced from the many underground natural gas reserves are in
widespread production worldwide today. New technologies such as horizontal drilling and
hydraulic fracturing to economically access unconventional gas resources, appear to have
increased the supply of natural gas in a fundamental way.[55]
Renewable natural gas or bio-gas is a methane‐based gas with similar properties to natural gas
that can be used as transportation fuel. Present sources of biogas are mainly landfills, sewage,
and animal/agri‐waste. Based on the process type, biogas can be divided into the following:
biogas produced by anaerobic digestion, landfill gas collected from landfills, treated to remove
trace contaminants, and synthetic natural gas (SNG).[54]

Practicality[edit]
Around the world, this gas powers more than 5 million vehicles, and just over 150,000 of these
are in the U.S.[56] American usage is growing at a dramatic rate.[57]

Environmental analysis[edit]
Because natural gas emits little pollutant when combusted, cleaner air quality has been
measured in urban localities switching to natural gas vehicles.[58] Tailpipe CO
2 can be reduced by 15–25% compared to gasoline, diesel. [59] The greatest reductions occur in
medium and heavy duty, light duty and refuse truck segments. [59]
CO
2 reductions of up to 88% are possible by using biogas. [60]

Similarities to hydrogen[edit]
Natural gas, like hydrogen, is another fuel that burns cleanly; cleaner than both gasoline and
diesel engines. Also, none of the smog-forming contaminates are emitted. Hydrogen and natural
gas are both lighter than air and can be mixed together. [61]

Nuclear power and radiothermal generators[edit]

Main articles: Nuclear power and radiothermal generator

Nuclear reactors[edit]
Nuclear power is any nuclear technology designed to extract usable energy from atomic
nuclei via controlled nuclear reactions. The only controlled method now practical uses nuclear
fission in a fissile fuel (with a small fraction of the power coming from subsequent radioactive
decay). Use of the nuclear reaction nuclear fusion for controlled power generation is not yet
practical, but is an active area of research.[citation needed]
Nuclear power is usually used by using a nuclear reactor to heat a working fluid such as water,
which is then used to create steam pressure, which is converted into mechanical work for the
purpose of generating electricity or propulsion in water. Today, more than 15% of the world's
electricity comes from nuclear power, and over 150 nuclear-powered naval vessels have been
built.[citation needed]
In theory, electricity from nuclear reactors could also be used for propulsion in space, but this has
yet to be demonstrated in a space flight. Some smaller reactors, such as the TOPAZ nuclear
reactor, are built to minimize moving parts and use methods that convert nuclear energy to
electricity more directly, making them useful for space missions, but this electricity has
historically been used for other purposes. Power from nuclear fission has been used in a number
of spacecraft, all of them unmanned. The Soviets up to 1988 orbited 33 nuclear reactors
in RORSAT military radar satellites, where electric power generated was used to power a radar
unit that located ships on the Earth's oceans. The U.S. also orbited one experimental nuclear
reactor in 1965, in the SNAP-10A mission. No nuclear reactor has been sent into space since
1988.[citation needed]

Thorium fuelled nuclear reactors[edit]

Thorium-based nuclear power reactors have also become an area of active research in recent
years. It is being backed by many scientists and researchers, and Professor James Hansen, the
former Director at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies has reportedly said, “After
studying climate change for over four decades, it’s clear to me that the world is heading for a
climate catastrophe unless we develop adequate energy sources to replace fossil fuels. Safer,
cleaner and cheaper nuclear power can replace coal and is desperately needed as an essential
part of the solution”.[62] Thorium is 3-4 times more abundant within nature than uranium, and its
ore, monazite, is commonly found in sands along bodies of water. Thorium has also gained
interest because it could be easier to obtain than uranium. While uranium mines are enclosed
underground and thus very dangerous for the miners, thorium is taken from open pits. [63]
[64]
 Monazite is present in countries such as Australia, the United States and India, in quantities
large enough to power the earth for thousands of years.[65] As an alternative to uranium-fuelled
nuclear reactors, thorium has been proven to add to proliferation, produces radioactive
waste for deep geological repositories like technetium-99 (half-life over 200,000 years),[66] and
has a longer fuel cycle.[64]
For a list of experimental and presently-operating thorium-fueled reactors, see thorium fuel
cycle#List of thorium fueled reactors.

Radiothermal generators[edit]
In addition, radioisotopes have been used as alternative fuels, on both lands, and in space. Their
use of land is declining due to the danger of theft of isotope and environmental damage if the unit
is opened. The decay of radioisotopes generates both heat and electricity in many space probes,
particularly probes to outer planets where sunlight is weak, and low temperatures is a
problem. Radiothermal generators (RTGs) which use such radioisotopes as fuels do not sustain
a nuclear chain reaction, but rather generate electricity from the decay of a radioisotope which
has (in turn) been produced on Earth as a concentrated power source (fuel) using energy from
an Earth-based nuclear reactor.