ALTERNATIVE FUEL TECHNIQUE

ALTERNATIVE FUELS
Need?

• The planet is facing a critical phase

of rising energy consumption.

• Global warming and emission of

green house gases is also a major
problem.
 WHAT ARE ALTERNATIVE
FUELS?

• It is commonly used to identify energy sources that are not of

petroleum origin, have high heating value and their
combustion results in minimal to none toxic emissions.

• The use of alternative fuels needs manufacturing of new

vehicles or modification of existing ones. They are called
Alternative Fuelled Vehicles (AFV’s).
• AFV’s are classified as:

1.Dedicated: Designed to run exclusively on one fuel.

2.Non Dedicated:

Bi-fuelled: Can operate either on alternative fuel or on conventional fuel but

not at the same time and they have separate onboard storage systems for
each fuel.

Flexible: Can operate on either an alternative fuel or conventional fuel or on

a combination.

Dual fuel: Can burn two fuels simultaneously (the fuels are not mixed in
storage but are injected or aspirated into the engine separately).
Conventional Fuels Alternative Fuels
Ethanol
Fossil Fuels (petroleum)
Propanol
Coal
Biogas

Hydrogen Cell

Compressed Natural Gas

Electric
ETHANOL
 ETHANOL
• Ethanol is a high octane fuel which replaces lead as octane enhancer in
gasoline.

• About 10% is added in gasoline.

• Clear colourless liquid

• Biodegradable

• Low-toxicity

• Manufactured:
• Corn

• Reaction of ethylene with steam

• Sold mostly in the USA.

 ETHANOL
• ADVANTAGES

• Much cleaner fuel than gasoline, less toxic.

• Since it is alcohol, the fuel lines don’t freeze in winters.

• Cheaper than gasoline.

• Can use any plant for production

• DISADVANTAGES

• Mileage is affected.

• Engine life is reduced.

PROPANOL
 PROPANOL

• Propane is a cleaner burning, high performance fuel derived from

multiple sources.

• Also known as Liquified Petroleum Gas.

• It is a hydrocarbon fuel, member of the natural gas family.

• Delivers octane reading between 104-112, depending on the

butane/propane ratios of the mixture.
WORKING
• Propane is stored as a liquid in a relatively low-pressure tank.

• Propane autogas in a liquid injection format captures the phase change from liquid to
gas state within the cylinder.

• Produces an “intercooler” effect, reducing the cylinder temperature and increasing air
density.

• The result is a more efficient engine combustion.

• The exhaust is cleaner with lower NOx due to the complete combustion of gas within the
cylinder, high exhaust temperature increasing the efficiency of the catalyst.

• Deposits less carbon acid and carbon in the engine, extending the life of the lubricating
oil.
• Advantages • Disadvantages

• Low-toxicity • Availability is limited

• Cleaner, safe, reliable • Economy is lesser,

• High safety record hence lower miles on a

full tank.
• Cheaper than gasoline
HYDROGEN
CELL
 HYDROGEN CELL
• Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen. It can be used in
electrochemical cells or internal combustion engines to power vehicles or electric
devices.

• It has been started to be used in commercial fuel cell vehicles such as passenger
cars, and has been used in fuel cell buses for many years. It is also used as a fuel
for the propulsion of spacecraft.

• In a flame of pure hydrogen gas, burning in air, the hydrogen (H ) reacts with
2

oxygen (O ) to form water (H O) and releases energy.

2 2

2H (g) + O (g) → 2H O(g) + energy

2 2 2
Advantages

• Environmental friendly.

• Emits water vapours.

• It can store up to 3x as much energy as conventional natural gas.

Disadvantages

• Expensive to run

• Dangerous
COMPRESSED
NATURAL GAS
 COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS

• Compressed natural gas (CNG) (methane stored at high pressure) is a

fuel which can be used in place of gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel and
propane/LPG.

• It is safer than other fuels in the event of a spill, because natural gas is
lighter than air and disperses quickly when released.

• CNG is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed of

methane, CH ), to less than 1 percent of the volume it occupies at
4

standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard

containers at a pressure of 20–25 MPa.
• CNG is used in traditional gasoline/internal combustion engine
automobiles that have been modified or in vehicles which were
manufactured for CNG use, either alone, with a segregated gasoline
system to extend range or in conjunction with another fuel such as diesel.

• Natural gas vehicles are increasingly used in Iran, especially Pakistan, [1]

the Asia-Pacific region, Indian capital of Delhi.

 Disadvantage
Advantage
• Highly volatile
• Efficiently and safely
stored. • Dangerous to transport. Has
to be transported with
• Lower emissions. caution.

• Environmental friendly. • Eats up the space of the cars

due to the tank.
• Improve lubrication for the
cylinders. • Overall cost is higher than a
regular gasoline car.
 BIOFUEL
A biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary biological processes, such as agriculture
and anaerobic digestion, rather than a fuel produced by geological processes such as those involved
in the formation of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum, from prehistoric biological matter.

Biofuels can be derived directly from plants (i.e. energy crops), or indirectly from agricultural,
commercial, domestic, and/or industrial wastes.

• Biodiesel

• Bioethanol

• Biogas

• Algal fuel
 BIODIESEL

• Refers to vegetable oil/ animal fat based diesel fuel consisting of long chain of
alkyl esters.

• Made by chemically reacting lipids (oils/fats) with an alcohol producing fatty acid
esters.

• Can be used in standard diesel engines with no or minor modifications.

• Dark brown to golden in colour.

• Can be used alone or blended with petrodiesel in any proportions.

Blends

• 100% biodiesel- B100

• 20% biodiesel, 80% petrodiesel- B20

• 5% biodiesel, 95% petrodiesel- B5

• 2% biodiesel, 98% petrodiesel- B2

Properties

• Better lubricating properties, increasing life of the fuel injectors.

• Complete combustion, hence more power generated.

• Better cetane rating.

• Miscible in water, high boiling point.

• Higher density

• Efficiency depends on the blend used.

• COx emissions are greatly reduced.

CONS

• The fuel becomes cloudy in cold temperatures, then

becomes like gel and then solidify.

• Contaminated by water.

• Some blends are more expensive.

• Availability is less.
 BIOETHANOL

Bioethanol fuel is mainly produced by the sugar

fermentation process, although it can also be
manufactured by the chemical process of reacting
ethylene with steam. The main sources of sugar required
to produce ethanol come from fuel or energy crops.
 BIOGAS

• Biogas typically refers to a mixture of different gases produced by the

breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced
from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant
material, sewage, green waste or food waste.

• Biogas is primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO ) and may have small
2

amounts of hydrogen sulphide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes. The gases

methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide (CO) can be combusted or oxidized
with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel
 ALGAL FUEL

Uses algae as its source of energy-rich oils.

Microalgae contains Lipids and fatty acids.

Like fossil fuel, algae fuel releases CO when burnt, but unlike
2

fossil fuel, algae fuel and other biofuels only release CO

2

recently removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis as

the algae or plant grew.
TOP 10 RENEWABLE FUEL
COMPANIES
1) LanzaTech
LanzaTech was founded in early 2005 with “a vision to be a dominant technology provider in
the industrial bio-commodities arena.” The company develops and commercialises
proprietary technologies for production of low carbon fuels that do not compromise food or
land resources.

• 2) SG Biofuels
SG Biofuels is a bioenergy crop company “meeting global demand for sustainable plant oil
by using breeding and biotechnology to produce elite hybrid seeds of Jatropha.”

• 3) AltAir Fuels
AltAir Fuels was formed in 2008 to “develop projects for the production of jet fuel from
renewable and sustainable oils.”

• 4) Solazyme
Solazyme has “pioneered an industrial biotechnology platform that harnesses the prolific oil-
producing ability of micro-algae.”

• 5) Envergent Technologies Envergent Technologies is a joint venture

between Ensyn and UOP that “provides a proven, practical way to convert
biomass to fuel that with further upgrading can produce green transportation
fuels

•
• 6) Sapphire Energy :Sapphire Energy produces fuel from algae and states its aim is “to become
the world’s leading producer of renewable, drop-in replacement fuels for gasoline, diesel and jet
fuel.”

• 7) Dynamic Fuels
Dynamic Fuels Dynamic Fuels’ proprietary bio-synfining process produces renewable diesel it
claims has “the lowest emission levels of any transportation fuel on the market.”

• 8) Gevo:Gevo is developing biobased alternatives to petroleum-based products using a

combination of synthetic biology and chemistry and plans to produce isobutanol, a “versatile
platform chemical for the liquid fuels and petrochemical market,” which can be further processed
into jet fuel.

• 9) Neste Oil
Neste Oil produces a “comprehensive range of major petroleum products” and claims to be the
world’s leading supplier of renewable diesel. The company had net sales of €15.4 billion in 2011.

• 10) Terrabon
Formed in 1995 to fund biofuel research at Texas A&M University, technology transfer company
Terrabon is commercialising three processes that “offer sensible, high-profit solutions to biofuel,
water desalination and bio-product challenges.”
• The advanced Supercharger technology
by Tesla charges the battery of the car
quickly with an extensive range.
• Since the car is using electric motors to
propel, the torque is instant and gives a
very good performance unlike IC engines.

• It is cheaper to run a Tesla, easy to

charge and with a long range, is set to
take a major hit on the ICE run cars
•

• This charger is called the supercharger,

with a thick network across America,
Australia and spreading in Europe
PRESENTATION MADE BY:

PRANAV KALRA(5047)

KEVIN JOSEPH(5052)

KARTIK YADAV(5049)