Fly
into any major city around the world and you will be greeted with a familiar
sight: a sheen of brown smog that floats over the city. This smog comes mostly
from cars.
With
air pollution getting worse and oil production declining, car manufacturers are
looking to alternative fuels.
Along
with this smog comes carbon dioxide, the gas that's principally responsible for
climate change. The steady increase in pollution has caused governments around
the world to create legislation that will limit the volume of greenhouse gases.
Here
are some fuels of the future then, that could be powering your car in decades
to come.
1. Biofuel
Biofuels
include bioethanol (which can be used instead of petrol) made from corn and
sugarcane and biodiesel made from vegetable oils and animal fats. Both replace
non-renewable crude oil-derived fuels. The best types are second generation
biofuels which are produced from sustainable sources rather than those grown
for food. Many consider them the best medium term solution to sustainable fuels.
2. Electricity
The
electric car, powered by a motor with energy supplied by batteries, is getting
lots of attention at the moment, thanks to cars such as the Nissan LEAF &
Tesla. Battery efficiency is still limited though, meaning most offer a maximum
range of around 100 miles (and take several hours to recharge). Batteries are
very expensive too.
3. Hydrogen
Hydrogen
can be used instead of fossil fuels in combustion engines. BMW already sells
hydrogen cars, which give out no harmful tailpipe emissions, only water.
Critics point out it transfers energy consumption away to the plant that makes
the hydrogen, and there is currently no hydrogen refuel infrastructure in
place.
Hydrogen
can also be used to power a fuel cell and produce electricity. This is the
solution many consider to be one of the best longer-term energy sources for
cars: it produces zero emissions and overcomes the limitations of onboard
batteries however fuel cell technology remains too expensive.
4. Heat
Two-thirds
of the energy generated by petrol or diesel is wasted as heat. Thermoelectric
technology, which converts heat into electricity, can help reduce this and is
already under development by several car makers. One solution is to use
thermoelectric panels to convert waste exhaust pipe heat into electricity,
which can cut fuel consumption by 5%.
5. Air
Compressed
air can replace petrol in a combustion engine to drive the pistons and produce
power. Stored in 4500psi tanks, air as an energy source is much less
energy-dense but does produce zero tailpipe emissions. Several concepts have
been mooted over the years and some car makers such as Tata have even proposed
mainstream air-powered cars.
Image & Content Source : cnet, scientificamerican
Image & Content Source : cnet, scientificamerican
The brezza petrol version is a good choice.
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