Even though the government still has a long way to go to get these alternative fuels many Americans have already learned the chemistry to producing these fuels. A recent study by a Pacific Northwest university said that they cannot find a way to make the fuel as good as gas made from oil. Gas will only go so far but the bio diesel will go a long way because it is cheap to make and isn’t hard to convert motors to run on them they just have to already be a diesel motor.

Biofuels are made by using matter from the environment to make a usable fuel to burn. These biofuels are better to use then the fossil fuels that we burn every day. The bio fuels need to be able to use in cars or vehicles because that is where most of out fossil fuels go to. They need to make a way or fuel that can run in any car and can make it at a very cheap rate.

Even though it has a long way to go till everyone is using these there are still a few people in the United States who have these bio fuel labs in the garages at home. The study done up north by a university still cannot find out why they can’t make a small amount of bio fuel and that is because you don’t have the right properties. You are probably trying to use something with no significant bio value at all.

Even though the oil has been though in the stock exchange does not mean that we Americans cannot make something that can be used as an every day alternative, dropping all the oils prices are not going to do it because then people will continue to use them. The people just need to take the matter into their own hands and make something that can be used every day as a fossil fuel alternative. It isn’t hard people are already using bio diesel every day. Nothing stopping them from making their own. The government knows how to make these fuels they just don’t want to because they want to keep stealing all our money even though they are the ones printing the money.

The Original Post is Located Here: How Biofuels Are Moving Into Top Status As An Alternative Fuel Source

The technical name for a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity. Other electrochemical devices that are in use these days and for many decades is the well-known battery. The distinguishing difference between a simple battery and a fuel cell is that all the chemicals are stored inside the battery. The battery in turn converts those chemicals into electricity but in due course it “goes dead” as the chemicals are used up and at times you can either throw it away or recharge it.

Then again with a fuel cell, chemicals continually flow into the cell so as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell; the electricity flows out of the fuel cell. Combustion engines the gasoline engine burn fuels and batteries converted chemical energy back into electrical energy when needed. However, fuel cells should do both tasks more efficiently.

Simply put the construction and materials in a fuel cell release electrons from the hydrogen gas creating electricity and the waste product after the electricity is used to power an electrical device is water, formed with the negative hydrogen and the oxygen.This reaction in a single fuel cell produces only about 0.7 volts. To get this voltage up to a reasonable level, several separate fuel cells must be combined to form a fuel-cell stack.

However one major problem with using hydrogen is that it is cannot be stored easily for consumer use. Among the other alternatives, it could be natural gas, propane, and methanol gas. The main objective of using fuel cell technology is pollution reduction. Fuel cell is also very efficient; 80% of the fuel use in these cells is converted into usable energy as compared to only 20% for a gasoline powered engine and about 30% overall for a battery powered electric vehicle.

Evidently there is no question that the fuel cell holds greater promise for the future. However, the fuel cell technology must still gather all the pieces of finding the right ‘fuel’ source that is both easy to store and deliver to the consumer, efficiency of the vehicle using fuel cells, and the cost for the total package.

The Original Post is Located Here: A Basic Overview Of Fuel Cell Technology

IBN Scientists Convert Carbon Dioxide into Methanol

Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have succeeded in unlocking the potential of carbon dioxide – a common greenhouse gas – by converting it into a more useful product. Using organocatalysts, the IBN researchers activated carbon dioxide in a mild and non-toxic process to produce methanol, a widely used industrial feedstock and clean-burning biofuel.

IBN scientists have made carbon dioxide react by using N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), a novel organocatalyst. In contrast to heavy metal catalysts that contain toxic and unstable components, NHCs are stable, even in the presence of oxygen. Hence, the reaction with NHCs and carbon dioxide can take place under mild conditions in dry air. IBN’s research shows that only a small amount of NHC is required to induce carbon dioxide activity in a reaction. “NHCs have shown tremendous potential for activating and fixing carbon dioxide. Our work can contribute towards transforming excess carbon dioxide in the environment into useful products such as methanol,” shared Ms Siti Nurhanna Riduan, IBN Senior Lab Officer, who is also pursuing her Ph.D. at IBN under the Scientific Staff Development Award.

Hydrosilane, a combination of silica and hydrogen, is added to the NHC-activated carbon dioxide, and the product of this reaction is transformed into methanol by adding water through hydrolysis. Dr Yugen Zhang, IBN Team Leader and Principal Research Scientist, explains, “Hydrosilane provides hydrogen, which bonds with carbon dioxide in a reduction reaction. This carbon dioxide reduction is efficiently catalyzed by NHCs even at room temperature. Methanol can be easily obtained from the product of the carbon dioxide reaction. Our previous research on NHCs has demonstrated their multiple applications as powerful antioxidants to fight degenerative diseases,2 and as effective catalysts to transform sugars into an alternative energy source.3 We have now shown that NHCs can also be applied successfully to the conversion of carbon dioxide into methanol, helping to unleash the potential of this highly abundant gas.”

Previous attempts to reduce carbon dioxide to more useful products have required more energy input and a much longer reaction time. They also require transition metal catalysts, which are both unstable in oxygen and expensive. Ongoing research at IBN aims to find cheap alternatives for the hydrosilane reagent so that the production of methanol can be even more cost-effective for mass industrial production.

“At IBN, we are innovating effective methods of generating clean energy using green chemistry and nanotechnology. In the face of environmental pollution, global warming and increasing demands on diminishing fossil fuel resources, we hope to provide a viable alternative energy option for industry, and effective sequestration and conversion of carbon dioxide.” said Professor Jackie Y. Ying, IBN Executive Director.

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The Original Post is Located Here: IBN Researchers First to Transform Carbon Dioxide into Methanol

DaimlerChrysler Necar 5

Methanol (CH3OH), also known as wood alcohol, is considered an alternative fuel under the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Methanol is basically methane with its hydrogen molecule replaced by a hydroxyl radical (OH).

Although a variety of feedstocks can be used to create methanol, today’s economics favour the use of natural gas. The methanol is then produced by steam reforming natural gas to create a synthesis gas, which is then fed into a reactor vessel in the presence of a catalyst. This process will produce methanol and water vapor.

Methanol has similar chemical and physical characteristics as ethanol, when used as a combustion engine fuel.

Methanol can also be used to make methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), an oxygenate that when blended with gasoline enhances the octane and creates a cleaner burning fuel. MTBE production and use has declined in recent years because it has been found to contaminate ground water.

Methanol’s physical and chemical characteristics do offer several advantages as an alternative fuel, such as a relatively low production cost and a lower risk of flammability compared to gasoline.

However, the use of methanol has dramatically declined since the early 1990s, and auto makers are no longer manufacturing vehicles that run on it.

On the flip side, methanol can be made into hydrogen and researchers are currently looking at ways to overcome the barriers to using methanol as a hydrogen fuel source for future fuel cell vehicles.
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The Original Post is Located Here: Methanol as an Alternative Fuel