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alternative fuels

Nerva

Nerva

Platinum Member
i am interested in hearing what atot has to say about ethanol and the other alternative fuels. i recently did an analysis of the ethanol industry and thought it's pretty positive. however, a friend of mine, a fraternity brother, who's been in the industry for quite a long time, says its done ("all the trades are shorts").

so what do you guys think? in terms of feasibility and sustainability?
 
Nuclear power + the electric car are the future. If said electric car is powered by fuel cells, said cells will use hydrogen cracked from water using nuclear energy.
 
Corn based ethanol is doomed to eventual failure. If the agriculture industry can dig themselves of of their extremely deep rut things look better.

A substantial amount of our liquid fuel needs (using ethanol and biodiesel) could be met with renewable resources provided efficient feedstocks and technologies are selected.


Nuclear to hydrogen is another solution further down the road.
 
Rogodin in 3...2...

Seriously though, you are just going to get mostly conjecture swamping any posts of people that might be in the know.
 
Corn-based ethanol was never a viable alternative. Its EROI has always sucked and always will.
Sugar-based ethanol (heavily used in Brazil for the past 20+ years) is a lot of what's cutting down the rainforests.
Biodiesel is a great "baby step" alternative (one that people could start using right now), although not very clean.
Natural gas is another great alternative that people could turn to right now. And while it's still a fossil fuel, it's clean.
The future is hydrogen fuel cells. Electricity is the most efficient way to power vehicles, but unfortunately has been hampered by a lack of adequate energy storage devices (batteries). Fuel cells can fix all that. Yes, they still beg the question of "where will the energy comes from to make the hydrogen?" but even if it's from coal it will still be better than our current inefficient gasoline-powered cars.
 
..Calif.uses 30 million gallons of gas a day. That doesn't count diesel..av.gas..solvents etc. You'd have to plant corn from coast to coast just to fuel calif. Do the math.
 
Originally posted by: Vic
Yes, they still beg the question of "where will the energy comes from to make the hydrogen?" but even if it's from coal it will still be better than our current inefficient gasoline-powered cars.
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There is considerable interest in a couple processes using nuclear heat to crack water molecules thereby skipping electrolysis (which makes the process a lot more efficent). Special high temperature reactors are required to do this and the DOE is going to build a testbed reactor to that end.
 
Originally posted by: K1052
Originally posted by: Vic
Yes, they still beg the question of "where will the energy comes from to make the hydrogen?" but even if it's from coal it will still be better than our current inefficient gasoline-powered cars.
Click to expand...

There is considerable interest in a couple processes using nuclear heat to crack water molecules thereby skipping electrolysis (which makes the process a lot more efficent). Special high temperature reactors are required to do this and the DOE is going to build a testbed reactor to that end.
Click to expand...

Hmm... very nice.

Still, like I said, gasoline-powered ICE's are very inefficient. Even if we're burning coal for electrolysis, it'll still be cleaner and more efficient. Especially as environmental regulation could be consolidated into the power plants.
And then there's GM's "skateboard" fuel-cell car design. It will literally revolutionize everything about the automobile. Imagine a computer-controlled 4-wheel drive electric drive/regenerative braking vehicle with the entire drivetrain below the floorboards (for ultra-low center of gravity) with no transmission gears to change that makes maximum torque from a dead stop (or any other speed).
 
Originally posted by: Vic
Biodiesel is a great "baby step" alternative (one that people could start using right now), although not very clean.
Click to expand...

I think the idea is that the carbon it emits was already in the 'system' as opposed to fossil fuels which create 'new' carbon which would otherwise be permanently stored.

That is if you're talking about environmental-type cleanliness.

Originally posted by: TheDro
Fusion generated electricity broadcasted through the air to power everything, from houses to your car.
Click to expand...

Tesla towers FTW!
 
Originally posted by: Zolty
Originally posted by: TheDro
Fusion generated electricity broadcasted through the air to power everything, from houses to your car.
Click to expand...
sounds cancerous
Click to expand...

:roll: The air all around you is already bathed in electromagnetism.
 
Originally posted by: Zolty
Originally posted by: TheDro
Fusion generated electricity broadcasted through the air to power everything, from houses to your car.
Click to expand...

sounds cancerous
Click to expand...

When the gov't or some not-so evil corporations (Google?) controls the electricity grid, utilizies that type of technology and charges for usage with a flat rate electricity tax based on variables such as income, size of home, types of large appliances used, and what vehicles, instead of charging by actual usage (kind of hard imagining how they'll be determine what you're using if the energy is in thin air) then we should have a cure for cancer by that time.
 
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