Random thoughts and Ravings.

Petrol won’t last forever. The current fuel crisis that threatens to make petrol and diesel unaffordable has more then likely, only just begun. As millions of petrol-engine cars wait to become obsolete, scientists are working around the clock to develop new and exciting fuel technologies to ensure that our way of life will continue, unconstrained by the demands of fossil fuels.

The most popular alternative to standard petroleum is undoubtedly electricity. Scientists and motor car engineers have developed countless electric motors and Tesla-powered vehicles, plenty of which are already available for purchase. The mass produced ones such as the Toyota Prius and the Tesla Roadster are truly wonder of invention. They are clean running [producing no emissions] and have very low costs involved with “re-fuelling”.
However they are highly priced and if you are stuck in the middle of nowhere without a power source, you and your new electric car will both be going nowhere slowly. Until the time electric cars are cheap enough for everyone to purchase, they remain a curious oddity.

Diesel may already have an alternative though, in the form of Biodiesel.
Biodiesel is a fuel that has been converted from natural waste, such as plants and manure into a biological form of diesel. The best part is that standard diesel engines already work with Biodiesel! No special conversion for the engine is needed and the fuel efficiency remains the same, with significantly less emissions then from standard diesel.
“Great” you say, “Why not just replace normal diesel with Biodiesel?” That would certainly be the answer if it wasn’t for the fact the Biodiesel is far more expensive to create. Most Biodiesel mixtures are made from a combination of Soybean and rapeseed oil, both very expensive to process into bio-fuel. Manure is also an option, but massive quantities are needed for even a small amount of Biodiesel. So while the idea is sound, the required components are far too expensive to use on a mass scale.

Hydrogen is an alternative fuel that is growing in reputation, as both a space age fuel and a zero emission product. Hydrogen is the number one element on the periodic table and the lightest of all elements. It is incredibly easy to produce, simply by splitting water into oxygen using electricity, and Hydrogen is born. When it burns, it turns into a form of heat and water vapor. When burned in an internal combustion engine, Hydrogen performs exactly as fuel would and powers the engine accordingly. In the future, we will see Hydrogen vehicles on the road.
However, there is the issue on how to store Hydrogen for long periods of time [Hydrogen requires a constant temperature of below 475 degrees to survive] and as per usual, the costs for producing Hydrogen is very high.

There are no easy answers to the fuel shortage. Petrol stations close down everyday and the demand for fuel remains as high as it ever was. Fuel is the life-blood of our civilization and it’s drying up, we have literally tapped our planet dry. Our only option is to invest in alternative fuel sources as I have mentioned here and in one of these alternatives, our eventual salvation lays.
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