Biofuel

refers to many different types of alternative energy sources that could supplement or even replace

fossil fuels. Although they only account for a few percent of the world's transport fuel to date, they are increasingly
popular due to higher oil prices and an increasing concern with global warming and investments into them are
therefore growing each year. Biofuels are normally divided into three categories: solid biomass, liquid fuel and
biogases. Each group does not only effectively describe the form of the fuel, but also hints at the uses for which the
fuel is intended.
Solid biofuels are biomasses that may be burnt directly for energy, as has been done for thousands of years. Wood,
charcoal, dried manure, non-food energy crops and domestic refuse are examples of these, as are things like
sawdust and grass cuttings. Using especially the latter three is an excellent way of handling the disposal of these
products, never mind the significant amount air pollution that they produce when burnt. However even if any of these
were conveniently portable or burnt cleanly enough to be suited to engines, none of them pack enough of a punch to
be viable as vehicle fuel; it would take unreasonable quantities thereof to provide enough motive power to travel a
mere kilometre.
The most common liquid biofuel is ethanol, which is made from fermentation of any sugar or starch from which
alcohol may be made. It can also be produced from cellulosic combustion of bagasse and similarly inedible waste
products or non-food energy crops. Green diesel and biodiesel are some of many other forms of liquid biofuels that
may be produced from vegetable or animal fats. All are mainly used for vehicle locomotion as they burn cleanly, are

easily portable and contain high amounts of energy

them compatible with combustion engines.

, thus making

Gaseous biofuels tends to be used either for electricity generation or, in the case of those that can be stored in liquid
form, for vehicle propulsion. An example of the former type is biogas, which is essentially methane gas produced from
biodegradable waste or energy crops. Syngas, which is mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen derived from
partial combustion of biomass, is better representative of the latter group. Not only can it be used directly in
combustion engines or turbines, but it can also be used to produce methanol and hydrogen or even be converted into
diesel substitutes or gasoline.
Biofuels are very much under development, for which the above types are only a sample of what might be available
in only a few years' time. Generally the oil- and alcohol-based products listed above are referred to as the first
generation of biofuels, as are other biofuels based on products that are normally considered part of the food chain.
The second generation of biofuels is thus those that have taken a step away from consumable items, instead
generating energy from human waste or non-edible plants. Cellulose-based ethanol fermentation is the best example
of this in how it makes use of waste products like gabasse, which is made possible by refined techniques and new
scientific discoveries. Currently third- and fourth generation biofuels are also researched by various companies all
over the world. These promise not only to locate yet more potential energy sources, some possibly far more potent

than existing ones in terms of energy content, but also to expand the uses of and improve upon existing techniques
for producing the ones that are already in the market. In other words we are likely to hear a lot more about biofuels in
the future.

Hydrogen

is one of many potential replacements for gasoline as fuel for ground vehicles. It is not a

power source in itself, but an energy carrier that is produced rather than found naturally. It tends to be made from
methane or other fossil fuels, but it can also be obtained from sources like wind, solar or nuclear power. These are
readily available non-fossil energy sources that themselves are unsuited to propelling vehicles, but if used to make
hydrogen would allow for a vehicle economy entirely void of carbon dioxide emissions. As farfetched as it might
seem, it is very much a possibility if one takes into account that vehicles such as airplanes, submarines and space
shuttles already run by hydrogen at least partially.
Hydrogen motor vehicles can either be electric cars or of the combustion engine variety. The former type would be
powered by a fuel cell that lets hydrogen react with oxygen to run an electric motor. However today's hydrogen fuel
cells tend to be highly fragile and would currently not endure the bumps and vibrations that motor vehicles inevitably
are subject to. As they moreover require rare and expensive substances like platinum as catalysts they would also be
costly. Less expensive alternatives are currently under development, but if cheaper models would break just as easily
it might be a while before hydrogen fuel cell cars become commonplace. The structure of the fuel cell would also
cause problems, being that it contains an internal vaporous water supply that could solidify in temperatures below
freezing. As the fuel cell process generates heat as a by-product it would not be an issue in a running engine, but if
left turned off until frozen solid it would not be able to start and could, given the aforementioned fragility, perhaps
even be permanently damaged.
A cold weather option could instead be vehicles with combustion engines converted to burn hydrogen instead of
gasoline. Such engines have already been built, and they are cheaper by far because of how they are based on
existing combustion engine technology. However they would not currently be good for much in commercial vehicles
given the general lack of a hydrogen infrastructure for refuelling. There are currently a number of experimental
Hydrogen refuelling stations operational in the US, but they are few and only exist in certain parts of the country. A
nationwide expansion would be necessary for hydrogen to ever become a large-scale gasoline replacement, and for
such a project to become reality investments of millions of dollars would be required.
If these factors alone did not speak against hydrogen as vehicle fuel in the near future, the currently inefficient
methods of producing and storing hydrogen would be problematic as well. Granted, many companies are working on
technologies that could enable electrolysis of water on a large enough scale and for a cheap enough price for
hydrogen to become a feasible fuel source for vehicles, but as with the problems with the fuel cell, the completion
thereof probably cannot be expected to occur in the near future.
That does not mean that we will have to wait to see hydrogen vehicles in use. Hydrogen buses are currently on trial in
many locations of the world, a fleet of hydrogen-run London taxis is planned to be ready for trial for the London 2012
Olympic Games and many car producers have already produced functional hydrogen demonstration models of
personal vehicles. Hydrogen is, in other words, indeed a potent alternative to gasoline, but in all likelihood the
technology required to put it to use as such needs years to mature before it is ready to be launched for the public
The fuel cell is a so-called electrochemical cell that generates electricity through chemical reactions between a fuel
source and an oxidant. The fuel source is generally hydrogen and the oxidant oxygen, but versions that work on
hydrocarbons and alcohols or chlorine and chlorine dioxides also exist. These substances are simply inserted into the
fuel cell and are there consumed, being converted into water or carbon dioxide and electricity. Although often
compared to batteries, fuel cells differ from these in how they rely on external fuel and oxidant supplies; which
essentially means that a fuel cell can operate indefinitely as long as the flow of the fuel and the oxidant is maintained.

Granted, the long-term efficiency of the cell depends in part on the amount of power that is drawn from it. More power
effectively translates to a greater electrical current, which increases the energy loss of the process and results in
lower efficiency in terms of lower cell voltage. Thus fuel cells could technically be worn down over time. This
threatens to compromise the amount of power that may be generated from a cell. However this problem is worked
around by the fact that fuel cells are often installed in series or parallel circuits, the former permitting higher voltage
and the latter a stronger electrical current. Larger cells with greater surface areas also produce this effect. Taking this
into account the fuel cell is not only a powerful energy source, but its lack of major moving parts also means that it
requires minimal maintenance and minimal downtime in comparison to alternative power generators.
The fuel cell's comparable simplicity moreover makes it conveniently compact and lightweight. Consequentially fuel
cells are ideal as portable power sources or as stationary ones in remote or inaccessible locations. Spacecrafts,
weather stations, rural locations and military submarines are a few examples of where fuel cells are currently
employed for electricity generation. It is less ideal for vehicles in how it does not store energy, for which sizeable
storage systems are needed to maintain the fuel supply. This is one of the foremost reasons for why fuel cell
technology has not yet been extensively implemented in vehicle propulsion. Suffice it to say that while a space craft
or submarine can carry the extra weight, it is not as easy to add it to a normal-sized automobile. Yet solutions are
underway in this department as well, with several fuel cell-driven vehicles currently existing in either limited editions
or as demonstration models of future methods of propulsion. They still suffer from the fuel cell's incompatibility with
cold weather, but this too is being addressed by more recent models thereof by a proton exchange membrane that
prevents the fuel cell's liquid stores from freezing.
This potential to supplement or even supplant gasoline has ensured that hydrogen power cell technology has been
subject to considerable investments worldwide as a preventative measure against greenhouse gas omissions and
global warming. It was particularly favoured as an alternative by the Bush administration of the US, but it has since
been de-prioritized as other alternatives are thought likely to become fully developed - and thus more likely to make
an impact - much sooner than hydrogen fuel cell cars. This might have set back the arrival of hydrogen-run vehicles
by years or even decades, but it has far from stopped it dead in its tracks. In the meantime fuel cells will continue to
serve as primary or emergency power generators for hospitals, universities and office buildings and etcetera, as well
as potential power sources for portable electric devices that are unlikely to see many opportunities for recharging.