21 Different Ways to Power Cars

Alternate Ways to Power Your Car Imagine if there was no gas tomorrow. How could you make your engine go? Wood Gas Pros Cons • Can be easily used with internal combustion engines during fuel shortages, as in WWII. • Requires a large gasification unit. • Slow start-up due to needing to burn fuel. • Contributes less to global warming due to a closed carbon cycle. • Can sometimes produce carbon monoxide; a major safety concern. • There is a potential for accidental explosions. • Yields wood tar and wastewater after burning humid wood. Biofuel Uncompressed Natural Gas ("Gas-Bag" Cars) Pros Cons • Can be used during fuel shortages, as in WWI. • Must store and carry several cubic meters of gas. • It's easy to modify and repair. • There is an extremely high fire risk. · Easy to tell how much fuel is left by how deflated the bag is. * Runs on coal gas, making it still reliant on fossil fuels. Fossil fuel Coffee Pros Cons • Uses similar methods as wood burning, but using coffee-bean chaff, which is often wasted. • Slow start-up due to needing to burn fuel. • Requires large boiler for gasification. • Can get up to a speed of 65 m.p.h. and drive far distances. • Coffee is considerably more expensive than gas. Biofuel Chocolate Pros Cons • A formula 3 racing car was built with the top speed of 145 mph. • This was an expensive experiment done by a university team. • Used wine, fermented plants, and chocolate waste as fuel. • Fuel costs would be initially very high, and the need for cocoa butter would damage the environment. Biofuel Tequila Pros Cons • The Chrysler Turbine Car engine could run on diesel, kerosene, jet fuel, vegetable oil, Chanel No. 5, and tequila. • The car basically has a jet engine, which is very expensive to create and produce on a large scale. Turbine Engine • The car was extremely loud. • Lead pump gas, at the time, had a negative impact on the engine. Biofuel Propane or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Pros Cons • Reduces carbon dioxide emissions by about 15%. • Drivers must find autogas stations. • Fuel is less expensive. • There may be other harmful types of emissions. • It is still a fossil fuel, essentially. Fossil fuel Feces Pros Cons • Methane generation may still contribute to global warming. • The fuel is free. Bio-gas, such as methane or hydrogen, is created using microorganisms. • Installing this technology at sewage water treatment plants and creating hydrogen stations may be a better option. • It is a continuously human-powered resource. • Cars have been tested that go as fast as 114 mph. Biofuel Steam Pros Cons • A steam engine can use almost any material for fuel. • It is much less thermally efficient, and engines are large and heavy. • A steam engine will often have fewer emissions than • Due to risk of explosion, it is much less safe. internal combustion · External combustion requires a slow start. engines. Water Ethanol Pros Cons • It contains about 34% less energy than gasoline. • Most cars already handle a small amount of ethanol. • It is a renewable resource, and the crops help to offset emissions. • Depending on the mixture, it cannot help with carbon dioxide emissions. • Conversion from forest to agriculture can have negative effects. Biofuel Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) Pros Cons • There isn't enough to make a big dent in the overall U.S. gas consumption, and costs may stay high. • Americans waste a considerable amount of vegetable oil, which can go to better use. • Diesel cars can be converted to run on vegetable oil relatively easily. • It produces less carbon dioxide than diesel, but more nitrogen oxide. Biofuel Compressed Air Pros Cons • They are emission-free at exhaust. • These cars often require high-pressure air tanks, which would require stations or risky devices kept at home. • Carbon-fiber tanks aren't as likely to explode or create shrapnel. • The technology can be used to create vehicles • Compressed air has low energy density and these cars are less efficient than running fully on compressed air or in hybrids. ion-battery cars. • Temperature and humidity are difficult to control. Other Lithium-lon Batteries (Electric Cars) Pros Cons • They are completely emission-free at exhaust. • Cars that run on electricity are only as clean as the electricity source. • Electric charging stations have become increasingly • These vehicles are so quiet that they can be dangerous. common, as this innovation may soon become standard. • The range on these cars is often limited to 200 miles • Because of its popularity, these cars have become or less per full charge. Creating and recycling batteries can be a cheaper than many green-energy alternatives. long-term issue. • Charging is cheap and can be done at home. Electric Solar Pros Cons • They are emission-free at exhaust. • The issues arise in how solar cars store energy, as cloudy days, nights, and tunnels will happen. • Cars that run on electricity are only as clean as the electricity source; with solar power, your car is the energy source. • Solar panels are still expensive, though that is changing. . Solar cars can be fast, and recent technology changes still need to be charged allow them to travel 500 miles on a single charge. • The best solar cars would occasionally. • Solar is an option that many car companies have invested in already. Solar Super Capacitors Pros Cons • Extremely thin layers of graphene and electrolytes could reduce the need for • Super capacitors don't hold energy quite as long as batteries. lithium ion batteries. • Super capacitors charge much faster than batteries. • The technology is in a very experimental phase and not yet readily available. They are much lighter than batteries, using nanotechnology. • Cars that run on electricity are only as clean as the electricity source. Electric Hydrogen Pros Cons • The generation of hydrogen sometimes requires oil and natural gas, creating massive emissions; it depends on how it is compressed. • There's no exhaust emissions besides water vapor. The fuel economy is excellent, with fuel cells. • They are faster to refuel than electric cars. • Hydrogen storage is expensive and can be dangerous. • It has a longer driving range than many electric • There are very few places to refuel. cars. Other Ammonia Pros Cons • Emissions include just nitogen and water vapor. • The process of creating liquid ammonia requires some electricity. Cars that run on electricity are only as clean as the electricity • Can be used with internal combustion engines with minor modifications. Most source. cars can be modified to run on a mixture of ammonia and gasoline. • Ammonia would be more expensive than gas, but that may change if produced on a grand scale. Biofuel Hydraulics Pros Cons • The car runs on essentially air and fluid using a reservoir, pump, and accumulator. • They are better used in hybrids, to augment a gas engine. • Like battery hybrids, the hydraulics store energy when stopping or slowing down. • They are already in use by some shipping companies. Other Liquid Nitrogen Pros Cons • They are emission-free at exhaust. • The production of liquid nitrogen is expensive in terms of both money and energy. • This technology is most useful in trucks that require cooling anyway. • It requires heat, and is unsafe if spilled. • The process of creating liquid nitrogen requires some electricity. Cars that run on electricity are only as clean as the electricity source. Other Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Pros Cons • There is a small reduction in emissions. • It is still a nonrenewable fossil fuel, and doesn't eliminate emissions. • Most cars can be converted to take natural • It can be difficult to find stations. gas. • Natural gas is in abundance domestically. • Fracking may lead to long-term negative effects on the environment. Fossil fuel Nuclear Pros Cons • Obviously, the radiation and potential crashes would make this option extremely unsafe. • It would produce no emissions. • It would never have to be refueled. • Disposing the fuel would be hugely problematic. Other Saltwater Pros Cons • Using NASA technology, a water solution passes through a membrane creating an electric charge, helping to store energy like a battery. The technology is still under development and widely unavailable, making it expensive. • This combines many of prior systems on this list; it uses super capacitors and electricity. • It produces no emissions. • With roughly two 50 gallon tanks, it can go more than 300 miles. Water Sources: qz.com extremetech.com wikipedia.org energy .gov jalopnik.com seeker.com popularmechanics.com thebulletin.org scientificamerican.com foxbusiness.com time.com cnet.com dailymail.co.uk bbc.com bostonglobe.com Researched and designed by titleproloans.com: https://www.titleproloans.com/alternative-energy-car-power/ cnn.com