Ethanol is probably the most well known alternative fuel in the world today as it has been being developed for years. Ethanol is also known as grain alcohol because it is made most often with corn. Using ethanol as an alternative fuel is a great way to help the environment and our farmers too.

Currently there is an alternative fuel ethanol product on the market called E85. E85 is made from 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent alcohol. There are many cars that can run on E85 fuel and while it isn’t completely environmentally … read more

When it comes to alternative fuels, General Motors Company, or GMC has proven to be an industry leader when it comes to developing alternative fuel vehicles and pushing for more and more people to switch over to alternative fuels. They have more hybrid and alternative vehicles than any other car company and have made great strides to inform the general public about the advantages of using alternative fuels as well as GMC alternative vehicles.

GMC’s newest campaign for alternative fuels is the “Think Green, Go Yellow” which promotes the use of Ethanol blend E85 fuel. Ethanol E85 is made … read more

Besides the obvious advantages to owning an AFV, the government is also stepping in to make it even more advantageous. People who buy these types of vehicles are given tax breaks on their income taxes. Additionally, many states also offer incentives and car manufacturers even offer rebates or discounts.

Most incentives offset a percentage of the incremental cost of the vehicle (the additional dollars OEMs charge for the AFV versus a conventional model). Federal and state laws also help keep the cost of alternative fuels competitive with gasoline or diesel.

Consider the following examples of state offered … read more

Hang on dear reader; this could get technical when we start talking about direct methanol fuel cells! But don’t worry; I’ll do my best to make it user-friendly! Direct methanol fuel cells are a subcategory of proton-exchange fuel cells where the alternative fuel called methanol is not reformed but fed directly to the fuel cell.

Because the methanol is fed directly into the fuel cell, complicated catalytic reforming is unneeded and storage of methanol is much easier than that of hydrogen because it does not need to be done at high pressures or low temperature because methanol is a … read more

One of the most interesting and promising, alternative transportation fuels is hydrogen. While mostly only experimental vehicles are operating on this fuel now, the potential for this unique energy source is excellent.

Anyone who has taken a chemistry class knows that hydrogen is number one on the periodic chart of elements and the lightest of all elements. It is easy to produce through electrolysis, simply splitting water (H20) into oxygen and hydrogen by using electricity. However, these days, nearly all hydrogen is made from natural gas.

Because hydrogen burns nearly pollution-free, it has been looked at as the ultimate clean fuel. … read more

Have you been thinking of switching to one of the new hydrogen fuel cell vehicles but aren’t sure that it’s right for you? One of the best routes to go is to get as much information about hydrogen fuel as you can, and you can do that by reading books about hydrogen fuel. These hydrogen fuel books will give you all sorts of information that can help you make a conscious decision as to whether or not a hydrogen fueled vehicle is right for you.

But what types of books are out there about hydrogen fuels? … read more

Just as with any other type of alternative fuels, you can realize huge tax breaks when you choose to use ethanol fuel over traditional gasoline. There is a new trend toward using alternative fuels. Whether you choose to buy an alternative fuel car or just put an alternative fuel in your gas tank, the government recognizes that you are trying to do your part for the environment and they are trying to do what they can to compensate you ? through tax breaks.

Many states have already given huge tax breaks to residents who choose to use ethanol fuel … read more

There are two types of alternative fuel vehicles ? those that are originally designed to run on these new fuels and those that have been converted to run on alternative fuels. Car companies will also make hybrid vehicles that can run on either gasoline or other fuels. Many people call these cars “green vehicles” because of their positive effect on the environment.

Since the trend is toward producing and buying environmentally friendly vehicles, nearly every major car manufacturer has at least one green vehicle in their inventory. We’re relatively sure that as alternative fuels become more and more … read more

The nation of the United States is the country that leads all others in the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are those that are formed in the ground over a period of millions of years formed from dead plants and animals. Oil, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels and we use a lot of them!

Fossil fuel use by humans is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide which is one of the greenhouse gases that allows radiative forcing and contributes to global warming. When you burn fossil fuels, they let out a large amount … read more

We’ve all heard the buzz about alternative fuels. What types of ethanol fuels can run in certain vehicles? The truth is that all gasoline vehicles are capable of operating on gasoline/ethanol blends with up to 10% ethanol. In fact, some states require the seasonal or year-round use of up to 10% ethanol as an oxygenate additive to gasoline to mitigate ozone formation.

These low percentage oxygenate blends ? such as ethanol fuel – are not classified as alternative fuels for vehicles. We speak of ethanol vehicles as those specifically manufactured to be capable of running on up to … read more