I don’t know about you, but sometimes all this talk about alternative or “green” fuel gets me a little confused, so I finally made a list of what’s what and how they compare.  I hope this list helps you, too.

Cellulosic Ethanol

The Good: Cellulosic Ethanol is renewable and can be made from plants no meant for consumption. This fuel also generates more energy than it takes to produce, greenhouse-gas emissions are lower than gasoline.

The Bad: So far, there’s no technology for mass production.

The Basics: Cellulosic Ethanol is a biofuel which is refines from cellulose, material which we find in corn stalks, wood chips and some grasses.

Biodiesel

The Good: Biodiesel fuel has more energy than gasoline and can be used with any diesel engine and helps reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

The Bad: May cause fuel system problems in some vehicles and mileage is low for conventional diesel powered vehicles. 

The Basics: Biodiesel is a renewable fuel which is manufactured from either vegetable oil such as canola oil and soybeans, or animal fats.

E-85 or Corn Ethanol

The Good: E-85 fuel cuts greenhouse emissions by 20%, has fewer emissions and is renewable.

The Bad: Using this fuel can may mean your gas mileage could be anywhere from 30% to 40% lower since it contains less energy than gasoline. Many also believe mass production of ethanol could eventually lead to a shortage of corn supply.

The Basics: This fuel comes from sugar in corn (as well as other plants) and is then blended with gasoline and is known as E85, which is 85% ethanol. 

Clean Diesel

The Good: Clean Diesel offers more energy than gasoline which allows for better gas mileage and is ideal for those who tow heavy cargo.

The Bad: Extra technology needed to clean diesel fuel raises the cost. Diesel also causes pollution – which means more smog. 

The Basics: Like gasoline, diesel comes from petroleum.  Vehicles which use “clean diesel” burn fuel more efficiently and trap pollutants better, but still cause more pollution than regular gas burning vehicles.

Hybrid

The Good: Because a hybrid uses an electric motor which requires no gasoline, when compared to a gas powered vehicle, drivers can expect an increase in gas mileage anywhere from 25 to 30 percent. Hybrid vehicles burn less fuel, which means fewer greenhouse gases, too.

The Bad: Since hybrid vehicles use batteries and battery packs, this can increase the cost of the vehicle when compared to more conventional, gas powered vehicles. Also, batteries in the rear cargo area take up storage space.

The Basics: Hybrid vehicles have a battery-powered electric motor.  This battery powered motor drives the vehicle during slow speeds, while the gasoline engine works during higher speeds.

Plug-In Hybrid

The Good: Plug in hybrids mean even cheaper gasoline and better gas mileage since Plug-in vehicles may also get higher mileage than standard hybrids.

The Bad: Battery packs are large, taking up space and also add weight to the vehicle, which lowers performance. Plug-ins are also currently too expensive to mass produce.

The Basics: A battery powered motor needing to be charged from an electrical source, such as an electrical outlet, at home or elsewhere. The battery powered motor keeps the vehicle going until the power gets low and then a gasoline engine takes over to power the vehicle.

Electric Vehicles

The Good: Great fuel economy.

The Bad: Batteries needed for an all electric vehicle would be bigger than those used in a hybrid vehicle, so the automobile would need to be designed around the size of the battery.  Currently, these vehicles would be expensive to produce.

The Basics: An electric vehicle is any vehicle which runs entirely using a battery-powered motor.

Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Vehicles

The Good: Hydrogen is available in water and natural gas, which makes it readily available, and means the only emission is water. Hydrogen fuel also has more energy than gasoline, which means better gas mileage.

The Bad: Natural gas is an unrenewable hydrocarbon and there’s not a distribution system or standardized method of storage.

The Basics: Hydrogen/Fuel Cell vehicles use an electric motor, however the motor would be charged by a fuel-cell, which converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity which flows to the battery.

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