On an environmental note.
Are there any generally available alternatives to the petrol powered piston engine?
There are many viable alternative fuels for the piston engine, but non are generally available. Since the sixties automotive manufacturers and independent engineers have developed and tested prototype alternate fuels, many with really encouraging results.
One alternative, hydrogen, has gained some stock reasons for its failure to gain support and acceptance.
No distribution network.
Fear of explosion.
At the time of automotive industry testing of this fuel, tests were similarly carried out with LPG. This fuel also had no bulk distribution network and was also more volatile than petrol. For safe handling both of these fuels require a robust fuel tank.
In Europe LPG gained acceptance and promotion and is now widely available, hydrogen didn’t.
Interestingly, LPG is produced by the same companies that produce petrol and diesel as it is a by-product of that process. More interestingly LPG is produced from the same raw product as petrol. This comes from the same oil fields as petrol. Hydrogen does not come from oil fields.
More recently bio-diesel was extensively prototyped and tested. Again it failed to lift off in a marketing sense.
Bio-fuel is produced from green mass, grown in farm fields and not pumped from oil fields.
Marketing and market timing are the key factors here. If and when the world does run out of fossil fuels there are many alternatives available. The current stalemate is that the producers of raw fossil fuels (countries not companies) cannot withstand the effect that a mass movement away from this resource would create.
This is a very general summary of a very complex world situation, also it does not take account of the environmental issue that surround it, but you can rest assured that, given a gradual process of development, the world’s wheels will not stop turning for want of petrol.
It would seem then that the dichotomy is that though millions of people will be adversely affected by global warming, if the world were to consider ditching the use of fossil fuel consumption in favour of an alternative, that switch would also adversely affect millions.
Catch 22.
Are there any generally available alternatives to the petrol powered piston engine?
There are many viable alternative fuels for the piston engine, but non are generally available. Since the sixties automotive manufacturers and independent engineers have developed and tested prototype alternate fuels, many with really encouraging results.
One alternative, hydrogen, has gained some stock reasons for its failure to gain support and acceptance.
No distribution network.
Fear of explosion.
At the time of automotive industry testing of this fuel, tests were similarly carried out with LPG. This fuel also had no bulk distribution network and was also more volatile than petrol. For safe handling both of these fuels require a robust fuel tank.
In Europe LPG gained acceptance and promotion and is now widely available, hydrogen didn’t.
Interestingly, LPG is produced by the same companies that produce petrol and diesel as it is a by-product of that process. More interestingly LPG is produced from the same raw product as petrol. This comes from the same oil fields as petrol. Hydrogen does not come from oil fields.
More recently bio-diesel was extensively prototyped and tested. Again it failed to lift off in a marketing sense.
Bio-fuel is produced from green mass, grown in farm fields and not pumped from oil fields.
Marketing and market timing are the key factors here. If and when the world does run out of fossil fuels there are many alternatives available. The current stalemate is that the producers of raw fossil fuels (countries not companies) cannot withstand the effect that a mass movement away from this resource would create.
This is a very general summary of a very complex world situation, also it does not take account of the environmental issue that surround it, but you can rest assured that, given a gradual process of development, the world’s wheels will not stop turning for want of petrol.
It would seem then that the dichotomy is that though millions of people will be adversely affected by global warming, if the world were to consider ditching the use of fossil fuel consumption in favour of an alternative, that switch would also adversely affect millions.
Catch 22.
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