Archive for August, 2009

Fuel To burn - Why Oil is going Up & Down

Saturday, August 29th, 2009
green oil
SANJAY KAK asked:


What exactly is deriving oil prices high. Is less shortage of oil, oil production issues or simply demand for oil has sky rocketed. What we see today is only tip of iceberg. The day is not far when we will see oil barrel at $200 or more. While emerging economies are battling with established economies for control of third world oil for growth of business. The nations have started capturing untapped oil market for future expansion, along with current rising consumption of oil is the leading cause of price touching record high. What exactly, we have options for Fuel To Burn beyond Oil.

According to statistic, the America consumed 20 million barrels of petroleum every day in year 2006. This is really a big number but when we look at the numbers of China and India and other emerging economies the situation looks more grim.

 

There is urgency to come up with alternate fuel solution to oil, the world leaders, corporate leaders and environmentalist are working closely to create alternate fuels. The research universities are working tirelessly and corporate leaders are pumping huge amount for future fuel technologies.

We all know oil is made up of fossilized remains of ancient marine plants and animals, we also know this process takes millions of years to convert fossil into crude oil. The problem is there is a long process to get oil, where as demand for consumption is growing every minute in leaps and bounds.

Now the big question is, where do we stand if we run out oil. Already signs are not good. Refineries are running at high out put still not able to keep consumption requirements, Some of the oil rigs are running dry, sure signs of bad days. Some of the oil regions are involved in long conflict, resulting into delay and short supplies. Bottom line we no longer can depend upon on oil as major energy source.

Another factor, why alternate technologies for fuel are being pursued is the risk to environment. The most damage to earth has happened in last century, with explosion of industrial revolution and expansion of industries across all fields has created tremendous impact on global warming. People are able to see changes in environment, changing weather patterns, too much or no rain in different part of world, temperature soaring and glaciers shrinking all are signs of global warming.

The future needs are not only alternate fuel to gasoline but the future fuel has to be clean and no hazard to environment, unlike oil which creates greenhouse gases a prime reason of global warming. The next fuel will be clean, environment friendly, cheap and will be available in all countries. One more thing next generation fuel will help in reducing the tension among nations fighting for oil share.

 

The emerging economies China, India and Mexico are buying or leasing oil fields in Asia, Africa and Europe to keep their counties interest intact. The developed countries are busy in filling their oil reserves to safe guard national reserves. All this fight for oil and fierce competition among nation is bound to create conflict and war. The next generation fuel not only will help in reducing consumption demand but also help in keeping peace in world.

Now we have talked in length about the current issues related in respect to gap in demand supply of oil. Let’s look at alternate fuels available and which one are in research. Read more on Green Energies    ”http://www.fueltoburn.com/”



Ethanol Fuel - Lobbyists and the Government Scam Us All - the Oil Companies Profit

Thursday, August 27th, 2009
green oil
Michael Cooper asked:


You’ve heard the hype, the ‘Flex Fuel Vehicles’, the ‘E85 Green Fuel’, the ‘Ethanol Blended Gas’. Oil companies are touting their embrace of Ethanol as them going green, but how green is Ethanol really?

What is Ethanol fuel?

Ethanol is a grain alcohol. It’s also commonly known as Ethyl Alcohol or hydroxyethane. The Ethanol used in fuel for cars is denatured (you can’t get drunk off of it) and is primarily made from corn. This is where one of the largest issues comes from. Growing corn for the Ethanol is not the most efficient use of energy or resources. It costs more to grow and harvest corn than many other fuels. The planting, fertilizing, harvesting, transportation and refining of the corn is actually a net-negative energy expense. Basically it uses more fuel to harvest and truck it around than we get from it.

All cars can burn a mild blend of Ethanol and Gasoline, usually 10% Ethanol and 90% Gasoline. Flex Fuel Vehicles can run regular gas, all the way up to 85% Ethanol and 15% gasoline.

Burning Ethanol made from corn is bad for the environment.

You’re kidding, right? I get asked this a lot. Look it up, though. Don’t take my word for it, check The Google. You’ll find that the only people really promoting using Corn for Ethanol are lobbyists and farmers unions that need to give their farmers something to grow. Interestingly enough, the oil companies have no issues at all with Ethanol as an alternative fuel.

I really didn’t have to look hard or long to find out why.

As it turns out, Ethanol fits nicely with the current refinement and distribution system that the oil companies have in place. Ethanol still takes big plants to refine and the distribution channels to gas stations remains the same. We’re still all stuck burning a fuel that they deliver to us. Sure they don’t have the oil revenue, but that’s getting more and more expensive to obtain all the time. With the government subsidizing corn for Ethanol it’s quite cheap to get. That explains why nearly all fuel at the pump is already E10 (10% Ethanol) or E6 in California.

Give that some thought. Your tax dollars are paying to subsidize the growing of corn that is being sold nice and cheap to the oil companies who are turning around and selling it to you at 40 cents a gallon. That’s right; you are paying twice for 40 cents on the gallon. As the price of gas goes up that will soon hit $1. I can barely fathom a system where we pay the government to give fuel to the oil companies who then charge us for it.

It all goes one step further. The whole notion of using corn for fuel would be a lot more reasonable if the government hadn’t stopped subsidizing the rail lines. Rail can haul cargo with unbelievable efficiency. A train can move a ton of cargo 413 miles on a gallon of diesel. That is compared to the average car which can move 2 tons (with passengers) 30 miles on a gallon of fuel. That’s 680% more efficient, or the equivalent of getting about 204 miles per gallon from your car.

Yet the government has ceased supporting smaller cargo train lines and now millions of tons of cargo is hauled on the highways, wearing them down and consuming much, much more fuel than if it were hauled by train, and they subsidize the industry that does this, and not the one that is 680% more efficient and that is going away.

Completely Ridiculous.

There are some interesting possibilities out there, Soy being one of them. There is a possibility that soy could be used to make Ethanol and Biodiesel, but that is some time away. All the while other, valid fuels are being ignored, or under-researched. One being Hydrogen/HHO conversion from water, and another being advances in solar panels that could drastically increase their performance and our ability to have completely electrical cars.

Though we doubt you really ever believed them, don’t drink in the Oil Company’s kool-aid the next time you see one of their commercials touting how green they are. The diesel fuel it takes to haul that corn to the refinery they own is making them so much money that they are laughing all the way to the bank.



Learn Information About Alternative Fuel - Green Fuel Options

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
hydro fuel
Bryan Burbank asked:


It is important that we use alternative fuel sources so that we can reduce greenhouse emissions. There are many alternatives to the standard old fossil fuels but people need to be proactive in using them. There are many issues involved with fuels and alternatives but we can solve any of these issues so we have multiple fuel sources. We must realize that the oil that we are currently using will run out someday. Using other alternative sources such as natural gas can help to reduce pollution in the air.

Get Free : Alternative Fuel Information

We have made some changes to vehicles so that they can run on alternative fuel sources but we need to continue these changes. There are a fraction of vehicles that will run on natural gas and Hydro but there is not nearly enough to make a huge impact on the environment.

Save with : Great Fuel Tips

Hopefully with the current gas crisis there will be some mandatory changes so that people have a choice of which type of fuel they want to put in their vehicle. Once you give people a choice and there is a source where they can purchase the new alternative they will use it.

You also should be aware that fuel costs in your home can be expensive and also can pollute the environment. You are considered some of the alternative fuels that are available to you. I think when we combine saving money along with saving the environment we will create many options that will be available to everybody.

Remember that using alternative fuel can help save you money along with the environment. It is always a good idea to get educated and know what fuel alternatives are available for you. You can also be proactive with government and getting more laws passed so that it is mandatory that we have more options available to us.



Green Fuels - the Facts

Saturday, August 15th, 2009
green oil
Mervyn Rees asked:


(c) 2008 Mervyn Rees

Have you heard about cars that run on peanut oil? Well when Rudolph Diesel invented his engine  the ones we now run on what has become known as ‘diesel’ (Named after him) he ran his on peanut oil.

Nowadays all sorts of vegetable oils are being used to replace traditional diesel and, not least, petroleum. In the UK, a few thousand cars are already being run on used chip oil (that’s the oil that fries/chips have been made in), which, on such a small scale, is a good thing. The issue is, recycled cooking oils in the UK, can only produce about 100,000 tons of diesel per year, and that’s no more than 1/380th of the total fuel used through road transport alone. What, you have to wonder, would happen to the rest?

We’d obviously have to grow oil producing crops in order to run our cars on “environmentally friendly” fuel. Shouldn’t be too difficult, should it? Just plant some fields with rape, and before you know it, you’re turning oil into fuel and our air becomes a lot cleaner.

But is it really as easy as that? Let’s look at the specifics around this.

1 hectare of rape will yield an average of 1.5 tonnes of bio-diesel. In order to run the same number of road transport vehicles as there are today in the UK, rape would need to be grown on almost 26 million hectares of land.

Considering that the UK only has a little less than 6 million hectares of arable land available, where on Earth are we going to grow the rest? That’s it, somewhere else on Earth. Once again the 3rd world countries will undoubtedly end up producing the oil we need in order to run our cars in an “environmentally friendly” manner, while those who farm the land can barely afford to eat, let alone run a car. Better for the environment? Maybe, but better for society as a whole: Definitely not.

And while we’re growing oil-seed on so much of the land, where will our food be grown? Can we really produce the amount of oil needed to fuel the number of vehicles that are found on the road today, let alone in the future?

Then there’s the question of the actual production process connected with bio-diesel. Rape seed doesn’t become bio-diesel of its own accord, after all. The seed will need to be transported to processing plants where energy is used to transform it into something more environmentally friendly than gasoline or other petroleum based fuels. But how much gas and/or electricity will be used to run the machinery needed to process the oil? And how much energy will be needed in order to heat and light the processing plants? And where will the plants be built?

Whether so-called “green diesel” will really be better for the environment is anybody’s guess. We know they won’t omit damaging carbon dioxide, but everything has a price. What price can we afford to pay?

P.S. I have some knowledge of another source of Bio-Fuel supplies that could sort it…

But I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for another article to read about it, and my own ideas are perhaps progressing to. . .