Alternative fuel known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels The

main purpose of fuel is to store energy, which should be in a stable form and can be easily transported to the place of production. Almost all fuels are chemical fuels. The user employs this fuel to generate heat or perform mechanical work, such as powering an engine. It may also be used to generate electricity, which is then used for heating, lighting or electronics purposes. Conventional fuels include: fossil fuels petroleum oil!, coal, propane, and natural gas!, as well as nuclear materials such as uranium and thorium, as well as artificial radioisotope fuels that are made in nuclear reactors. "ome well-known alternative fuels include biodiesel, bioalcohol methanol, ethanol, butanol!, chemically stored electricity batteries and fuel cells!, hydrogen, non-fossil methane, non-fossil natural gas, vegetable oil, and other biomass sources. Top # alternative fuel in $" :1. Ethanol An alcohol-based alternative fuel made by fermenting and distilling crops such as corn, barley or wheat. It can be blended with gasoline to increase octane levels and improve emissions %uality. Positive: &aterials are renewable. Negative: 'thanol subsidies have a negative impact on food prices and availability. 2. Natural Gas (atural gas is an alternative fuel that burns clean and is already widely available to people in many countries through utilities that provide natural gas to homes and businesses. Positive: Cars and trucks with specially designed engines produce fewer harmful emissions than gasoline or diesel. Negative: (atural gas production creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is )* times worse for global warming than C+). 3. Electricity 'lectricity can be used as a transportation alternative fuel for battery-powered electric and fuel-cell vehicles. ,attery powered electric vehicles store power in batteries that are recharged by plugging the vehicle into a standard electrical source. -uel-cell vehicles run on electricity that is produced through an electrochemical reaction that occurs when hydrogen and o.ygen are combined. Positive: -uel cells produce electricity without combustion or pollution. Negative: &uch electricity is generated today from coal or natural gas, leaving a bad carbon footprint. 4. Hydrogen

/ydrogen can be mi.ed with natural gas to create an alternative fuel for vehicles that use certain types of internal combustion engines. /ydrogen is also used in fuel-cell vehicles that run on electricity produced by the petrochemical reaction that occurs when hydrogen and o.ygen are combined in the fuel 0stack.1 Positive: (o bad emissions. Negative: Cost. 5. Propane 2ropane3also called li%uefied petroleum gas or 4253is a byproduct of natural gas processing and crude oil refining. Already widely used as a fuel for cooking and heating, propane is also a popular alternative fuel for vehicles. Positive: 2ropane produces fewer emissions than gasoline, and there is also a highly developed infrastructure for propane transport, storage and distribution. Negative: (atural gas production creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is )* times worse for global warming than C+). . !iodiesel ,iodiesel is an alternative fuel based on vegetable oils or animal fats, even those recycled after restaurants have used them for cooking. 6ehicle engines can be converted to burn biodiesel in its pure form, and biodiesel can also be blended with petroleum diesel and used in unmodified engines. Positive: ,iodiesel is safe, biodegradable, reduces air pollutants associated with vehicle emissions, such as particulate matter, carbon mono.ide and hydrocarbons. Negative: 4imited production and distribution infrastructure. ". #ethanol &ethanol, also known as wood alcohol, can be used as an alternative fuel in fle.ible fuel vehicles that are designed to run on &#7, a blend of #7 percent methanol and *7 percent gasoline, but automakers are no longer manufacturing methanol-powered vehicles. Positive: &ethanol could become an important alternative fuel in the future as a source of the hydrogen needed to power fuel-cell vehicles. Negative: Automakers are no longer manufacturing methanol-powered vehicles. $. P%&eries 'uels 2-"eries fuels are a blend of ethanol, natural gas li%uids and methyltetrahydrofuran &eT/-!, a co-solvent derived from biomass. 2-"eries fuels are clear, high-octane alternative fuels that can be used in fle.ible fuel vehicles. Positive: 2-"eries fuels can be used alone or mi.ed with gasoline in any ratio by simply adding it to the tank. Negative: &anufacturers are not making fle.ible fuel vehicles. importance of alternative fuel Fossil Fuels

-limitation to how much we can use them. -+ver the years, their demand has been far outstripping their availability -irreversible harm that done to the environment -Combustion of fossil fuels emits harmful gases like sulfur dio.ide causing acid rain! and carbon mono.ide contributing to greenhouse effect!. 8ue to the adverse affects, the globe is heating up and the polar ice caps are melting faster. - +il prices touched record $" 9*:; last year. demand overpowering supply, prices will continue to rise dramatically. The Solution - <ind, water and sun are never ending source of energy - the biggest advantage of using them is that they don=t harm environment in any way A Limitation - Alternative energy sources do have some disadvantages. &ost of the alternative energy sources are location specific. -or instance solar energy can be used only where there is good e.posure to sunlight. "imilarly, hydro-electricity can be generated where there is ample amount of flowing water, and so on. Advantages And (isadvantages )f !iodiesel 'uel Compared to other alternative fuels, biodiesel fuel supports some uni%ue features and %ualities. $nlike any other alternative fuels, it has successfully passed all the health effects testing re%uirements, meeting the standards of the *>>? Clean Air Act Amendments. /ere in this article, we will shed light on both the advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel fuels. @ead on to know more. Advantages of *iodiesel fuel A ,iodiesel fuel is a renewable energy source unlike petroleum-based diesel. A An e.cessive production of soybeans in the world makes it an economic way to utiliBe this surplus for manufacturing the ,iodiesel fuel. A +ne of the main biodiesel fuel advantages is that it is less polluting than petroleum diesel. A The lack of sulfur in *??C biodiesel e.tends the life of catalytic converters. A Another of the advantages of biodiesel fuel is that it can also be blended with other energy resources and oil. A ,iodiesel fuel can also be used in e.isting oil heating systems and diesel engines without making any alterations. A It can also be distributed through e.isting diesel fuel pumps, which is another biodiesel fuel advantage over other alternative fuels. A The lubricating property of the biodiesel may lengthen the lifetime of engines. (isadvantages of *iodiesel fuel

A At present, ,iodiesel fuel is bout one and a half times more e.pensive than petroleum diesel fuel. A It re%uires energy to produce biodiesel fuel from soy crops, plaus there is the energy of sowing, fertiliBing and harvesting. A Another biodiesel fuel disadvantage is that it can harm rubber hoses in some engines. A As ,iodiesel cleans the dirt from the engine, this dirt can then get collected in the fuel filter, thus clogging it. "o, filters have to be changed after the first several hours of biodiesel use. A ,iodiesel fuel distribution infrastructure needs improvement, which is another of the biodiesel fuel disadvantages. Advantages And (isadvantages )f Hydrogen 'uel /ydrogen is not a fuel. It is a way of storing or transporting energy. Advantages: 'mits only water vapour, assuming there is no leakage of hydrogen gas It can store up to D. as much energy as conventional natural gas. 8isadvantages: 4eakage of / gas see above! will have detrimental impacts on the stratosphere California Institute of Technology! 2roduction of hydrogen gas currently relies on natural gas and electrolysis and to replace all the vehicles would re%uire *?. as much as currently is used

"torage is really tough because hydrogen is such a low density gas 8istribution and infrastructure needs to be refurbished to cope with hydrogen, which can metals by making them brittle $se in fuel cells re%uires catalysts, which usually re%uire a component metal most often platinum!. 2latinum is e.tremely rare, e.pensive and environmentally unsound to produce.

Advantages And (isadvantages )f Natural Gas Advantages+

(atural gas largely methane! burns more cleanly than the other fossil fuels :7C less carbon dio.ide emitted than coal and D?C less than oil! It is easily transported via pipelines and fairly easily using tankers land and sea! It can be piped into homes to provide heating and cooking and to run a variety of appliances. <here homes are not piped, it can be supplied in small tanks. It can be used as a fuel for vehicles cars, trucks and Eet engines! where it is cleaner than gasoline or diesel.

It is used to produce ammonia for fertiliBers, and hydrogen, as well as in the production of some plastics and paints. ItFs relatively abundant, clean burning and seems easy to distribute. ItFs also lighter than air, so if there is a leak it will tend to dissipate, unlike propane, which is heavier than air and pools into e.plosive pockets. It can be used for heating, cooking, hot water, clothes dryer, backup generator power, and so forth. "ome places will supply it to your house by way of underground pipes. (atural gas is more economical than electricity, it is faster when used in cooking and water heating and most gas appliances are cheaper than electrical ones. 5as appliances also do not create unhealthy electrical fields in your house.

8isadvantages: 'ven though it is cleaner than coal and oil, it still contributes a large amount of carbon dio.ide to greenhouse gases. ,y itself natural gas is mostly methane, which is )* times more dangerous for greenhouse warming than carbon dio.ide so any leakage of the gas from animals, landfills, melting tundra, etc! contributes strongly to greenhouse emissions.

If your house is not properly insulated it can be very e.pensive. It can leak, potentially causing an e.plosion.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethanol as a Fuel

There are both great advantages and great disadvantages associated with the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel to petroleum. Advantages Disadvantages

Unlike petroleum, ethanol is a renewable resource Ethanol burns more cleanly in air than petroleum, producing less carbon (soot) and carbon monoxide The use of ethanol as opposed to petroleum could reduce carbon dioxide emissions, provided that a renewable energy resource was used to produce crops re uired to obtain ethanol and to distil fermented ethanol

Ethanol has a lower heat of combustion (per mole, per unit of volume, and per unit of mass) that petroleum !arge amounts of arable land are re uired to produce the crops re uired to obtain ethanol, leading to problems such as soil erosion, deforestation, fertiliser run"off and salinity #a$or environmental problems would arise out of the disposal of waste fermentation li uors. Typical current engines would re uire modification to use high concentrations of ethanol