Minchan Sunwoo

April.1st 2020
1-2
Ms.Haber
CLC12
Capstone
​ esearch Strand
R
Q: What other resources can we use to fuel our future transportation?

​ umans are more focused on saving the Earth now, they don’t want to pollute the
H
Earth. They take action by inventing eco-friendly objects that used to pollute the earth
decades ago. One of the main pollutants comes from human inventions and there are
others out there who are trying to solve the problem by changing the way they work
among people. One of the major pollution sources comes from transportation cars,
buses, boats, and other machinery that uses gas that burns up into carbon dioxide
which suffocates the earth.

We have many varieties of transportation we use that don't affect the earth's
environment. Many types of fuels are used to certain vehicles and inventors are more
focused on eco-friendly vehicles. Here is the list of fuels that are being used on the road
today in our transportation.

● Gasoline - Which is very common and cheapest in the list

● Diesel - only specifically used on cars that only take diesel
● Electric - It’s the future! Every vehicle in Europe will be electric by 2050
● Hybrid - Variant type uses gasoline and electric which is very efficient
● Natural gas - Very rarely used only on city buses and heating in buildings.
● Ethanol - low mileage and not common
● Liquified petroleum - A cheaper alternative to diesel and fuel but it is not popular
https://www.carbibles.com/types-of-car-fuel/

How are cars releasing these toxic gases that will cause damage to the environment?
Well, the way a car moves by igniting the drops of gasoline in the engine pistons causes
a small explosion creating power for the car to move. From the ignition where the
gasoline is burnt, water and carbon dioxide are produced from the hydrocarbon forming
CO2 which is the bad part of burning gasoline.

All these resources come from breaking down other materials to create fuel or from
natural sources. These resources have to be cheap, common, eco friendly, and
efficient. The newest fuel types on the list are electric and hybrid. They are best for the
environment since electricity does not release any exhaust and hybrid using electricity
at low speeds and gasoline at high speeds. However, electric and hybrid vehicles are
expensive to purchase and maintain. They do not last long by your possession
compared to gasoline vehicles that can work for at least 5 years without any major part
changes.

I tried figuring out what other sources we can use as fuel for our future transportation
that is efficient, eco-friendly, and cheap. It has to be flammable and less toxic when
burnt, I found out that methane which is a gas that is mostly in the atmosphere meaning
most of the greenhouse gas is composed of methane and carbon dioxide which is a
problem to the climate to this day. Methane is highly flammable, and it creates water
and carbon dioxide but here's the good part it may still release carbon dioxide, but it
doesn’t emit carbon dioxide as much as other fossil fuels we use today on our
transportations which can decrease the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted every
year. Methane gas is almost everywhere, methane is a very potent substance for the
greenhouse gases and it tends to block out the sunlight on earth which can be a
catastrophe if large amounts were leaked into the air.
https://www.businessinsider.com/frozen-lakes-light-fire-thermokarst-global-warming-clim
ate-change-2019-4

Although the process of harvesting methane gas is difficult, since methane gas is
invisible to the human eye, sealing the area can prevent most of the methane leakage.
Most of the methane can be found in frozen lakes that have been sealed under the ice
and the most of frozen methane gas deposits also known as thermokarst lakes are near
Alaska and Siberia and the number of methane bubbles rising from the bottom of the
lake is massive. During summer when it gets warm, the lake melts causing methane to
be released in the air causing global warming.

Carbon dioxide is created, but it takes only 20-200 years for them to fully dissipate but
other filters on earth convert carbon dioxide into oxygen such as vegetations but what’s
stopping this vegetation to produce oxygen is that the other toxic chemicals like nitrous
oxide and methane are potent and they do not disappear from the atmosphere for
hundreds and thousands of years.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jan/16/greenhouse-gases-remain-air

● Compared to the carbon dioxide, methane itself is 22% more effective than
carbon dioxide
 ● Methane does not just come from thermokarst lakes, it comes from decomposing
human wastes, food, and agriculture like animals.

● Our body also creates methane, farts, and excretion is composed of methane.
Organisms release methane gas after consuming food but they don’t emit a large
amount.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/methane/

Using methane gas for vehicles are much cheaper than electric and hybrid because the
maintenance cost is lower and since it has the similar technology to gasoline using
vehicles, and it’s the cheapest option we have for vehicles and near the future, more
natural gas-powered vehicles will be produced for the people who will not be able to
afford electric or hybrid vehicles due to their high cost.

Methane gas-powered vehicles can function in almost any part of the world since
methane has a high resistance to temperatures meaning it performs better than electric
vehicles in colder regions since lithium-ion batteries in electric cars tend to weaken 40%
in cold temperatures meaning more money will be spent to keep it in good condition.

The maintenance on electric vehicles is not regularly needed, the parts that have to be
replaced are expensive.

It is possible to replace hybrid vehicles' gasoline tanks with methane tanks which can
operate only on methane and electricity.
https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/aaa-cold-weather-cut-electric-car-range-40-60
902845

Natural gas-powered vehicles are cheaper, safer, and more efficient than
petrol-powered vehicles. Some people are inspired by the designs of vehicles and if we
only go for electric vehicles with just the minimal designs and wasted money, people will
not be able to express their personality through one of the objects since cars are very
widely known around the world. People mostly expect the looks, quality, and efficiency
in vehicles if one of those are not around, people do not enjoy the changes in
transportation.