what we need is a whole new section on alternate fuels and green transport.
however, i love the idea of a thread dedicated to this topic. hopefully it will lead to a full section

Hydrogen can be used as a stored fuel, or it can be produced on demand from water in the car while its running.
before we switching over to hydrogen completely, we might have to go through a phase where we run the car partly on hydrogen
that method, already has a thread on the forum
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...rformance.html
there are you tube videos of a pick up truck idling on HHO only.

other interesting fuels are
Wood gas- old swedish techonolgy IIRC. not sure how practical it is. might lead to indiscriminate cutting of trees.
it is meant to be less polluting. but this fuel tech seems wildly impractical at the moment
here's one link I got off google
Yugo runs by wood-gas

Biogas(Methane)
this link below is useful if you have a chicken and pig farm business.
but the ingenuity in action is amazing.
Mr.Bates from the link uses the manure produced from chicken and pigs on his farm to power the entire farm and his car.
Bate's Methane Car
I am currently in the process of setting up a biogas plant at home to solve the problem of kitchen waste piling up in the backyard. as an added bonus, the family saves on cooking LPG.

Vegetable oils
I had once seen a mahindra MM540 run on coconut oil. but considering that coconut oil is currently costlier than diesel, there goes that option.
but atleast we know its doable.
the jeep was started on diesel and then switched to coconut oil while running.
saw this happen when I was a kid, so the details are kind of hazy.

to all sceptics and funnyboys,be prepared....the end is near
reading my own post makes me want to laugh, but how long are we going to laugh when the oil cartel has us by our nuts?

[srijit]

I am so happy to see this thread

Fuel Suggested : Hydrogen (H2)
Usage:

• For combustion in petrol engines
• Burning in modified LPG stoves

Production method:

• Salt water electrolysis (sea water) using solar power. LPG alternative
• Distilled water electrolysis (made using solar distiller) using solar power. LPG alternative
• Distilled / Salt water electrolysis using Alternator of a car. Gasoline alternative

Storage:

• In the form of water, produce and consume when required
• Stored in tanks in homes for cooking via modified LPG stoves

Hazards/Problems:

• Unknown, lots of myths.
• Storage methods need to be reviewed.
• Educate people that Hydrogen is safe.

Hydrogen is much safer than LPG/CNG. If the Hydrogen tank ruptures, it leaks out very fast. If by anychance it catches fire, it burns within seconds. After that there is no burning.
LPG/CNG on the other hand remains as liquid and continues to burn causing more damage.

Benefits:

• High Octane number, should burn nicely
• By product is water H20
• No monopoly like oil cartels
• Can be in DIY form
• Can be used in remote areas
• Can be decentralized, negating need for distribution channels
• Little or negligible modification needed to existing engines (dunno about diesel)

To all, if you have any information that you feel is useful regarding Hydrogen, please post here or PM / email me. I am extremely interested in this fuel.

Please note that any and all information will be freely shared. The idea is not for commercialisation, but to ease the suffering of the comman man.

[srijit]

Fuel proposed: Algae

I do not know much about this, but it seems that Algae can produce bio-diesel.

Advantages:

• Very fast growing
• Uses very little space compared to other bio-fuels
• Needs just sunlight and water

Trivia:
Just 1/10 of the land used to grow corn in the US can produce enough bio-fuel from Algae to match current US requirements.
Source: Unknown (I forgot) edit: Check chart below

Check the last row and compare it with the other bio-fuels


Algae Could One Day Be Major Hydrogen Fuel Source
Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are answering that call by working to chemically manipulate algae for production of the next generation of renewable fuels – hydrogen gas.
Source: ScienceDaily.com

Green Star Algal Oil: 100 Times More Oil per acre Than Soy for Biodiesel AND Protein
Green Star(OTC:GSPI) has announced its technical report on its 40,000 liter demonstration facility in Montana. The results demonstrate that algal biodiesel can outproduce soy and other popular oil crops by 100 to 1, and can simultaneously produce large quantities of protein rich food.
Source: Al Fin - blogspot

[tsk1979]

Sapphire Energy
Green Crude Production

This is a california based company which uses CO2, H2O Sunlight and Algae to produce renewable carbon neutral gasoline.

[diabloo]

What about the proposal to mix 10% ethanol? Isn't all cars certified for 10% ethanol? This means 10% savings in oil bill.

[Mr.Bangalore]

read somewhere that Govt is planning for 10% ethanol introduction...

[tsk1979]

Ethanol actually has quite low energy density as compared to Petrol and Diesel.
So Biodiesel is actually a better thing because
1. Ethanol is dependent on crops which are also food sources and require lots of water etc.,
2. You get lower FE
Biodiesel can be had with Jathropa which grows in barren land.
I hope we also go the Finn way, abundant nuclear power will mean abundant electricity which can translate to easily rechargable fuel cell cars.

[spadival]

Originally Posted by diabloo

What about the proposal to mix 10% ethanol? Isn't all cars certified for 10% ethanol? This means 10% savings in oil bill.

erm.. Ethanol isnt free. There are people (better known as drunkards ) who would give an arm and a leg for a swig from a bottle of Ethanol.

[snaronikar]

Hydrogen and Bio Fuel seems to be the way forward. Lets wait and see. Voted for Hydrogen.

[srijit]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I hope we also go the Finn way, abundant nuclear power will mean abundant electricity which can translate to easily rechargable fuel cell cars.

Nuclear power is never cheap. Nobody takes into account the cost of refining and enriching the nuclear source.

Solar power is more sustainable and environment friendly.

Originally Posted by srijit

Nuclear power is never cheap. Nobody takes into account the cost of refining and enriching the nuclear source.

Solar power is more sustainable and environment friendly.

I was actually going to dispute you on this and call you a conservative caveman
but then, I decided to do some reading first.
Google to the rescue!

Now, I'm on your side.
this is the article that changed my mind.
Carpe Datum: Nuclear vs Solar

the author, however plumbs for wind energy more than solar!

[tsk1979]

This article conviniently ignored many types of reactors and presents only a one sided view.
Economincs and Environmental impact of Nuclear reactors is still debated with both pros and cons
Economics of new nuclear power plants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[adityamunshi]

It would lend a new meaning to the term 'Drink and Drive'

Originally Posted by spadival

erm.. Ethanol isnt free. There are people (better known as drunkards ) who would give an arm and a leg for a swig from a bottle of Ethanol.

[diabloo]

In the movie Ironman, we have seen a pocket sized nuclear reactor.

Our physicists can take a cue from IC engineers and reduce the size.

Economics of new nuclear power plants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The lifetime cost of new generating capacity in the United States was estimated in 2006 by the U.S. government: wind cost was estimated at $55.80 per MWh, coal (cheap in the U.S.) at $53.10, natural gas at $52.50 and nuclear at $59.30

I've just copied and pasted from the above link itself. even economically,Nuclear power seems more expensive. even in an article that supports it.