Ideas Needed : Alternatives To Gas

If there ever was a Business Opportunity for Inventive Minds, it is now for a viable Alternative to Gas....I mean a Real Alternative. Biodiesel & Biofuel will not solve this problem, because the major oil companies also have their hands on this, to create a shortage for Foodstuff by using Corn, Cane Sugar, Palm Oil and other Moonshine Exotic Intoxicants which can never be an alternative, because the price of these Foodstuff goes up as well.

It would be good to discuss ideas on affordable alternative to gas or a cheaper method to make the vehicle run, and just maybe some smart ass will really come up with a brilliant idea. Most inventions were discovered by accident. Possibilities are Water (hydrogen), Air powered, Fuel cells, Solar radiation. What's Your IDEA ?

[edit on 13-8-2007 by Fifth_Column]

High Gas, So what. Lets Talk Biodiesel

There are more like this just search.

Originally posted by ThichHeaded
High Gas, So what. Lets Talk Biodiesel

There are more like this just search.

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Biodiesel can never be the answer, because you only have a 20% mix to add to Petro-Diesel and after making the Biodiesel, you are left with more extract of Glycerine than Biodiesel. It will only be viable if Jetropa Seeds (not foodstuff) are being used instead of Corn or Palm Oil, which are edible foodstuff, and then, for this, you need to do some real serious Farming and that's another major headache.

What?

I think you need to go back to biodiesel school... Any diesel vehicle can run on biodiesel (vehicles made before 1990 may need natural rubber fuel lines replaced with synthetic, but that is a minor task). Also, your "yield" seem way off, and you make no mention of recycled (WVO) biodiesel... I know several home brewers who haven't bought a drop of petroleum in years.



I run biodiesel every chance I get; it's superior to dino diesel in every respect but cold plugging point (CPP)... Plus it smells great when your running it.

[edit on 13/8/2007 by Mirthful Me]

Ok, fine....I do agree that it works on older vehicles, but the newer vehicles still have to use 20% Biodiesel and 80% petro-diesel.

So, what about the major part of vehicles that do not use Diesel

magnetic power. of course the car's electricty would run on the average battery source.
but the drive power, and stop power would be supplied through the use of magnets. 'gas' pedal brings opposite sides(positive/negative) together, now depending on the amount of force applied to the pedal the closer the magnets will get allowing you to go faster. to stop a different set of magnets(positive/positive) will bring the car to slow down, depending on force applied to brake pedal the magnets will come together allowing you to stop. emergency brake would provide an instant pulling together of the magnets, as described in braking(above). neutral supplies no magnet force.
the car would be started by turning the key on which activates the battery to provide the electricty needed for lights, radio etc. the magnets would theoretically always be on.

twocents. i really have no clue about the answer just figured i would contribute.

No...

They don't...

There is no design issue that prevents any diesel vehicle from running B100... There may be warranty issues, but most manufacturers limit biodiesel to B5 for warranty purposes.

I don't think there is any ONE alternative. That there will have to be a combination of alternatives, user choice really.Like if we depend on ethanol, what would happen if we had a really bad year on corn due to global warming? We would end up like the Flintstones.

Too bad we can't collect the methane from the huge cattle industry and utilze it.
What about fission?
I am surprised we haven't gone back to basice and reinvented steam engines.

I believe the technolog is out there, the manufacturers just don't want us to know about it.

What are you talking about??

The 1st diesel engine was made to run on peanut oil..

You saying diesel running cars cant run on regular cooking oil..(Used cooking cause well peanut is a cooking oil so is vegetable and others.)

Dude I don't even know much about Biodiesel but I tell you what. it will be way cheaper to make biodiesel than paying for gas.

What is it... for every one gallon of biodiesel you personally make you spend about 75 cents to a buck 50.

comparative to actual gas/diesel running anywhere between $2.75 and 3.10.

You know what erked me.. I watch that movie unaccompanied minors with my kids. They showed this guy in an old Volvo that was run on biodiesel... Lets just say the outcome of what they were promoting wasn't good.

Solar power, wind power, geothermal power, wave power, other new technologies...

[edit on 14-8-2007 by discomfit]

Lithium ion batteries are probably a really efficient way. of course it would have to be charged i would think. but nonetheless lithium ion cars are probably the cars of the future.

I'll throw a couple of things out here. Steam power is coming back.
Using a new engine but with existing technology, it is possible to get 40% more work out of a gallon of gasoline. If the people want it, we might see cars with 60 to 80 mpg in the next decade.
inventorspot.com...


While searching for the tidbit I read about earlier above, I found this interesting engine. Link below.

www.cyclonepower.com...

Looks promising but I haven't studied it enough to know what it could do except they make some impressive claims in their comparison chart. Apparently it can run on any type of heat producing fuel.

Brazil is doing some interesting things in this area as well using Sugar Cane so now there is discussion if the US may be able to use the same idea with corn.

I remember seeing something about the Amish, how do they fuel cars? and yes the Amish do have cars now but it has to be fueled differently. I want to say lard or grease or something, but I am not positive on exactly what it was.

[edit on 14/8/2007 by section8citizen]

There is a car that will be released in India shortly that runs on compressed air, the Air Car.
I know that you need electricity to refuel via a compressor but I can't see why solar power can't be used for this to have a car that has zero pollution. Solar panels on the car could recharge the tank whilst parked with a 12v compressor also. This system will not be for everyone but people who travel around 1/2 hour to work each way it will work fine.

As for where the real power is, do some research on Cold Fusion technology. With this power you only need small quantities of water to give you nuclear type power without the side effects of radiation and pollution. It is funny this technology, as the scientific communitiy has been trying to kick this one under the carpet for years. They don't want you to have free energy. They might lose their govt funding so they prefer this over the greater population being self sufficient.

Water.

Tap water or salt water.

Crack the O2/H bond and burn the hydrogen and your emissions are pure oxygen. No need for subzero, pressured hydrogen tanks, you do it on the fly.

And this is something that apparently has already been done. OTTOMH, I know of two inventors from the Midwest who have done this: Stanley Meyer, who in the early 90s patented a simple resonance-driven hydrogen-producing cell that used tap water, and another inventor currently in the news from Minnesota, who adapted a similar technology that he invented, that uses salt water to create a hydrogen torch, to run his car.

He's driving around in it now, and looking for backers, and I've seen MSM news reports of his feat that are done in the "amazing pet tricks" style of reporting that subliminally suggest this will never be anything more than a neat pet trick. What a surprise, that.

Oh, and Mazda has had a version of the Wankel that can run well over 100 mpg for over a decade.

All this is not rocket science. Think about it, the basic technology of the automobile has not fundamentally changed for about fifty years. Why? What are the biggest corporations on earth? ExxonMobile is no. 1, IIRC.


[edit on 14-8-2007 by gottago]

Originally posted by nixie_nox
I don't think there is any ONE alternative. That there will have to be a combination of alternatives, user choice really.Like if we depend on ethanol, what would happen if we had a really bad year on corn due to global warming? We would end up like the Flintstones.

Too bad we can't collect the methane from the huge cattle industry and utilze it.
What about fission?
I am surprised we haven't gone back to basice and reinvented steam engines.

I believe the technolog is out there, the manufacturers just don't want us to know about it.

Volkswagon actually had cars like this in WWII. They made kits that could be added to the "Kubelwagen" model. It allowed you to burn coal or wood charcol to produce steam to run the engine.

Which brings me to my main point, why do cars need 200+ horse power when 20-40 hp will allow highway speeds of 60-80mph. Cars don't really need to exceed those speeds, ever. They are for transport, or sunday driving through the country. Also, instead of fulltime 4x4, trucks only need the tourque when getting up to speed under load, have the overdrive be 2 wheeled to save on gas.

Here is a fun fact about my own car, I have a 1991 Jetta GL Wolfsburg, it gets 41.5 gallons a mile...I hear some hynrids barely even do this. Not to mention the diesel varient of my car gets in the upper 60 to 70 miles a gallon and uses a turbo to add in more horsepower. Why don't we just convert to greese burning diesel engines, its cheap and proven tech. Also, lower the wieght limits of all vehicles and do not grandfather older vehicles, scrap them for new simpler cars designs(simple is more cost effective and reliable). We need a new "Peoples Car", they shouldn't be seen as status symbols anymore, or a show of wealth. Who knows, I'm crazy.


Although, they already make this "Uber" efficient car...ONLY SOLD IN EUROPE!!!!???
78mpg VW TDI 60Hp, 106mph

[edit on 14-8-2007 by LordBaskettIV]

[edit on 14-8-2007 by LordBaskettIV]

Originally posted by Mirthful Me
you make no mention of recycled (WVO) biodiesel... I know several home brewers who haven't bought a drop of petroleum in years.

I run biodiesel every chance I get; it's superior to dino diesel in every respect but cold plugging point (CPP)... Plus it smells great when your running it.

I run biodiesel every chance I get as well. I usually fill up locally with B20 (20% bio 80% dino)

I recently purchased four 55 gallon drums and I have made friends with a man that gives me his french fry grease. I have about 20 gallons so far. When I fill my first drum I'll process my first appleseed processor batch.

I also have 2 1980's toyota trucks. One has a 1L Diesel engine and the other I am having a 3L swapped into. It was a stock 22ret. My goal is to be completely off grid-gas in 18 months. I'll never buy a gasoline vehicle again... unless I plan to swap a diesel in.

toting tools on fryer grease,

Sri Oracle

Macdonald's In the UK have the right idea!
HERE

I must also add................

That 12 million we spend in Iraq every
HOUR
would do alot of good at home developing an alternative energy source!

Many years ago when I was in college, I took several bits of information to my physics professor and told him that I thought that this could be used as an alternate source of energy for engines. He asked me where I had got the information from and I showed him. He was very skeptical, but said that he would look at what I had when he had time. The next day he came to me and said that I was right and there was another reaction that I hadn't taken into consideration and that he thought I could be onto something very big and to keep working on the idea. At the time there were issues with material properties that would have prevented an engine from working for any usable amount of time before failure. Today, materials exist that might could be used. I also,over the years, I would take another look at my ideas from time to time and try to come up with better ways to make it work

I think that old ideas should be looked at again, because I don't think that just one idea will solve the energy problem.

I'd also like to note that the biggest alternative to gas in my life is simple:

STAY HOME!

I buy rice and beans in 50 pound bulk, so I never have to make a trip "off compound" for a meal.

When I buy groceries, I spend $300 so I don't have to go back for 30 days.

I work from home 9 days out of 10.

I walk to friends houses or severely limit my visitations with friends that are "get in the car" distance from home.

Break your "I'll just go to the store and grab it" habit! If you need it... put it on a list and when you make your monthly outing... THEN you get it.

I am,

Sri Oracle