Should Ethanol Fuel Content Be Increased?
(Continued from Page 1) • What about hydrogen powered vehicles? One of the most interesting, and in some ways promising, alternative transportation fuels is hydrogen. It is easy to produce through electrolysis, simply splitting water (H20) into oxygen and hydrogen by using electricity. However, these days, nearly all hydrogen is made from natural gas. Because hydrogen burns nearly pollution-free, it has been looked at as the ultimate clean fuel. When burned, it turns into heat and water vapor. When burned in an internal combustion engine it also produces small amounts of other gases. These gases are mostly oxides of nitrogen because the hydrogen is being burned with air, which is about two-thirds nitrogen. For now, the problem of how to store enough hydrogen on a vehicle for a reasonable range, and its high cost, compared to gasoline, are critical barriers to widespread commercial use. • What is Biodiesel? Biodiesel is a lot like
