Traditional vehicle fuels petrol and diesel are, of course, produced from oil, whereas alternative fuels come from a variety of sources. Oil has a couple of key disadvantages, not least the fact that it is in limited supply and takes millions of years to be produced. There are also environmental considerations as fossil fuels release large amounts of harmful greenhouse gases. It is therefore important to look at alternative fuel today in order to better protect the environment and to replace the diminishing oil supplies.
Alternative fuel covers a number of options which are listed below and more details on which can be found on other pages of this site. Most of the options for alternative fuels are not derived from fossil fuels.
- Biodiesel - Produced from the oil of crops such as rapeseed or from waste cooking oils. This results in a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
- Bioethanol - Produced from starch plants such as corn, sugar plants or trees. This results in a 70% reduction in carbon emissions.
- Biogas - A mixture of methane and carbon dioxide from landfill sites or produced using anaerobic digestion. This results in a 60% reduction in carbon emissions.
- Fuel cell - A fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity.
- LPG - A blend of propane and butane produced from oil refining and methane gas fields. This has higher carbon emissions than diesel but 80% lower nitrous oxide emissions.
- Natural Gas - Mainly methane extracted from oil and gas fields. This has a 5% reduction in carbon emissions compared to diesel.
- Pure Plant Oil - produced by crushing and filtering crops such as rapeseed. It is thought that carbon emissions from well to wheel will be slightly lower than those for diesel.
Thinking of converting to alternative fuels? Take a look at our step by step Alternative Fuel Conversion guide.
