Can bio fuels replace fossil fuels or is hydrogen the answer to dwindling oil supplies?

Answer 1

Hydrogen is most definitely the answer, as is solar, thermal, wind, nuclear. But the infrastructure is geared towards transporting liquid and gas, so biofuel varieties are going to be the way to wean the US off of foreign oil.

Answer 2

One thing for sure is fossil fuels can be just as dangerous as hydrogen there are thousands of cases where gasoline fuel tanks just explode, any one remember GM's pickups that were notorious for their explosive fuel tanks? Hydrogen is highly combustable but the Hindenberg is a lame excuse not to pursue hydrogen as an alternative fuel. If rockets can blast off safely using hydrogen as a fuel I see no reason why it should be called dangerous. It should also be noted that some major car producers are embarking on hydrogen initiatives and production is expected in the next 5 years. But back to the question, the main problem is fossil fuels are by far easier to obtain than hydrogen, i think the economics of it is against hydrogen but as the environment gets "worse" and environmentalists become more influential governments in time will resort to its use.

Answer 3

We use a simply enormous amount of oil. And the price is sure to keep increasing over time (although there will be temporary declines). We do absolutely know we're running out. Worldwide use is going up more every year than the amount produced increases. So the situation is always getting worse.

To solve this enormous problem will be extremely difficult. It will take everything we can throw at it.

Nuclear, solar, wind, biofuels, hydrogen, etc.

Hydrogen is just a way to make cars run off of energy from big power plants run by nuclear, solar, or wind. Biofuels are similar, they take some energy to make, although people are wrong when they say it takes more energy than we get back. The sunshine on the plants does some of the work.

Everyone has a pet solution, and some people don't like some of the other solutions. I think we'll need them all to fix this big problem. If we reject any, we'll fail.

Answer 4

I think it will be a combination of both.
Hydrogen fuel won't be readily available for at least another 10 years or more. There is no infrastructure to transport, store, or refueling stations. I recently read an article on a recent discovery on how hydrogen can be removed from water chemically, but again, it well be years until it is put to practical use.
Bio diesel and E85 will happen sooner. Again, infrastructure needs to be developed. E85 cannot be transported in the same tankers or pipelines as gasoline as the solvent action of the alcohol cleans the sludge out of the tanks and lines and contaminates the fuel. This contamination would plug the fuel filter on your vehicle.
More E85 manufacturing plants need to be built to keep up with demand. I sure hope these are not built near our coast lines so they are not effected by hurricanes.
E85 and bio diesel will happen much sooner than hydrogen. But I believe hydrogen will have its place in our future.

Answer 5

Bio-fuels are an awful replacement for fossil fuels, regardless of their source. Whether willow shrubs, corn or sugar cane, it takes approximately 1.6 gallons of bio-fuel to make 1 gallon of ethanol or similar substance (think harvesting machines, energy for processing, etc). The easy conclusion is that it takes more energy to produce the bio-fuel than what we get out of it. The fact that our gasoline is required to have ethanol is costly to consumers and worse for our environment.

Oil is not a dwindling resource, and even aggressive estimates show we have used only 20%. There is even the possibility of oil reserves beneath the crust in the Earth's mantle. But oil should be used in plastics and research, and not burned as fuel.

Hydrogen energy, especially in the transportation sector, should be the next step for the US. Plants that produce hydrogen are going to be powered by tidal, thermal, wind, and solar energies. Utilizing clean energy to produce clean fuel seems like a sensible solution to me.

Answer 6

It seems to me that bio fuels are a better answer. Not only is hydrogen a gas that is hard to store; it does not occur naturally and has to be made which takes more energy than we get by burning it. Bio fuels can be made from waste, including sewage; it isn't only corn and sugar cane that can be used. Some bio fuels are liquids, and some are a gas, like methane. But methane gas is more easily handled and stored than hydrogen.

Answer 7

For internal combustion engines like cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc., bio fuels like ethanol and biodiesel are a better choice because they've already been developed -- we just need the Big Three to get off their @$$es and make more vehicles that run on the stuff. Hydrogen will work for larger applications but just hasn't been developed to the point where it would be practical in motorized vehicles.

Answer 8

For some reason, many people claim that bio-fuels are bad becasue they would come to command a life-threatening amount of agricultural produce. These arguments are assuming, however, that there will be no improvement either in the manner in which bio-fuels are extracted, nor in the manner in which the translate to power for vehicles, and of course improvements in the efficiency of the vehicles themselves. They assume the technology is already in a state of maturity, when we all know that technology has ways of occaisionally redfining boundries.

Answer 9

Fortunately, oil supplies are not dwindling.
Venezuela's reserves in the Orinoco valley are the biggest in the world and still untouched.
Hydrogen will be the most likely solution, energy-wise.
But oil will always be essential to produce lots of other petrochemical products. Plastics, tires, cosmetics, etc.

Answer 10

We are going to have to use all of our optional fuels, materials, ideas and sources, we are not going to be able to put all our eggs in one basket much longer. we have got to get away from groups of people telling us that there is only one true method for doing things, that's how we got in the shape we are in now...remember the diesel engine was designed to run on vegetable oil originally. We keep falling for the same old lines, just like girls on prom night...