I know there's a word for this...?

Question

I want to say

[on alternatuve fuels rather than fossil fuels]
'To encourage cleaner and [things that are not competed for, something in everlasting abundance] fuels such as...'

Answer 1

limitless? abundantly accessible?

Answer 2

I think the word you want is "sustainable" -- they can still be competed for, and they can run out, but if we take care of them, there's always new fuel available -- for example, bio-fuels, wood, charcoal.

I'm not sure if solar and wind power are actually sustainable because nobody's sustaining them -- they just happen naturally. Renewable?

(-: I think we need a new word for this.

Answer 3

Most alternative fuels assume a source of renewable energy or at least sustainable energy (such as nuclear power) as a source of the fuel. A few alternative fuels (for example, hydrogen) may be made by sustainable or non-sustainable means. If they are made by non-sustainable means, such fuels are offered as alternatives usually because they offer to cause less pollution at the point of use, and perhaps less pollution overall.

Biomass, in the energy production industry, refers to living and recently dead biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Most commonly, biomass refers to plant matter grown for use as biofuel, but it also includes plant or animal matter used for production of fibres, chemicals or heat. Biomass may also include biodegradable wastes that can be burnt as fuel. It excludes organic material which has been transformed by geological processes into substances such as coal or petroleum.

There are very large quantities of unused biomass which can be obtained economically and used in place of coal and petroleum

It's expected by geologists that natural gas will peak 5-15 years after oil does[citation needed]. There are large but finite coal reserves which may increasingly be used as a fuel source during oil depletion. The Fischer-Tropsch process converts carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide into heavier hydrocarbons, including synthetic oil. It is used today in South Africa to produce most of that country's diesel from coal. The Karrick process is an improved methodology for coal liquefaction, with higher efficiency. Since there are large but finite coal reserves in the world, this technology could be used as an interim transportation fuel if conventional oil were to become scarce. There are several companies developing the process to enable practical exploitation of so-called stranded gas reserves, those reserves which are impractical to exploit with conventional gas pipelines and LNG technology.

Methane hydrate is a form of natural gas. This substance consists of methane molecules trapped within the crystalline structure of water ice and is found in deposits under ocean sediments or within continental sedimentary rock formations. It is estimated that the global inventory of methane hydrate may equal as much as 10x the amount of natural gas. With current technology, most gas hydrate deposits are unlikely to be commercially exploited as an energy source. In addition, the combustion of methane results in the formation of carbon dioxide and would thus continue to contribute to global warming. Methane itself is also a greenhouse gas, so if it is "spilled" or released it will contribute to global warming. In other respects methane hydrate has the same problems of fossil fuel).

Methanol (methanol economy) from any source can be used in internal combustion engines with minor modifications. It usually is made from natural gas, sometimes from coal, and could be made from any carbon source including CO2. Flexible fuel vehicles may run with a high percentage of ethanol (ethanol economy) (up to 85% Ethanol plus 15% gasoline for cold-starting vapor pressure).

Methanol and ethanol are typically not primary sources of energy; however, they are a convenient way to store the energy for transportation. No type of fuel production is 100% energy-efficient, thus some energy is always lost in the conversion. This energy can be supplied by the original source, or from other sources like fossil fuel reserves, or solar radiation (either through photosynthesis or photovoltaic panels), or hydro, wind or nuclear energy (see below). The use of energy to produce alcohol fuels could potentially proceed via production of hydrogen by electrolysis of water, or possibly (in the case of heat from nuclear energy) by the sulfur-iodine cycle; then use of the hydrogen in the Fischer-Tropsch process along with CO2 from another source. Such a process might store and use hydrogen more efficiently than attempting to use hydrogen directly as fuel (a gallon of alcohol contains about 50% more hydrogen by weight than a gallon of liquid hydrogen). Since such a process would not liberate net quantities of new CO2 at the point of combustion, it would be greenhouse neutral, similar to alcohols made from biomass.

Hope this helps.....

Answer 4

renewable resource