Can Petroleum Be Replaced?
Can Petroleum Be Replaced?
Today 's world economy relies more than ever on a constant supply of petroleum to fuel a vast number of different vehicles and other applications. Everything from an internal combustion engine in a car to a furnace in a home use a petroleum product as the form of energy needed to make them function. With the burning of oil for energy comes the unwanted side-product of emissions such as carbon dioxide, which have now been proven to affect the Ozone and weather patterns of Earth. These emissions along with the un-rest in the Middle East, a large supplier of oil to the world, have renewed interest in possible new alternative energy sources to cut down on the global dependence on oil. Researchers at some of the top laboratories and automotive companies are now in the process of experimenting to develop these fuels; they are now closer than ever to having a viable alternative to oil. The idea of shifting world dependence from oil to an alternative fuel source is not new, but the ability to actually succeed on a large scale has only recently developed. For over a decade small groups of researchers around the globe, but especially in the United States, have been working meticulously to find a readily available natural resource that could be turned into a fuel source. Much of the research of this time period has led to the conclusion that, using hydrogen, a system could be developed that would produce the needed energy with little to no emissions (Wakefield 36).
Working to develop a workable hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, Millennium Cell, a small start-up company in New Jersey, has come up with a system that creates energy by utilizing sodium borohydride (Borax), a common ingredient in soap, as the fuel. When the fuel contacts a catalyst, the ensuing reaction creates hydrogen gas, this, combined with oxygen from the air, is the basic formula for driving their prototype fuel cells. Recent tests with Millennium Cell 's prototype show
Today 's world economy relies more than ever on a constant supply of petroleum to fuel a vast number of different vehicles and other applications. Everything from an internal combustion engine in a car to a furnace in a home use a petroleum product as the form of energy needed to make them function. With the burning of oil for energy comes the unwanted side-product of emissions such as carbon dioxide, which have now been proven to affect the Ozone and weather patterns of Earth. These emissions along with the un-rest in the Middle East, a large supplier of oil to the world, have renewed interest in possible new alternative energy sources to cut down on the global dependence on oil. Researchers at some of the top laboratories and automotive companies are now in the process of experimenting to develop these fuels; they are now closer than ever to having a viable alternative to oil. The idea of shifting world dependence from oil to an alternative fuel source is not new, but the ability to actually succeed on a large scale has only recently developed. For over a decade small groups of researchers around the globe, but especially in the United States, have been working meticulously to find a readily available natural resource that could be turned into a fuel source. Much of the research of this time period has led to the conclusion that, using hydrogen, a system could be developed that would produce the needed energy with little to no emissions (Wakefield 36).
Working to develop a workable hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, Millennium Cell, a small start-up company in New Jersey, has come up with a system that creates energy by utilizing sodium borohydride (Borax), a common ingredient in soap, as the fuel. When the fuel contacts a catalyst, the ensuing reaction creates hydrogen gas, this, combined with oxygen from the air, is the basic formula for driving their prototype fuel cells. Recent tests with Millennium Cell 's prototype show
Cited: 1. Burns, Lawrence D., et. "Vehicle of Change." Scientific American. October 2002. 64- 73 2. Moyer, Michael. "Fuel Cell Cares Are Here (sort of)." Popular Science. November 2002. 25. 3. Wakefield, Julie. "The Ultimate Clean Fuel." Scientific American. May 2002. 36-37.