Real Alternative Fuel Sources

Real Alternative Fuel Sources by Joey White

A great deal of research has been conducted to investigate the viability of alternative fuel sources in a bid to break away from our current dependence upon fossil fuels which are finite, costly, and produce alarming levels of pollution. So called "bio fuels" which sought to utilise vegetable oil and similar products have not proven themselves to be hugely successful, due to their gross inefficiency high cost both in terms of initial price as well as running costs as well.

Solar powered cars have been dogged by the same problems, solar cars are fragile creations at best, requiring precise and delicate mechanisms and low weights, and are not suitable for long distance travelling or as a people carrier.

Thankfully, water, our dear old friend H20 has proven itself to be our lifeline for our fuel needs, thanks to the presence of hydrogen in the water. Traditional mechanised methods of distilling and creating hydrogen have came with their own host of problems, with a great deal of technical issues and safety considerations.

Hydrogen is an exceptionally volatile substance and so it is imperative that it is contained safely and in specialised containers and if hydrogen was to be utilised, these containers would have to be fixed to the car which poses concerns for the effectiveness and functionality of the car.
However, it now seems that a breakthrough for the development of water as a fuel source has been reached. By forcing water to react with the chemical element boron, this means that the water then becomes degraded into its respective components, hyrdrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen so produced can then be safely burnt in an internal combustion engine or fed to a fuel cell to generate electricity.

The use of boron would eliminate the need for the specialised containers mentioned earlier in this article, and would also be used to safely burn the hydrogen gas. Best of all, and this is the truly remarkable part, is that the only by product of the process would be boron oxide, formed when the hydrogen is passed through the boron.

The boron oxide can be removed from the engine, and then converted back into boron, thereby further increasing the longevity and durability of the combustor allowing for a huge savings in the end. This poses a very real and exciting development in water fuel technology, as it reduces a great deal of the issues and flaws that exist with current technology