Improving Gas Mileage For Better Fuel Economy

Gas mileage is the ratio of the distance a vehicle travels to the amount of fuel used. Gas mileage has been an important factor when it comes to evaluating a vehicle specially with fuel prices going up. These are three simple ways to improve gas mileage.

There is a rising awareness for fuel economy because of increasing gas prices. Alternative energy and the green movement have contributed to the rise of hybrid cars and electric cars. Although these vehicles have still ways to go to reach its potential, vehicles like the Tesla and the Prius are now in the public eye and reaching mainstream status.

In an early 2012 study, MIT came out with a study that shows that even with advances in vehicle and fuel technology, it has barely increased the mileage per gallon of current vehicles. This is because current vehicles are bigger and more powerful than vehicles thirty years ago.

The average gas mileage in 1980 was 23 miles per gallon (mpg) compared to the current 27 mpg. Despite this, there are ways to improve gas mileage and increase savings on fuel costs.

Ordinary Cars Go Green and Reduce Carbon Footprint

Product Advancements Let Drivers Go Green Without a New Car.

With gas prices soaring, environmental concerns and technological advancements in the auto and energy industry, ecological cars (eco cars) are slowly entering the mainstream market. Eco cars are vehicles that do not solely rely on fossil fuels for energy.

The most popularly used energy source for eco cars is electricity. Fuel cells (usually lithium-ion battery cells) power an electric engine that drives the car. Hybrid engines use both a gasoline engine and a battery operated one that alternates between each other depending on the most optimal choice. There are also pure electric vehicles but are limited in terms of range and use.

These type of vehicles have come into focus because of the movement to reduce the global carbon footprint. Carbon footprint can be simplified as the greenhouse gas emissions in an area, by an event, product, or person(s). The largest source of emissions come from driving fossil fueled vehicles (gasoline use). Reducing the carbon footprint from driving can be done primarily by driving less, or at the moment, developing more environment-friendly cars.

Aside from engine and power plant, there are also other ways for vehicles to go green. Taking alternative transportation (public transportation, bicycles, walking) when the distance is not too far, scheduling trips during lean traffic hours, Using more environment-friendly products can also benefit the green movement and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Green Cars: An Infographic On Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

A recent study by MIT reports that despite advances in fuel efficiency technology, it has only produced minor gains in terms of gas mileage. From 1980 to 2006, the average gas mileage of vehicles sold in the United States increased by around 15 percent. A further analysis state that the increase should be at 60%.

With the advent of the lithium-ion battery, electric cars and hybrids, are now becoming a commercial alternative to gas powered vehicles. Smaller and more efficient fuel cells (units of li-ion batteries grouped together), have made these category of vehicles a practical transportation choice.

Coupled with increasing gas prices and environmental concerns, alternative energy vehicles are becoming a viable option. This infographic from Nissan shows how electric and hybrid vehicles can be a viable option for one's private transportation needs. It has details about hybrid and electric car tax credits as well as a general overview on savings from switching to alternative energy from fossil fuels.

Tiny Marine Crustacean Assists In Developing Wood Based Biofuel

The gribble, Limnoria quadripunctata, is one of the only animals that can digest wood.
Image: Simon Cragg/University of Portsmouth

Scientists from the University of York, University of Portsmouth and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have discovered an enzyme produced by gribbles, tiny marine wood borers, that can help turn wood based biomass into biofuel. Unlike termites that have microbes inside their guts to help process wood they digest, gribbles have a sterile gut which means that these tiny animals process the wood themselves through an enzyme.

Scientists have now isolated this enzyme and once its structure is studied and can be commercially reproduced, it can help create sustainable liquid biofuels.

Biofuels are sustainable, efficient, and renewable fuels that are processed from biological material called biomass. Biomass are organic material from living or recently living organisms. Biofuels are derived from biological carbon fixation which is the reduction of carbon dioxide or inorganic carbon to organic compounds by living organisms.

Biofuels can come from different sources such as agricultural crops, animal products, plant material or from living organisms like algae.

Research and Advances in Bio-Engineered Algae Nanocellulose at 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society

Scientists from all over the world will be reporting on the advances and research on nanocellulose, a material that has many applications from material technology to biofuel production.

Nanocellulose is a material made up of nanosized cellulose fibrils. It is about 5 to 20 nanometers wide and has variable length.

Nanocellulose is derived from wood fibers and shows exceptional strength characteristics. It is lightweight, durable and biodegradable. It has characteristics similar to plastic and is viscous under normal conditions, but flow (become thin, less viscous) over time when shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed. When the shearing forces are removed the gel regains much of its original state. The fibrils are isolated from any cellulose containing source including wood-based fibers (pulp fibers) through high-pressure, high temperature and high velocity impact homogenization

As part of the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, several studies and advances on nanocellulose research are presented during the event.

Bi-Functional Alkane Producing Enzyme Developed For More Efficient Biofuel Production

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a bi-functional or dual enzyme that can continuously produce alkane. This can lead to using the enzyme in bacteria, algae, or plants to produce biofuels that need no further processing.

Alkanes are highly combustible chemical compounds made up of hydrogen and carbon atoms. These compounds are called hydrocarbons, more specifically, saturated hydrocarbons because they are saturated with hydrogen atoms (every carbon atom is attached to at least two hydrogen atoms). Hydrocarbons naturally occur in crude oil, where decomposed organic matter provides an abundance of carbon and hydrogen.

The first four alkanes from the group are methane, ethane, propane, and butane. Alkane can be identified because of the "-ane" suffix which is paired up with a number prefix such as dec (decane), hec (hecane), oct (octane).

When alkanes burn, they form H₂O and CO₂ - water and carbon dioxide. Because of this, they are highly valued as clean fuels. The first four alkane are used directly as fuels. A mixture of other alkanes also produce fuel. Gasoline is a mixture of alkanes from pentane up to about decane.

Aside from being used as a fuel source, alkanes are also used in other products such as plastic, paint, cosmetics, detergent and various others.

From Fuel Cell to Fuel Tank - Studying How To Maximize Efficiency of Hydrogen as an Alternative Fuel

A hydrogen fuel cell is a device that converts hydrogen into electricity. Aside from energy, the other byproduct is water.

Just like a regular battery cell, a fuel cell consists of an anode, a cathode and electrolyte. Electrons travel from the anode to the cathode generating electricity. For fuel cells, the energy created can be used to power vehicles, motors, and other devices.

Hydrogen fuel cells, at the moment, have components made up of precious metals such as platinum. Because of this, the price of hydrogen fuel cells are at a premium and slightly above the reach of the average consumer. Platinum is used as a catalyst for the chemical reactions that occur within the fuel cell.

There are many benefits on the application of fuel cells particularly hydrogen fuel cells. Because the byproduct of a hydrogen fuel cell is water, it is pollution free and environment friendly. The power generated by hydrogen is much greater than that of regular gasoline. Also, since these cells do not need combustion or any moving parts, the device is close to 100% reliable.

And as stated, even if hydrogen is used as a combustion based fuel, the byproduct generated is not harmful smog, but water vapor.

Three materials could hold the key to future hydrogen cars

New research funded by the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award will look at how to safely and efficiently store hydrogen – one of the key problems preventing hydrogen from being used as an alternative fuel.

Award recipient Timo Thonhauser, of the Wake Forest University physics department, said current storage methods, such as compressing hydrogen into tanks, are unwieldy, making the storage question the big bottleneck in turning hydrogen fuel cars into a reality.

The Eco Friendly Hybrid Car

It has been treated a joke the last few years; the Hybrid car. But now with rising oil prices, economic troubles and increased awareness on the fragile Earth environment, these vehicles are definitely showing on the mainstream market.

They have crossed from being a trendy choice to an acceptable one. Years ahead, they may even outpace and replace their fossil fuel counterparts.

Most if not all eco friendly cars at the moment are hybrids. They run on both fuel and electricity. We still haven't reached the kind of technology where we can really be fossil fuel free.The engine decides which power source to use depending on the use of the vehicle and the condition of the power source. Some hybrids even use special fuels that are also Earth friendly or 'green'.

As oil supplies dwindle and prices go up, people understand that inevitably there will be a switch on energy consumption. There have been forays into algae produced gasoline, solar power, wind power, and even a project to harvest minerals on the moon for nuclear fusion.

Video: How a hybrid car works:

Cars and how they are powered is what impacts us directly. And with oil situation of supply and cost, it is the best time to switch and acclimate to these new technologies. But what are the factors in choosing the right hybrid? There are so many out there and each have different technologies running them that it may be quite confusing.

• Consider what powers the car. Are the alternative fuel stations that the vehicle need easily accessible?
• Battery performance. How long does it last? How long does it take to charge?
• Car insurance. Hybrids fall into a special category and being informed of how insurance companies treat these vehicles will come in handy.
• Family size. Currently, family size vans aren't really an option for eco friendly vehicles at the moment. Hopefully this will change.
• Use. Sometimes practical is not economical. Hybrids are good for the normal office commute but as mentioned in number 4, a traditional vehicle may be needed for those who do regular cross country or heavy traveling.

At the moment, the The Toyota Prius is the top selling hybrid car with 2.36 million units sold worldwide as of Aug 2011. The EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) rate the vehicle as one of the cleanest cars sold in the U.S. based on smog forming and toxic emissions. But other brands are also gaining momentum and focus such as the Chevy Volt and the Honda Insight.

It won't be long when car manufacturers can produce hybrids that cover each and every category for vehicle use. Using a hybrid is a smart decision but knowing when to shift and what to shift to will even be the smarter thing.

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Gasoline from Algae

Phil Savage and a team of engineers at the University of Michigan are at the forefront of a new study. Growing gasoline; Oil manufactured by algae.

Oil from algae. That's the future energy source we may be looking at. And hey, it's as green as it can get. Even the algae are literally green!

Using treated sewage as a source for their nutrients, these algae can grow real fast. The reason? They are very efficient in converting sunlight into biomass.

PhD student Bobby Levine says, "Typically, in America, we make biodiesel out of soybeans and we get something on the order of 50 gallons of biodiesel per acre per year from soy. With algae, the estimates range very widely, but you can get anywhere from between 1,000 to 5,000 gallons of bio-oil per acre per year."

The oilfield of the future will be a farm. And Savage's process is two times more efficient than present technology in algae oil production.

He elaborates, "We use more of what's there. You know, with the biodiesel process, people are excited if they have an algae that's 50 percent oil, but then right away they're only using 50 percent of the mass, of the biomass. With our approach, we’d like to be able to liquefy, you know, 100 percent..."

Video: Biofuel by the University of Missouri Systems:

In order to achieve this is similar to how crude oil is converted to usable fuel. The algae after being "treated" in a hot sand bath, is brought to a so called refinery. In this case, another laboratory. Here, researchers are creating molecules or catalysts that will rearrange the structure of the algae in a way that they will resemble fuel that can be used in a combustible engine. And to add to it, they try to squeeze every last drop of fuel they can get.

Study reporter Lisa Raffensperger says, "They’ll be genetically modifying microbes like E. coli to digest the waste. Ideally, the waste will also be converted into useful fuel. It’s just one more way to “close the loop,” as these researchers say. To minimize energy input and reduce carbon emissions..."

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