The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 83
• Bio-diesel? Wow, imagine creating diesel fuel from algae? That’s just what
some people, like Valcent Products (VCTPF.OB) and Solazyme are doing, and
it will be fantastic if it’s proven and can be delivered. Bio-diesel from plants we
don’t eat, like ethanol, can be great once production gets ramped up, but it’s
not there yet.
• Compressed air engine technology is sort of the late-comer to the party. It’s
as sexy a solution as solar, but not as well known. India’s Tata Motors and
Spain’s Air Car Factories are currently working on air-powered vehicles for public release, so they say, by 4th quarter 2008. We hope to visit the Spanish group
this Fall for a look-see, so stay tuned. For now, who knows, but it is a sexy idea.
THE FINALISTS
Only three of the contending solutions mentioned above can provide the answer that we need now to start the revolution: ethanol, CNG, and propane.
Of the three, ethanol is my hands-down personal favorite for a solution that is
the closest we will ever get to a single-bullet alternative to gasoline and diesel.
However, because of the enormous anti-ethanol efforts paid for by the petroleum oil industry, ethanol may never be as widely accepted as it should be. The
oil industry is particularly frightened by ethanol because they can't control it:
Ethanol can be produced very simply and easily from a wide variety of commonly grown items such as corn, sugar, cattails, switchgrass, buffalo gourds,
and seaweed.
On the other hand, CNG and propane - which can also be produced exclusively
from domestic sources - do require oil industry production facilities and distribution, and therefore it can be oil industry controlled. In fact, the primary negative aspect of CNG and propane is that its success as an engine fuel substitute
will ensure the continued success of the same domestic oil/gasoline entities that
are responsible for creating the dire energy situation we are now in.
This specific report will cover CNG and propane. Ethanol is discussed in great
detail throughout this book and on TheAutoChannel.com.
Although very similar in nature and in the manner in which they are found; CNG
and propane have distinct advantages that separate them:
CNG has a lower price per gallon (from about $1.25 to $2.75) and greater domestic reserves. Propane provides greater energy output per unit of measurement and offers more existing consumer outlets (there are literally thousands
