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Hydrogen Fuel Cell is the all new alternative fuel. Simple add-ons to your car's engine would now allow you to greatly Increase your Fuel Economy. For many years scientists, drivers and car owner have been seeking a way to replace the traditional fuel in the car's engine.

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Did you see the article I read recent about German automaker BMW being hell bent on producing cars to run on hydrogen fuel by year 2008? Well, BMW may not be the first to give hint of the intention to build hydrogen vehicles. General Motors was known to have been working at producing hydrogen cars too, since year 2000.

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If you are discussing just what alternative fuel is, there are two basic definitions that you can utilize.

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Nowadays lots of people are interested in switching from regular gasoline to alternative fuels. Although there may be many different motivations for change, most people who make the switch do so because theses fuels are better fore the environment.

Another reason why many consumers want to find an alternative to gasoline is because it is getting very expensive. Luckily many cheaper alternative fuels are being developed by researches all over the world. These new are not only cheaper, they are often superior in many other ways as well.

In the end, people who use alternative fuels are helping both themselves and the planet. Gasoline has been proven to be a major cause of global warming and other environmental problems.

All fuels that are not made from oil are considered “alternative”. Most often than not these fuels will be better for the environment and also offer better energy efficiency. The Clean Air Act of 1990 promotes the development of these new fuels.

The most popular and oldest of the alternative fuels is called ethanol. This fuel, which is made from corn, is also referred to as “grain alcohol”. Ethanol can be extracted from many different types of plant materials. The alcohol in beer and wine is also a form of this fuel. While some say that ethanol is not energy efficient (it takes more energy to produce than it provides) new techniques have been developed to make it much more efficient.

In the coming years alternative fuels will likely increase in popularity. New gasoline alternatives are being developed daily, which will only benefit both the consumer and the environment.

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There are several variations of alternative fuels and several classifications depending on your exact definition. Let’s take a closer look.

A fuel is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a substance that is used to produce heat or energy by burning and also a substance from which energy can be liberated such as in a nuclear reaction. When you are discussing the variations of alternative fuels these two classifications can be a good starting point. Fossil fuels fit the first definition. They are burned or consumed in some manner to produce heat or energy. Fossil fuels are considered to be the conventional fuel. Anything other than fossil fuels would be considered as an alternative fuel.

There are many variations of alternative fuels that can be burned or are consumed to produce heat or energy. They include such things as biomass, ethanol, butanol, methane, and even peanut oil. The other definition would refer to the concept of a fuel that simply liberates the energy without consuming the fuel. These variations of alternative fuels would be such things as stored electricity in batteries or wind and solar power. These alternative fuels are also called sustainable or renewable fuels.

In the minds of many people, fuel is associated with motors and engines. Alternative fuels are thought of as non-conventional ways to power these engines. Basically, this means alternatives to gasoline for powering an automobile engine. The same ideas apply here. Some variations of alternative fuels would be burned and consumed as they powered the engine. They would function in the same way as gasoline by providing the explosion inside the combustion engine that drives the pistons.

Other variations of alternative fuels would power the automobile by replacing the need for the internal combustion engine altogether. Solar or electric powered automobile would be examples of this. Solar power or electricity would then be thought of as the "fuel" that is powering the vehicle. The other major uses of fuel are to provide heat or the generation of electricity. Once again, fossil fuels such as oil or coal are burned to directly produce heat or indirectly heat water into steam to power electrical generators. The fossil fuels would be called conventional and anything else would be alternative.

A discussion of the variations of alternative fuels is going to depend on which definition of fuel is being used and to some degree on the mindset of the person having the discussion. To an environmentalist, any fuel that is not renewable is considered conventional. If it has a negative environmental impact, it is not a true alternative.

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