doi:10.3850/978-981-08-7920-4_SK-2-cd

ABSTRACT

The situation for automobile fuel is precarious with the world running out of oil. Therefore, a quick and firm exit from gasoline powered automobiles is needed before it is too late. Yet, an analysis reveals that there is no perfect solution because all resources commonly known to power automobiles will likely deplete on earth. For instance, it is estimated that biofuels such as corn-based ethanol will require 7 times the arable land in the U.S. if all vehicles in the U.S. were to run on them. The hydrogen economy shows promise, but the platinum which is currently essential in fuel cell operation is in limited supply with only enough for the production of 400million cars. Compressed natural gas is also not projected to serve the automobile purpose of the United States for any more than 50 years, not to mention that it produces greenhouse gases. The ground lithium for electric cars is also a limited resource. Thus, no common automobile fuel or system has the ability to last more than only a few generations. Further research and development is obviously necessary, but we never know when that research will bear fruition. The extended range electric vehicle (E-REV) shows promise, but much is in research while only some is in production. It is difficult to plan for tomorrow with the technology of today, but virtually impossible to plan on the hope of discovery. This article discusses the various fuels and materials used for renewable automobiles, and brings forth their resource limitations.

Keywords: Ethanol, Platinum, Lithium, Hydrogen, Biodiesel, Hybrid, Rare earth minerals, Pollution, EREV, PHEV.

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