Alternative Fuels
Select one of the following technologies:
Alternative fuels are fuels other than gasoline or diesel that are used to power engines. Nominally, alternative fuels tend to have lower net emissions than traditional fuels.
- Bio-diesel - clean-burning diesel replacement fuel derived from animal fats, vegetable oils and recycled cooking grease
- Electricity - chemical reactions produce energy that is converted to electricity and stored in a battery for use in fuel cell vehicles. Essentially displaces emissions to the facility that generates the electricity.
- Ethanol - also termed biological fuel, is derived by fermentation of biomass, usually grains. Marketed in North America as E10 or E85 because of its addition to gasoline.
- Hydrogen - produced mainly by the steam reforming of natural gas or by the electrolysis of water, for use in internal combustion engines and fuel cells.
- Methanol - a gas formed by reacting hydrogen with carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. Also a gasoline additive.
- Natural Gas - the gas produced by the anaerobic decay of organic material. Liquefied and compressed natural gas are used in automobiles.
- Propane - also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is a byproduct derived from oil and natural gas during processing
Alternative fuels, such as natural gas, ethanol, methanol, propane, and wood pellets, have been in distribution in Canada for many years, and the more recent technical advances are now making hydrogen, biodiesel and electric fuel available to the Canadian economy as well.
Currently there are over a 1000 retail outlets that offer ethanol-blend fuels across Canada. There are also numerous ethanol production plants currently in use as well as several under construction or in the planning stages. Suncor Energy Inc. is one Canadian company that is currently constructing an ethanol production plant located in the Sarnia-Lambton region of Ontario, Canada.
Biodiesel has been in the testing phase in buses and other diesel vehicles for years, with major projects occurring in Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Montreal (requires Acrobat). More recently biodiesel has been tested in cruise ships, such as the BioMer project in the Montreal area. Many biodiesel demonstration plants are currently under construction by companies such as BioX Corporation and Rothsay. Due to the success of the biodiesel testing programs, there are now biodiesel service stations starting to appear across Canada.
Hydrogen fuel powered vehicles are nearing the commercial stage of development in Canada. Companies like Westport Innovations Inc. have announced promising results from a hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG) bus program; and companies like Ballard have been testing hydrogen-fueled buses since 2000. With Canadian Federal Government support, hydrogen refueling stations are also beginning to emerge along Canada's Hydrogen Highway in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Besides developing and manufacturing alternative fuels and alternative fuel products for Canada, many companies are exporting and have projects abroad. Companies like Stuart Energy have installed over a thousand hydrogen generation products in more than 100 countries around the world. Kraus is another company that operates worldwide, with installations of fueling stations for many alternative fuels, in such areas as China, Egypt, Turkey and Germany. Other international projects include the development of Renewable Fuels for Thailand project by Astechman Energy Inc., as well as their greenhouse gas reduction program for Asia Pacific.
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