Alternative Fuels for Gasoline: Solar Energy & Natural Gas

1. Alternative Fuels for Gasoline:Solar Energy & Natural Gas by Andresa Clinton 4-30-12 3rd Hr.

2. How is This Energy Transformed into Usable Energy? • Solar Energy: Through solar cars. They harness energy from the sun, converting it into energy. They accomplish this through photovoltaic cells. • Natural Gas: the gas is separated from free liquids such as crude oil, hydrocarbon condensate, water, and entrained solids. The separated gas is further processed to meet specified requirements.

3. Advantages of Using This Source of Energy • Solar Power: • Better and more reliable than oil. • Solar cells don’t make noise while producing energy. • No pollution. • Little maintenance required to keep cells; tend to last a long time. • Easy to install (no wires, chords of power sources.) • Natural Gas • Nearly 87% of U.S. natural gas used is domestically produced. • 60-90% less smog-producing pollutants. • 30-40% less greenhouse gas emissions. • Less expensive than gasoline.

4. The Disadvantages of Using This Energy Source • Solar Power • Solar cells and solar panels are expensive when you first get them. • It cannot be harnessed during a storm, or a cloudy day or night. • Natural Gas • Limited vehicle availability. • Less readily available than gasoline. • Fewer miles on a tank of fuel.

5. Is This a Renewable or Non-Renewable Source? • Solar Power- This is a renewable resource. • Natural Gas- This is a non-renewable resource.

6. How Can This Energy Source be Conserved? Is Conservation Necessary? • Solar Power- This can be conserved using molten salts. In this method, energy captured by a solar panel is transferred and conserved as heat in a molten salt storage tank. This heat can be used as a power source when solar energy is unavailable or can be transferred to other power systems as a supplemental energy source. • Natural Gas- OEM vehicles and engines can be converted to "dedicated" configurations, meaning they operate exclusively on an alternative fuel. They can also be converted to "bi-fuel" configurations that have two separate tanks. One for conventional fuel and another for an alternative fuel. EPA regulations refer to this configuration as dual-fuel. The desired fuel is usually accessed by flipping a switch to change tanks.

7. How Does Using This Energy Effect the Environment? • Solar Power- This energy source effects the environment because it’s a renewable source, so we do throw it away and waste it. It also creates no pollution because it’s powered by the sun. • Natural Gas- Like solar power, natural gas saves the environment. Because this gas burns so cleanly, it contributes very little to air pollution.

8. How Does This Form of Energy Compare to Gasoline? • Solar Power- This compares to gasoline because solar panels for vehicles are way more expensive than gasoline. However, once you pay for a solar vehicle, you won’t ever have to pay for it again because it run on the sun’s power. Its costs more to run a vehicle by gasoline. It also doesn’t pollute the environment like gasoline would. • Natural Gas- Natural gas vehicles (NGVs), compared to vehicles that run on gasoline, produce significantly lower amounts of harmful emissions. It’s also much less expensive than gasoline. Also, natural gas has a high octane rating. Which means it has bigger bonds, so it burns slower.

9. What is the Heat of Combustion of This Form of Energy? • Solar Energy- No heat of combustion. Solar energy protects the environment. It will also last much longer cause the energy converts from the sun. • Natural Gas- It is primarily formed from methane which has a heat of combustion of 889 kJ/g. So compared to gasoline’s heat of combustion (44.85 kJ/g) its bigger, meaning it will burn slower.