Fuel Alternatives1 Fuel Alternatives Alternatives of Fuel Sources Evan Dipsiner University of Central Florida A dilemma in modern society

is the overuse of petrochemicals (petroleum based chemicals) for fuel sources. Individuals fail to realize that their unnecessary use of these finite substances during day to day life creates harmful repercussions to the biosphere such as global warming (J.A. Bittle, T.J Jacobs, H. Song, B.T Tompkins, 2012.) The alternative source at hand are more compliant with the environment because they are less harmful when combusted and are treated prior to use. By switching to an alternative fuel source such as biofuels (fethanol, glucose, alcohol, and lipids) the use of petrochemicals will be reduced dramatically and in turn the amount of chemical waste going into the environment will decrease. (Howard Chou, Sung Kuk Lee, Taek Soon Lee, Jay Keasling, 2008.) Since petrochemicals are limitied, it is essential that other fuel sources are established so that they can replicate the uses of them. Necessary Treatment Similar to petrochemicals, biofuels must undergo a treatment process prior to them being used (Mala Raovishnu, 1998.) However, when biofuels are treated they became far less harmful because when they are distilled the harmful wastes are not let off by them. If petrochemicals continue to be distilled at the rate they are now, global warming will continually rise at a dangerous rate and the atmosphere will have unsafe levels of toxins. (W.M. Griffin, P. Jaramillo, H.S Matthews, A. Venkatesh, 2012.) Biofuels are distilled in three different ways. They are fermented in a large tank which changes their chemical balance, extracted from alcohols and plants, or they are bred with bacterias to become more cleansed (Gregory Stephanopoulos, 2007.)

Fuel Alternatives2 Environmental Issues When petrochemicals combust at a certain temperature the carbon based toxins rise into the air and harm the air, water, and everything in its surroundings. Biofuels are created from living organisms, plants or extracted from other substances that are nowhere near as harmful as petrochemicals when combusted (Shota Atsumi, Iara Machado, 2012.) Finite Fuel Source Contrary to popular belief petrochemicals do not have an infinite source. When the last amount of fuel is burnt up, there will be no more. It is crucial that another fuel source is able to replace petrochemicals when this time arises (P. Das, P.J. Kim, P. Pramanik, 2012.) Due to the lack of attention given to this problem, a large sum of fuel goes into unnecessary use such as driving across the street or using it to start a bonfire. Petrochemicals should be treated like water in the desert as it is the most used fuel source available and does not have an alternative yet. Biofuels such as ethyl alcohol, lipids, and glocose can be chemically alterered into a fuel source with a vast amount of quanitity larger than its predecessor (James Liao, Yajun Yan, 2009.) Research Gap The largest problem at hand is the unawareness of the effects that petrochemicals have on the enviornment along with the idea that they are infinite. One way that individuals can become more aware of these dilemmas are taking a survey on their knowledge of petrochemicals and their alternatives. Then after completing the survey, they will make a schedule of their day to track the amount of fuel used. By looking over their daily schedule they will realize that they are either optimizing their use of petrochemicals or taking them for granted. If people do not realize the ramifications of their malusage , they will continue to do so until the earth rots and the fuel is non existant.