Fuel Speed Ahead

Remember that amazing device from back to future that converted garbage into fuel? That isn't as far-fetched anymore.With petrol prices at crippling highs and car sales still booming, everything from liquor and salt water to diapers and landfills are being used to generate alternative sources of power that run equipment, vehicles and buildings around the world.

Wood Power :Wood would rarely be the fuel of choice for a car, but at least one person in the US has been burning wood as a fuel in his truck. One can't say for sure how the system works, whether it's dual fuel or the wood-burning supplies all the fuel the engine needs, but it doesn't appear to be a hoax and is certainly interesting.Evidently, during WWII, there was some experimenting with alternative fuels (due to shortages caused by the war), and one of the results was the wood burning automobile. One can't comment on emissions and the practise would not be the choiceof people concerned about air quality. Another problem is that wood is not very dense compared to liquid fuels, meaning you would need a lot of trees and a big "wood tank" to get any sort of range out of your wood-powered vehicle (WPV).

Vegetable Oil and Amonia :On a smaller scale, industries individuals have used some unlikely materials to power test vehicles, though their small-time successes could have a larger impact if more widely adopted. One experimental truck has been converted to run on amonia. The result: cheaper fuel, lower emissions and better guess mileage. Meanwhile, a lawyer in Massachusetts purchased a used ambulance, painted it green (for a groan-worthy visual pun effect), rigged it to run on vegetable oil and now gets a travel over 300 miles for just $3.

Coffee Grounds :The truck shown is powered by a wood gas generator, except this one runs on coffee grounds. This Cafe Racer is a 1975 GMC pickup that essentially burns up used coffee to create a combustible gas. The gas is filtered on its way to the engine and, Viola, a caffeine-powered truck. It's interesting to note that this and the last vehicle mentioned are promoting a specific fuel (wood and coffee grounds), since the onboard wood gas generators can gasify almost any type of combustible material. Gasification is a non-selective method using heat and a controlled amount of oxygen to convert biomass into a flammable vapor. In addition to Coffee Grounds, the Cafe Racer could use wood chips, old tires, and municipal trash, almost anything.

Alcoholic Beverages :Using booze as a fuel is actually nothing new - they have been doing it with banned booze in some countries for years! All the same it is a 'local' way to take leftlovers you aren't using (like that bottle of vermouth you seem to never go through) and make something useful out of it. Nearly 200,000 gallons of smuggled alcohol is snagged by authorities on its way into Sweden each year. Instead of simply pouring it down to drain, however, authorities have come up with an alternative use for all of the confiscated beverages. The biogas created from the mixed cocktail of smuggled goods is used to power a variety of vehicles, including buses and a train. In this win-win situation, sustoms is glad to be rid of the excess liquid and the country benefits from the fuel produsedas a result of the process.

Dirty Diapers :One company has come up with a brilliant (albeit offbeat) idea for turning what would normally be landfill material into cost-effective, synthetic diesel fuel. Approximately 30,000 tons of diapers will be annually transformed into over 10,000 tons of diesel fuel at just 50 cent per liter. Larger schemes to transform a variety of to-be-landfilled materials have come up short, due to "some of the issues that come up [in relationship tp] the consistency of the materisl you're putting through. One of the beauties of the diaper is that it is going to be a very consistent input. The other beauty of it is beacause this whole thing works in a closed system, there are no emissions."

Salt Water :Four years ago, inspiration struck in the middle of the night. A researcher decided to try using radio waves to kill cancer cells. Instead, John Kanzius discovered that his radio frequency generator could release the oxygen and hydgogen from saltwater and create an incredibly intense flame. His wife Mariane heard the noise and found her husband inventing a radio frequency generator with her pie pans. Experts say his invention could turn into " a steam engine, a steam turbine. That could become a car engine if you wanted it to be."

Using Cars to Create Power : This is brilliant but also a bit puzzling. The process takes energy from one of the most wasteful consuming activities in the world abd at least salvages a portion of that energy in a clean fashion. So far this is in prototype stages but in essence, pressure is used by plates beneath roads to compress hydraulic fluid. The bigger the truck, the more power it uses but the more it generates as well Best of all, you could turn around ans funnel this energy into hybrid fueling stations - essentiallly getting a second round of energy out for the same vehicular use.