Alternative Fuels
Alternative fuels include biodiesel and hydrogen. Alternative fuels are important because they could eventually provide us with a cheaper, cleaner, and more abundant source of fuel. Check out these great alternative fuel articles from HowStuffWorks.
Sweet Sorghum: The Sweetest Fuel You'll Ever Taste!
How Algaculture Works
What's the process to convert wine into fuel?
Summer-grade Versus Winter-grade Fuel
Why Is Gas More Expensive in the Summer Than in the Winter?
What's the Most Americans Have Ever Paid for Gas?
Is It Bad to Drive Without a Gas Cap?
Running on Empty? How Bad Is It for Your Car?
Do fuel additives really do anything?
5 Outdated Myths About Buying and Owning Electric Cars
Rivian Aims to Change the EV Industry One Pickup at a Time
Why You Want Your Kid's School Bus to Be Electric
Love It or Hate It: Stop-start Technology Is Here to Stay
Flexible Fuel Technology: Flex Engines
How Flex-Fuel Vehicles Work
Why would someone want to steal the hybrid badge from my car?
Top 10 Alternative Fuels on the Road Right Now
Do hybrid cars get power through kinetics?
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Specially engineered Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) can tolerate an E85 mixture of gasoline and ethanol. But will ordinary cars and trucks be able to stand up to the new blend?
For a while, many of us imagined the possibilities: streets full of zero-emission electric vehicles (EVs). But the EV concept has suffered from a certain fragility, and some companies have shifted strategies. Let's talk about a few of them.
What if we could derive energy from crops without killing them or generate power using plants and land not needed for food, all through the power of microbes? Meet the newest, greenest "power plant."
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Got your eye on a hydrogen-powered vehicle? The energy of the future comes with some baggage, including an uncanny ability to migrate through metals. Here's what you need to know.
In the future, all of us will own flying cars. Oh, wait -- that's "The Jetsons." Our views of future transportation are a little more realistic, but cars will increasingly use electric power, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Right?
Flex Fuel? Ethanol? E85? Been wondering what exactly all of this means? Keep reading to learn about new advances in alternative fuels.
With petroleum-loving masses and tax-happy governments finally getting on board with the development of alt fuels, the race is on to find the cleanest, eco-friendliest, and most importantly, cheapest alternative to fossil fuels.
By Eric Rogell
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Are you in the market for the greenest vehicle you can drive that isn’t a 10-speed bike? Natural gas-powered cars could be both cleaner and cheaper to run than gasoline or diesel powered cars — theoretically at least.
By Marc Carter
Fuel options for the future. Read this article to learn the fuel options for the future,
Fuel cells run on hydrogen, which has a low ignition point. Learn about the safety concerns of fuel cells in this article.
All fuel cells require hydrogen to work. Learn more about a hydrogen fuel reformer from this article.
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Why aren't fuel cells more common? Learn about whether the cost of fuel cells is a major problem in this article.
Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are already on the streets in some parts of the world. They're powered by the most abundant element in the universe and produce zero tailpipe emissions. Are fuel cells a good solution?
Did you know hydrogen-powered fuel cells are hitting the streets in some parts of the world? They're powered by the most abundant element in the universe and produce zero emissions. But are they dangerous?
You might be surprised by some of the alternative fuels mentioned here. Which of these ideas are pure crank science, and which have a real chance to change the world?
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A hydrogen-on-demand system can provide hydrogen for a fuel cell or for an internal combustion engine. But what about claims indicating you can fuel your car with water? Is there any truth to those statements?
From electricity to saltwater to air, these vehicles run on all kinds of things you'd never imagine as fuel. What might power your car in the near future?
The search for alternative fuel is on. Could a pocket-sized version of a nuclear power plant make your car run 5,000 miles (8,047 kilometers) between fill-ups?
Hydrogen proponents tout the energy efficiency and relative ease of producing this alternative fuel. Its opponents want us to remember the Hindenburg.
By Josh Clark
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Pouring diesel fuel into an unleaded tank isn't the end of the world: your car won't blow up. However, it won't start either. You'll have to do some serious cleaning to get your car running again.
Can we use grass to power our cars? Proponents of cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass think we can. Others fear we'll stop growing food to grow fuel.
By Josh Clark
There may be "water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink," but what if you could substitute seawater for gasoline? It's a little like alchemy, but could it work?
By Josh Clark
When oil is expensive, contentious and scarce, fuel made from corn or cane starts to look pretty smart -- economically and environmentally. But not everyone sees it that way.
By Julia Layton
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Corn distilled into ethanol and mixed with gasoline is used to create E85. Each gallon of E85 consists of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Learn the pros and cons of this new fuel.
By Chuck Giametta
As gasoline prices soar and concern over harmful emission mounts, cars that run on alternate fuel sources are becoming increasingly popular. Natural-gas vehicles (or NGVs) are fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and offer a relatively low cost of ownership.