Why Propane Is Considered The Best Alternative Fuel

While gasoline and diesel still rule the fossil fuel game, alternative fuels are beginning to swing the scale towards more environment-friendly and energy-efficient fuel sources as more people become more economically wise and ecologically conscious. Such interest in alternative fuels comes from the realization that these alternative energy resources produce lower vehicle emissions, thus helping reduce pollution and prevent global warming and the fact that these alternative fuels are much more sustainable as they are not dependent upon finite fossil fuel resources. Alternative fuels also increase the potential of nations to become energy-independent.

The US Energy Policy Act of 1992 lists eight notable alternative fuels, although some are still in their experimental stages. This includes:

• Ethanol – Alcohol based alternative fuel produced by fermenting and distilling crops like barley, corn, or wheat. Ethanol can be combined with gasoline in order to increase octane levels and reduce emissions.

• Natural Gas – A clean-burning alternative fuel that produce way less harmful emissions than diesel or gasoline. However, natural gas isn’t as readily and widely available.

• Electricity – Electrical power can be used to run battery-operated electric and fuel cell vehicles, offering a highly efficient power source for transportation. However, since much of the electricity generated today is produced from coal or natural gas, it leaves a bad carbon footprint.

• Hydrogen – Mixed with natural gas, hydrogen can be an efficient alternative fuel for vehicles with modified internal combustion engines.

• Biodiesel – An alternative fuel based on animal fats or vegetable oils, including recycled oils used for cooking. It is a safe and biodegradable alternative that reduces air pollutants from vehicle emissions.

• Methanol – Otherwise known as wood alcohol, this alternative fuel is used in flexible fuel vehicles designed to run on M85 (85% methanol and 15% gasoline blend).

• P-Series fuels – Blend of natural gas liquids, ethanol, and methyltetrahydrofuran, producing high-octane alternative fuels ideal for flexible fuel vehicles.

• Propane – Considered the best alternative fuel, propane or liquefied petroleum gas is a byproduct of crude oil refining and natural gas processing. It is one of the most widely explored alternative fuels that find it in many daily applications, ranging from cooking, heating, and even in transportation.

Why Is Propane Known As An Environment Compatible Fuel

Petroleum products and refined fuels are perceived as pollutants and are therefore harmful to the environment. After centuries of dependency on these greenhouse gas-emitting products, the need for cleaner-burning fuels is apparent, especially now that their effects are becoming more apparent in the form of global warming and severe environmental contamination. Alternative fuels like propane are considered cleaner options as an energy resource, as they create a significantly smaller carbon footprint than traditional fossil fuels and petroleum products.

Propane is one of the most environmentally compatible alternative fuels in the market today. Not only is it clean and safe in its unused state, but it also produces exhaust emissions that far exceed the requirements for clean fuel. Propane surpasses eco-friendly expectations in many ways.

A non-toxic and non-caustic fuel, propane will not create an environmental hazard even when released as vapor or liquid into the environment. Spilled in large quantity the extent of environmental damage that may occur because of it is the freezing of plantlife or organisms in the immediate area. The only potential danger exists when the vapor released is ignited, and even then, no long-term effects following ignited propane can be considered damaging to the environment. Here are other reasons why propane is considered one of the most environmentally friendly and compatible alternative fuels available to mankind:

• Propane is not classified as a greenhouse gas.
• Propane is not damaging to saltwater or freshwater ecosystems, nor to underwater plant or marine life.
• Propane is not harmful to the soil when spilled on the ground, and it will not cause harm to drinking water reserves.
• Propane vapor does not cause air pollution.
• Propane vapor isn’t harmful even when accidentally inhaled by animals, birds, or people.
• Propane will not cause bodily harm even when liquid propane comes in contact with the skin.