alternative fuels log 4/28/16

Write a blog post (2 paragraph minimum) and include links to the sources you've used so far. There should be at least 3 - and you should discuss your research process in a way that documents your use of those sources. Make sure you do not discuss your research process in a superficial way. Rather, consider that you have learned, found interesting or surprising, or been stumped by. What do you plan to do next?

So far my research has been successful.  When I started research I wanted to know if there were ways of keeping internal combustion engines for cars and trucks while reducing emissions and maintaining performance.  I have always wondered if cars could be run on pure ethanol considering that some can run on E85, which is 85% ethanol.  I came across this article about ethanol.  I found that emissions wise that ethanol can be far greater than gasoline.  Although ethanol looks very attractive as an alternative fuel, it makes older engines rust out and it destroys fuel lines.  

I was stumped by this.  This is because fuel lines and engines are expensive to replace.  But then I remembered that some people purchase methanol injection kits for performance and better fuel economy in performance engines.  And the engines with methanol injection kits don't have problems.  So I went to the National Hot Rod Association's website to see if they had any vehicles that were converted to run on methanol.  What I found was very interesting.  There were 2 classes that ran on methanol.  These classes were the Top Alcohol Dragsters and the Top Alcohol Funny Cars.  And from what I read, both classes can keep up fairly well with their similar gasoline classes.  Methanol has many benefits such as reduced emissions.  But there is one major drawback, it is corrosive to certain metals.  

After I found that both ethanol and methanol are corrosive I was frustrated.  So I started to research biodiesel.  I came across an article in Popular Mechanics that explained the one of many ways to make biodiesel at home. What I found was that biodiesel can be made from fry grease, sodium hydroxide, and a small amount of pure motor oil.  

I plan to continue research on all 3 of the fuels that I talked about.  I also plan to do some research on synthetic oil.