That depends on what you define as biofuel. Technically all fossil fuels are biofuels, they just happen to be from ancient life and transformed by geologic processes over millions of years. It’s quite possible to synthesize fuels like gasoline and diesel directly from biomass such as trash, dried sewage and storm debris and we already have much of the infrastructure involved on an industrial scale. You simply have to gasify the biomass into syngas much as we currently do in the plasma torch incinerators of waste disposal plants then use the syngas in Fischer Tropsche synthesis reactors to produce the gasoline and diesel much as we now do with syngas made by gasification of natural gas to produce synthetic diesel with which we dilute our high sulfur diesel in order to meet the new federal ultra low sulfur diesel requirements (Shell’s GTL plant, and the upgraders of the tar sands are such gasification/FT reactor operations). Of course such synthetic fuels have a much higher cost basis then letting nature do all the work and drilling a hole into nature’s reserves hence synthetic fuels are unlikely till a relatively high fuel price can be guaranteed, that is it’s not enough for gasoline prices to reach $4 a gallon in the US but rather for investors to believe that it will not drop below $4 a gallon for at least fifteen years, even then there would be a much larger profit to just drill for oil.

As to the traditional bio-fuels. Gasoline based cars with fuel injection can easily be converted to run on ethanol as it simply requires a different air fuel mix ratio and that is controlled by computer in a modern fuel injection car. Diesel cars can run on vegetable oils since diesel engines were originally designed to run on vegetable oil but there are problems with how thick vegetable oil is when compared to petroleum based diesel so care must be given to either transesterfy the oils into shorter chain esters or to heat both engine and vegetable oil before using the vegetable oil as a fuel. The latter is done by running the engine on regular diesel till it’s hot and till heat from the engine coolant can heat the vegetable oil to the appropriate temperature before switching to the vegetable oil and to switch back to diesel as you approach your destination so that a few minutes of running on diesel will purge the engine and injectors of the more viscous vegetable oils.

Gasoline engines can also run on butanol without any modifications since the burn characteristics of butanol is very similar to gasoline. However most butanol is made from petroleum even though like gasoline and diesel, it can be made from either petroleum or biologic sources.

So yes, any car can be modified to run on biofuel but the modifications and suitable biofuels are different between gasoline and diesel cars as well as depending on which biofuel you are talking about. More importantly, any fuel can be a biofuel, a fuel is simply a method of storing energy chemically much as a battery does, it’s how that energy is captured from the sun that determines whether or not it’s a biofuel.

Source: yahoo answers

For people living in large metropolitan areas or close to public transportation, living without a car may be easier than you think. Here are five ways to start and maintain a ‘low-car’ diet.

1. Consider skipping the gym – Why drive to your local gym when you can just as easily go for a run outside? Instead of hitting the treadmills after work, consider exercising outdoors and enjoying the warm summer air.

2. Minimize driving trips – Instead of driving to multiple grocery stores, try shopping at just one or shopping at several within walking distance of each other.

3. Take a staycation – While road trips are certainly fun, you can still create lasting memories on a stay-cation at home without spending nearly as much money.

4. Get your friends involved – The best way to maintain a low-car/car-free diet is to get your friends involved.

5. Take public transportation – Public transportation is the most convenient and probably the cheapest way to get around, especially if you live in a large metropolitan city…

Read the original article at mnsun

With the cost of gasoline skyrocketing – now averaging over $4 per gallon, up an entire dollar from just one year ago – fuel economy is tops most consumers’ minds. Sales of hybrid and other fuel efficient cars are booming. Of course, it’s not just about fuel economy – it’s also about the environmental impact, too.

In fact, the most polluting daily activity by U.S. consumers is driving. And improving fuel economy by just 5 miles per gallon would save Americans 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.

To improve your green living efforts and reduce your impact on the environment, follow these simple tips to increase your fuel efficiency.

Tips to Increase Fuel Efficiency

• Avoid Excessive Idling: Allowing your car to idle for long periods of time, like while you’re waiting for someone or warming up your vehicle during the cold winter months, not only wastes fuel, but also reduces the overall lifespan of your vehicle.
• Perform Regular Vehicle Maintenance: Keeping your engine properly tuned can improve your gas mileage by as much as 4%, according to FuelEconomy.gov. Not to mention that fixing faulty oxygen sensors can increase fuel efficiency by as much as 40%. Other fuel-saving vehicle maintenance includes:
  • Regularly checking and replacing your air filter can increase fuel efficiency by 10%.
  • Maintaining proper tire pressure and alignment is not only safer, but also it can increase fuel efficiency by 3.3%.
  • Using the proper motor oil – the type recommended by your manufacturer – can increase fuel efficiency by 1%.
• Slow Down on the Highway: Driving fast may get you to your destination quicker, but it’s terrible for fuel economy. For example, you’ll lose about 2% in gas mileage for every mile per hour over 55. And in addition to lowering your overall mpg, driving fast wears out your tires faster due to the heat generated during higher driving speeds.
• Drive Gracefully: Fast acceleration and quick braking aren’t just hard on your vehicle, they’re bad for fuel efficiency. Driving smoothly will make your passengers happier – and save you about 2 miles gallon. Remember, just like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady will win the fuel economy race.
• Remove the Junk from Your Trunk: Another way to increase your fuel efficiency is to travel light. For every 50 pounds you drive around, you lose 0.25 mpg. Remove items you don’t need to have in your car before making your daily commute, and you’ll save a little bit of money – and every little bit helps!
• Plan Your Errands: Whenever possible, combine your errands and plan your route in advance, so you do less driving. You may not increase your fuel efficiency, but you’ll reduce the environmental impact by using less gas.

Fuel Efficient CarsIn addition to following these tips for increasing fuel efficiency, you can always buy a car that gets good gas mileage. In addition to hybrids, electric cars and other automobiles that run on alternative fuels, there are plenty of gasoline cars that average 30 mpg or more.

According to FuelEconomy.gov, the top fuel efficient cars for 2008 are:

1) Toyota Prius (48 mpg city / 45 mpg highway)

2) Honda Civic Hybrid (40 mpg city / 45 mpg highway)

3) Toyota Corolla (28 mpg city / 37 mpg highway)

4) Toyota Yaris (29 mpg city / 45 mpg highway)*

5) MINI Cooper (26 mpg city / 35 mpg highway)*

6) Smart fortwo Convertible (33 mpg city / 41 mpg highway)

7) Ford Escape Hybrid FWD (34 mpg city / 30 mpg highway)

Mazda Tribute 2WD (34 mpg city / 30 mpg highway)

9) Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD (34 mpg city / 30 mpg highway)

* Gas mileage is calculated based on automatic transmissions. Gas mileage in models with manual transmission is typically higher.

Green Living Beyond Fuel Efficient Cars

Remember, green driving is more than just increasing fuel efficiency. Before choosing a car to fit your green lifestyle, you should also consider the overall environmental impact created by building and driving your car.

As an example, the Prius gets some of the highest gas mileage ratings. However, nickel is used to produce the battery in the Prius. The environmental damage caused by mining, transporting the nickel to build the Prius results in a staggering statistic: Building and driving a Prius causes more overall environmental damage due to the nickel battery it uses than building a Hummer that is on the road three times longer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susanne_Svette

Every moment you spend idling your car’s engine means time spent needlessly wasting gas, as well as rougher wear on your vehicle. So give it a rest, and avoid idling through your days.

One of the ways the much-praised Toyota Prius is able to achieve such impressive fuel economy is by having a computer cut out idling automatically: when you aren’t making headway, the gas engine shuts off. For regular cars, it doesn’t make sense to shut off the engine at every stop sign. (Even though Environmental Defense found that idling for more than 10 seconds wastes more gas than is required for startup.) But, you should certainly kill it when you are waiting for your date to finish getting ready. Or when your honey has to run into the bank to cash a check…

Read the original article at thedailygreen