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      05-27-2011, 09:22 PM   #56
ENINTY
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Drives: 2006 325i Sport
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Virginia

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Petroleum-based fuels are going to remain the primary fuel for transportation for the next 30- 50 years, and probably longer. The reason is very simple; petrol-based fuels provide the least expensive and highest energy density of any available fuel source. This allows for the longest possible drive cycle between fuel stops of any fuel currently produced and available in the future. It was learned over 100 years ago when there were three primary fuel sources – gasoline, electricity, steam - (all at the time with little or no infrastructure in place to produce them) that gasoline was the best energy storage fuel type. Gasoline won out the battle and now has the most efficient production infrastructure behind it, making it the cheapest fuel to produce. Any other new type of fuel source, be it hydrogen or chemical battery, has to compete with the petroleum industry to make a more cost-efficient fuel, or an at-least-as-cost-efficient fuel as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

And jet fuel is where the rub is. Millions of people a day depend on jet aircraft for travel. Jets are highly efficient in moving goods and people far distances at a low cost. Jets are able to fly because they use a fuel type that has a very high energy storage to weight ratio. There is no alternative fuel source for jets that will come on line in the near future to replace jet fuel as there is for cars such as electricity. Electricity is only viable for cars because the limit of its energy storage for drive range (of 80 - 100 miles per fill up) is somewhat acceptable in most cases. Because there is no alternative fuel source for jets, aviation transportation will rely on petrol-based fuel for the next several decades.

Although governments can try to dictate the use of alternate fuels for automobiles (such as electricity), however because there are jets flying that have to rely on petrol-based fuels, the infrastructure that makes aviation fuel will remain in place and will provide the least-expensive, highest density fuel source for cars, which will continue to be the best economical choice for automobile companies to design their products around.
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