Renewable energy sources are nothing new, but only in the past few decades are they becoming more widely produced and used in commercial industries. Alternative fuels are defined as fuels that are derived from sources other than petroleum and petroleum products. Many alternative fuels are produced locally, derived from renewable energy sources, produce fewer or no emissions than petroleum fuels, and produce less waste than traditional diesel or gasoline products. Here are some examples of alternative energy sources.
Ethanol
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A type of renewable energy, ethanol is an alcohol product that’s derived from sources such as corn, sugarcane, and different types of grasses. Ethanol is blended with gasoline for use in vehicles and can aid in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. You may have seen stickers on the pump at your local gas station indicating the percentage of ethanol that’s in the gasoline your pumping. It’s quite common to see a 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline blend used at gas stations.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is a fossil fuel that’s been used widely for a number of different commercial and residential applications for many years. While it’s not renewable, natural gas produces lower amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants when burned than petroleum products put to similar uses. Essentially, natural gas is one of the cleanest burning alternative fuels available and can be used as compressed gas or in liquid form for a variety of different applications.
Biofuel
Biofuel is made exclusively from renewable resources such as animal fats, algae, and used cooking oil. It’s non-toxic, biodegradable, and produces little to no emissions depending on its usage. Biofuel is widely used in combination with home heating oil to reduce the carbon footprint of homes that use oil for heating in the winter.
Princeton Fuel Oil is proud to be the area’s only Biofuel heating oil dealer. Heat your home or office this winter with PFO’s new Biofuel blend and you will save money, reduce your carbon footprint and help cut America’s dependence on foreign oil. Read more about the great benefits on our recent blog post, “7 Important Benefits of Using Biofuel Oil.”
Propane
Propane, also known as liquefied petroleum gas, is a clean burning fossil fuel that produces very low emissions when compared to traditional petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel fuels. Propane is widely used in BBQs and is also used in some passenger vehicles. Most of the propane used in the United States comes from domestic sources, which means its industry stimulates local and the national economy.
Hydrogen
Produced domestically, hydrogen is an environmentally-friendly alternative fuel source that produces no emissions. It has the potential to reduce commercial dependence on oil products in the automotive sector, but isn’t widely available yet. Additionally, vehicles that run on hydrogen aren’t available to the public or are limited in availability.
Princeton Fuel Oil Biofuel and Alternative Fuels
Alternative fuels are slowly growing in popularity and in the breadth of their commercial applications, but there are still many challenges to overcome to make them widely available for use. As research increases so will the number of uses for various alternative fuel products.
For more information about alternative fuels call us at 1-800-253-9001 or contact the professionals at Princeton Fuel Oil today.