Fuel Supply Conundrum

A fundamental obstacle facing the introduction of any new consumer-oriented transportation fuel is the difficulty of providing simultaneously both a new alternatively fueled engine and widespread fueling infi astructure. Consequently, there exists a familiar stalemate no cars are bought unless there is access to fuel to power them, and no fueling stations are built unless there is sufficient demand from vehicles using the fuel to justify the associated capital outlay. 

The second property concerns the potential explosivity of the vapor space in a partially empty fuel tank. Gasoline has such hi volatility that except on the coldest days, the space above the fuel is too rich in vapor to be ignitable, whereas methanol vapor pressure leads to gas-phase composition within the ignitable 

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However, carbohydrates as precursors to chemical feedstocks present a conundrum with regard to our food supply. Should we take a food source and convert it to something that we burn in an engine instead of feeding the world s people Moreover, due to its use in generating ethanol as a fuel additive (Chapter 8), the demand for corn caused the price of many food products to rise dramatically as corn is used to feed cattle as well as to make a host of consumed products. 

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