Will these fuels power cars in the future?

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff CarDekho.com

Dung-powered car

A while back the dung-powered Volkswagen Beetle being tested in the United Kingdom was in the news everywhere and was being hailed as a solution to the world's transport fuel problems.

Going a step further, a UK-based web site has suggested some really out of the world car fuels.

Here is a low down on some of the suggestions:

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Will these fuels power cars in the future?

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

Using paint as fuel

We have all heard about solar-powered, wind-powered and even fuel cell cars. But there could also be cars that use paint as fuel.

Paint is expensive but Swansea University engineers have come up with a 'solar paint' capable of capturing the sun's energy to power vehicles. It has a capacity to generate electricity, equivalent to 50 wind farms at a miniscule cost.

. . .

Will these fuels power cars in the future?

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

Wind-powered car

Wind's usefulness is once again proven by students at a university in Denmark who used a giant wind turbine on the back of a racing car to propel it.

The three-wheel kite car working on the mechanism of a windsurfing board is also another option of using wind energy.

. . .

Will these fuels power cars in the future?

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

Turkey waste to drive cars

Some entrepreneurs in Carthage, Missouri, have converted Turkey waste into a fuel oil, called thermo-depolymerisation.

They use the same technology for onion by-products, cheese rinds, and chicken and pig waste.

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Will these fuels power cars in the future?

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

Coffee-powered car

Even your everyday coffee grinds are collected for the production of natural gas and compost in Germany and Switzerland.

Coffee is a rich source of oil and according to a study by the University of Nevada, about 340 million gallons biofuel can be produced from 15 billion pounds of coffee production.

. . .

Will these fuels power cars in the future?

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

Chocolate-waste to run cars

Chocolate in the fuel tank? Those with a sweet tooth might not really be kicked about this, but a research team at University of Warwick used chocolate waste biodiesel to track-test a Formula-3 race car.

. . .

Will these fuels power cars in the future?

Photographs: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff

Cow-power for cars

According to data by the United Nations livestock is responsible for 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The huge amount of waste generated has got many scientists thinking of ways to use it productively.

As a live example, a dairy farm in Vermont uses methane produced by its cows due to anaerobic digestion to produce electricity!

So, maybe be you can plug in that brand new electric car you just bought and recharge on cow-power.

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