What are greener fuels

One of the most well known of the green fuels is something that is called Biofuel.

Biofuel is a group of different fuels rather than an individual fuel in itself, and the class contains things like bioethanol. These are all made from plant materials (so that means things like vegetable oils).

These can help to reduce the impact on the climate compared to ordinary fuels because the plants that are used to produce them absorb some carbon dioxide whilst they grow; this is the basis of photosynthesis, using sunlight and carbon dioxide then returning oxygen to the atmosphere as a result.

Quite a lot of petrol now used in ordinary cars will contain a small amount of biofuel, say around the five percent mark. Vehicles can use this without being modified, however cars can be converted so that the engine can run with a higher proportion of a biofuel, and there are some petrol stations that supply higher grade biofuel.

Other options are hybrid cars that combine a petrol engine and a batter, and also an electric car: these don't produce any emissions whilst they are being driven as they run off a battery. So they are better for the environment, although it is worth noting that the process of generating the electricity that they run on in the first place does of course generate emissions!

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