ALTERNATIVE+FUELS

**ALTERNATIVE FUELS** > It seems that every year when the summer travel season comes around, the price of gasoline goes up. Because most Americans depend upon personal vehicles to get from one place to another, this increase in price affects all of us. Gasoline is one of the products of the petroleum refining process. Much of the petroleum used in the United States is imported from overseas. This means that gasoline prices are tied to the prices that oil-exporting countries charge for crude oil. > However, it doesn’t have to be this way. For the last thirty years, many researchers and scientists have been experimenting with alternatives to gasoline. Some alternative fuels have been developed that can be added to gasoline to reduce the overall cost. Other alternative fuels can be used directly in present-day engines. Most alternative fuels can be considered renewable resources because they can be replenished easily, and can never run out. Petroleum, on the other hand, is a nonrenewable resource that can be used up. What are alternative fuels? Where do alternative fuels come from? What alternative fuels are in use today? In this WebQuest, you will explore the topic of alternative fuels and find the answers to some of these questions. > [|Top] > Your job in this WebQuest is to discover what alternative fuels are, and find out how the use of such fuels can reduce overall air pollution from vehicles. You will explore the different types of alternative fuels, and identify those that appear to be most cost-effective. You will also learn about other energy sources that could be used to power vehicles. Finally, you will answer a set of questions about alternative fuels to demonstrate what you have learned. > [|Top] > Look at the web sites given here to find the information that will enable you to answer questions about alternative fuels. >> >> >> >> >> >> > [|Top] > 1 class period for research and answering the set of questions > [|Top] > Read through the following set of questions before you begin your Internet research. As you explore each site, look for answers to the questions. > **//Questions about Alternative Fuels//** >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> > > [|Top] **Conclusion** > In the process of completing this WebQuest, you’ve become informed about alternative fuels that can be used to power vehicles. You have learned what biomass is and how it can be used to produce a wide variety of alternative fuels. You have also learned more about renewable energy resources. You have developed research skills as you explored the web sites given and identified the relevant information to answer the set of questions above. Did you know that there are many different names for alternative fuels produced from living things? Besides alternative fuels, what other types of renewable resources might be used to power vehicles? > [|Top]
 * An Internet WebQuest- STUDENT PAGE**
 * Introduction**
 * Task**
 * Resources**
 * **[|Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center.]** Visit this U.S. Department of Energy site to learn all about alternative fuels, alternative fuel vehicles, and refueling sites. Scroll down and click on frequently asked questions to find out the definition of alternative fuels. Explore the site for information on biodiesel fuel, electric fuel, ethanol, methanol, hydrogen, natural gas, propane, and more.
 * [|**Alternative Fuels.**] Go to this Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) site to learn more about alternative fuels. Scroll down and click on clean fuels: an overview to find out what clean fuels are and how they can reduce overall vehicular air pollution.
 * [|**Bio Energy.**] Visit this site by the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to learn how this agency seeks to expand the industrial consumption of agricultural products by promoting their use in the production of bioenergy, primarily ethanol and biodiesel fuel.
 * [|**Biofuels Program Research.**] At this site by the National Biofuels Program of the U.S. Department of Energy you can learn more about biofuels. Biofuels can supply the U.S. with alternatives to imported oil. Scroll down and click on bioethanol to learn how biomass is converted to bioethanol fuel.
 * **[|National Renewable Energy Laboratory.]** Go to this U.S. Department of Energy site to read about this laboratory where scientists evaluate biomass fuels such as ethanol and methanol, as well as other renewable energy resources such as hydropower and wind energy.
 * **[|Ethanol Information Centre.]** Visit this Canadian site to learn more about ethanol as a fuel. Click on fuel ethanol and food supply to see how growing crops to produce ethanol might affect food production in.
 * Time**
 * Process**
 * 1) What is an alternative fuel?
 * 1) Give three examples of alternative fuels.
 * 1) What is biomass?
 * 1) Give three examples of biomass fuels.
 * 1) What are the four types of biomass that can be converted into alternative fuels?
 * 1) What is bioenergy?
 * 1) What is biodiesel fuel? What is it made from?
 * 1) What is ethanol? What is it made from?
 * 1) What is methanol? What is it made from?
 * 1) How is biomass converted to ethanol?

**An Internet WebQuest** **ALTERNATIVE FUELS** **Introduction** > In this WebQuest, students do some Internet research on alternative fuels. They learn about the different types of alternative fuels that are being used to power vehicles. They also learn what fuels are considered to be biomass fuels, and what those fuels are made from. Students discover that alternative fuels produce less air pollution, and that they can be economical as well. Finally, students answer some questions about alternative fuels, based on their Internet research. > [|Top] > While students are doing their Internet research, they will try to answer the set of questions given. Each web site has some of the answers to the questions, but several of the questions require information from two or more of the web sites. Students should be encouraged to explore web sites beyond the prompts given, especially the first two web sites listed. Allow students to examine the site by the American Petroleum Institute for another point of view on alternative fuels. > **Objectives** >> >> > [|Top] > Students will use the Internet links given to find out all about alternative fuels. They will learn about renewable energy resources and identify the types of fuels derived from biomass. They will describe the differences between several types of biomass fuels, and identify the advantages and disadvantages of such fuels as compared to gasoline. Students will also learn about the process of converting biomass into liquid fuels. > [|Top] > I class period for research and answering the set of questions > [|Top] > As students progress through the list of web sites, you may help them to focus on what they need to know to answer the questions given. Several of the web sites have links to other web sites with relevant information. If time allows, you may want to allow students to explore this subject further. Students may want to look into other renewable energy resources such as solar energy and wind energy; however, this webquest is limited to research on alternative fuels for vehicles rather than the larger question of power to produce electricity. > [|Top] **Evaluation** > You may assign 10 points to each of the 10 questions for a total of 100 possible points. The answers to the questions are given below. //You may rate the answer to each questions by the following scale: Excellent – 9-10 points; Very Good – 7-8 points; Good – 5-6 points; Satisfactory – 3-4 points; Poor – 1-2 points; and Unsatisfactory – 0 points.// > //**Questions about Alternative Fuels**// >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > [|Top] **Conclusion** > Using information gathered from the Internet, students should be able to answer the questions given about alternative fuels. Students should be able to draw some conclusions about the suitability of alternative fuels to provide power for vehicles. Students should also be able to identify the economic and environmental factors that support the use of alternative fuels in addition to, or in place of, gasoline and other petroleum-based fuels. > [|Top] > > >
 * WebQuest Teacher Page**
 * Task**
 * **Research** alternative fuels and contrast them with petroleum-based fuels.
 * **Define** biomass fuels and give several examples.
 * **Describe** the differences between biomass fuels such as ethanol, methanol, and biodiesel fuel.
 * Resources**
 * Time**
 * Process**
 * Click Herefor Rubric**
 * 1) Alternative fuels are substantially non-petroleum-based fuels that yield energy security and environmental benefits over petroleum-based fuels.
 * 1) Examples of alternative fuels are ethanol, methanol, natural gas, liquified petroleum gas, hydrogen, coal-derived liquid fuels, biomass fuels, and electricity.
 * 1) Biomass is the total mass of living things (particularly plant material) in a given area that can be transformed into electricity or fuel.
 * 1) Biomass fuels include bioethanol, methanol, and biodiesel fuels.
 * 1) monomeric sugars such as sugar beets and sugar cane; starches, mostly corn; cellulose from any green plants, such as agricultural wastes or forestry wastes; and hemicellulose from hardwood and softwood trees.
 * 1) Bioenergy is just another word for biomass energy. Biomass can be converted into bioenergy.
 * 1) Biodiesel fuel is an ester, like vinegar. It is made from vegetable oils, animal fats, algae, and leftover cooking grease. It can also be made from soybeans, peanuts, cottonseed, sunflower seeds, and canola oil. It is biodegradable. Biodiesel fuel works in normal internal combustion engines.
 * 1) Ethanol is a clear, colorless liquid with a characteristic, agreeable odor. It is also called ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, and has the chemical formula CH3CH2OH. It is usually made from starchy crops such as corn, but can be made from any type of cellulose. Ethanol made from cellulose may be called bioethanol.
 * 1) Methanol is also an alcohol fuel. It has the chemical formula CH3OH. It usually is made from natural gas or coal, but can also be made from biomass.
 * 1) Biomass is converted to ethanol in four steps. Green plants fix atmospheric carbon and convert it into organic carbon in the process of photosynthesis. Biomass is harvested. The biomass is fermented using yeast or bacteria to produce ethanol. The ethanol is processed to produce usable ethanol and byproducts.