Certainly, biodiesel is a great eco-friendly alternative to diesel. However, the hybrid electrically run vehicles take an edge over the bio-diesel run vehicles in that they don’t have to face societal anxieties such as would it require tropical forests to be cut down and would it require crop-lands for cultivating plants from which bio-diesel would be extracted? In addition, availability of fuel is a problem.
Minoru Shinohara, senior vice president and general manager of the Technology Development Division at Nissan, however, admits that hybrid cars can not replace the conventional fuel run vehicles in their power. Nevertheless, he adds a valid statement that these hybrid vehicles can be sold in small towns that requires only short distance driving.
Shinohara speculates that about 10 to 20% of the vehicles would be bio-fuel run in the near future. Although this is negligible, it still would contribute to alleviating air pollution. However, plug-in hybrids and experimental hybrids have been demonstrated to achieve as much as 250 mpg, and some believe a biodiesel hybrid could achieve as much as 500 mpg.
It is believed that, cellulosic ethanol E-85 hybrids are cleaner and cheaper than diesel hybrids and plug-in hybrids. But not many people agree with it since they claim cars have to be specially designed to use it. The debate seems to have started ever since hybrids were proposed as alternative to bio-fuel and it looks never ending.
via: CNET
