Can Synthetic Fuels Save Internal Combustion Engines?

Synthetic fuels, also known as e-fuels, are produced using renewable energy sources and require less fossil fuels than gasoline or diesel.

E-fuels don’t consume finite resources like crude oil. Many of these fuels are created using water and carbon dioxide, which makes them renewable. In producing these fuels, existing carbon dioxide is used from the atmosphere and is absorbed and released again during combustion in vehicles that can use e-fuels. This process allows these fuels to be considered CO2-neutral, but can these synthetic fuels save the internal combustion engines, which are facing attack and extinction thanks to the rise in electric vehicles?

How can these alternative fuels be used?

By producing sustainable liquid synthetic fuels, it should be possible to operate combustion engines without adding to the net carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. Currently, this is one of the greatest environmental concerns because vehicle emissions increase greenhouse gasses, which damage our atmosphere. Using these fuels in passengers vehicles is only the beginning to how they can be used. Using e-fuels and oils made similarly, vehicles used for materials handling can be operated without crude oil-based products.

What are some advantages?

Using bioethanol synthetic fuels, vehicles emit only one-tenth of the greenhouse gasses released by burning conventional gasoline. Synthetic diesel oil, which is produced rom rapeseed is also efficient, but not quite as efficient as e-fuels, with the diesel cutting the carbon emissions compared to traditional diesel in half.

A change to e-fuels might be much easier for some drivers than electric vehicles. Most biofuels can be excellent alternatives and would extend the life of internal combustion engines, with only minor changes. Additionally, liquid e-fuels have a higher energy density tan gas and can use the existing network of filling stations, which allows them to cut down on infrastructure costs of changing to a new fueling system.

In most cases, using synthetic fuels would mean no change to current vehicles. These e-fuels are made of the same components that allow the fuel to burn and power a traditional gas-powered vehicle on any road. This means fleet operators can use their existing fleet, refuel quickly, and have an eco-friendly fleet of vehicles on the road.

Everything comes at a price?

One of the biggest roadblocks to the adoption of synthetic fuels is the cost. Much like anything new, the initial cost is extremely high but will eventually come down once widespread adoption and cheaper methods of production are found. This doesn’t change the comparison of electricity to gasoline, which makes electricity much cheaper and would mean that using e-fuels would be the most costly way to fuel a vehicle.

What about biofuels? Is there a difference?

Biofuels are a potential alternative to gasoline and e-fuels. While e-fuels are synthetic, biofuels are made using microorganisms that absorb carbon dioxide and water while secreting ethanol or alkanes, which are the basic building blocks of synthetic diesel oil. This newer process is distinctly different from processes that convert plants or algae into biomass that must regrow to help create biofuel. This new microorganism-based method is regenerative: the cells must remain alive. The resulting fuel is biofuel. Early versions of biofuel came from maize, rape seed, or palm oil, but the latest products come from biogas or biomass. This is because the process of removing carbon dioxide is much better at creating CO2-neutral products in these latter models.

Producing e-fuels isn’t sustainable

Despite most e-fuels coming from renewable sources, the efficiency of production is extremely low. This low efficiency is around 15 percent, which means that only that amount of the electrical energy used it actually used to move the vehicle. This loss is due to the amount of energy it takes in conversion of electricity into the synthetic fuels. An electric vehicle has an efficiency of around 70 or 80 percent, which is significantly better than e-fuels.

Can synthetic fuels replace electric cars?

E-fuels could be used to replace gasoline and diesel if scientists can produce it more cheaply and make it much more efficient. It’s not likely these fuels will replace electric vehicles, but they could serve as a bridge from traditional, gas-powered vehicles to electric models, giving the world more environmentally friendly fuels that can be used in current gas and diesel-powered vehicles.

Internal combustion engines could survive longer in many markets if synthetic fuels are used and replace gasoline and diesel. If the costs are prohibitive, e-fuels won’t become the bridge to EVs or a replacement for traditional fuels, regardless of the environmental benefits.