Comparative Analysis of Traditional and Alternative Engines: Advancements and Impacts on Sustainability

Traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs) have accompanied humans for a long time and have developed to contain good performance and high reliability. However, the emissions of traditional engines play a big role in environmental pollution, which goes against the most important tenet of human development—sustainable development. To radically deal with this concern, alternative engines have been invented and developed these years instead of further study of traditional engines. Alternative engines, including hybrid, fuel cell, and electric engines, are designed to convert energies from renewable resources to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Alternative engines are also beneficial for saving costs of fuel because of their higher fuel efficiency, which is a valuable factor for choosing a vehicle with such an engine as the family car. Each kind of alternative engine has its drawbacks, such as the high maintenance rate of hybrid engines, limited driving range of battery electric vehicles (EVs), and possibly high GHG emissions of fuel cells. These are factors for the comparison of engines and should be considered when choosing an engine that is suitable for a specific situation.