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Ethanol fuel is an alternative to gasoline made from grains such as corn or sugarcane. It can be used directly in a modified gasoline engine or blended with gasoline. Ethanol reduces pollution and dependence on fossil fuels but has lower energy density and can be difficult to start in cold temperatures. Brazil is a significant proponent of the sugarcane approach.
Ethanol fuel is an alternative fuel to gasoline. It is usually made from a grain such as maize or maize or from sugar cane. In the United States, corn is used primarily to make ethanol, while in other, generally warmer places, sugarcane is the preferred source of biomaterial to make it. It is also possible to distill this fuel from petroleum, although the term is generally used to refer to bioethanol.
In some cases, this type of fuel can be used straight in a modified gasoline engine, but it is much more common to find a fuel blend of 85% gasoline and 15% ethanol. This mixture can be used directly in any gasoline engine. It burns cleaner in the engine, causing less pollution. If the ethanol is made from bio-renewable sources, it also reduces the use of fossil fuels. Ethanol fuel does have some drawbacks; It has a lower energy density than gasoline, so a tank won’t go as far as a tank of gas, and it can be more difficult to start in very cold temperatures.
Ethanol fuel is also used as an oxygenate additive to gasoline. In the past, the chemical methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was used for this purpose. This chemical has fallen out of favor as MTBE is dangerous and very harmful to the environment. Ethanol can provide the same function without the negative effects on the environment. Oxygenated gasoline increases octane quality, improves combustion, and reduces carbon monoxide emissions. This practice is used more during the winter months than during the summer.
In the United States, bioethanol fuel is made primarily from corn or maize. This is largely due to the amount of corn grown in the US and the ease with which it is grown. Sugarcane is not as easily grown in the United States.
Critics of this approach argue that the total energy input required to convert corn to ethanol is roughly equal to the energy in the fuel. However, the manufacture of this fuel is a relatively new business in North America, and improvements in the process are expected. Today’s production process has hardly changed from the way corn whiskey was made during the pioneering days. Ethanol fuel manufacturing from corn is also shifting from limited-scale production to large-scale production by multinational corporations. These large corporations are investigating ways to make the process more efficient.
In warmer climates, sugarcane is used. This process is much more favorable in terms of recovered energy. In some cases, leftover cane fiber material is also burned as a biofuel once the sugars in the cane have been removed. This increases the total amount of energy recovered from the process.
Brazil and some of the Caribbean islands are significant proponents of the sugarcane approach. Ethanol fuel is a significant contributor to the fuel requirements of these locations and is likely to continue to increase in importance. Brazil is perhaps the country that has adapted the technology the most, with 20% of cars now using pure ethanol and at least 50% using a mixture of gasoline and ethanol. The fuel is also posed as a large contributor to the energy equation in the US despite concerns about the economics of energy balance. Ethanol is a growing business, pun intended.
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