Ethanol

Continuing my series on fuels other than the regular gasoline we pump into our cars is this look at ethanol.

So what is ethanol?
It is the same type of alcohol as in alcoholic beverages, but it also can be burned as fuel. It's molecular formula is written as C₂H₅OH or CH₃-CH₂-OH.

Was Henry Ford right when he called alcohol the "fuel of the future"? http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol.html

This how stuff works site describes the step by step process of how it's made.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ethanol-facts.htm

Ethanol is one of the more attractive alternatives to gasoline simply because we can use it now - if you have a car that can use it and live near E85 stations.

It is not a new technology. Brazil started using ethanol, made from sugarcane, for fuel in the 1970s. "Today more than two-thirds of all cars sold run on ethanol and all Brazilian gasoline sold at the pumps contains 25 percent ethanol." from http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0505/p04s01-woam.html

Many Brazilians drive flex fuel vehicles than can run on gasoline or ethanol. When they fill up the tank, they have a choice, and most choose the home grown, less expensive ethanol. That sounds pretty nice.

Some people argue that using these food plants for fuel will mean there won't be enough food. Well, Brazil has an overproduction of sugar just like we have an overproduction of corn (much of that corn is not edible anyway). There are also some useful by products from making ethanol, such as CO2 which is sold for use in carbonated beverages or dry ice or maybe use in paintball guns. The left over plant proteins are fed to livestock, which is making use of a byproduct but not that great for the cows. Also, who says you have to make ethanol from food?

Ethanol can be made from cellulose. Range Fuels in Georgia was granted a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America in July 2007. Cellulosic ethanol is pretty cool because not only are you using all of the plant, but its way more energy efficient than just using the sugar parts of the plant.

"Cellulosic ethanol can contain up to 16 times more energy than is required to create it! If that doesn't sound ridiculously impressive, consider that gasoline contains only 5 times more energy than was required to create it and corn ethanol is totally lame, containing only 1.3 times the energy required to create it." http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/798/
I'm not sure when this year, but they plan on making 100 million gallons of ethanol per year starting sometime in 2008.

So, summing up, here are some of the benefits of ethanol:

• It is a cost effective alternative to gasoline.
• It is a renewable energy source - from plants.
• It provides high octane at a low cost.
• Ethanol blends can and are being used without modifications to car engines - most gas you buy now is 10% ethanol.
• Ethanol's high oxygen content reduces carbon monoxide emissions, and its the carbon monoxide (CO) that is the really deadly stuff.
• If you care about CO2 emissions - ethanol reduces that too.

One downside is that you'll get a little less miles per gallon, but with the price difference between ethanol and gasoline, it's still worth it.