Bio Ethanol
Ethanol is alchol produced from natural sugar and starch plant growth such as grains (it is sometimes known as grain alcohol) , sugar cane and oil seed rape and it can be used to fuel vehicle engines. Ethanol is made from the processes of fermentation and distillation. When people talk about using ethanol as a source of energy they sometimes refer to it as bioethanol.
Ethanol is the type of alcohol that can be consumed (such as the alcohol in beer and wines). It is a clear, colourless liquid and its use as a fuel has a number of benefits over using petrol or oil based diesel.
Using ethanol as a fuel is not a new idea, indeed Henry Ford wanted the original Model T Ford to run on ethanol and thought that it was going to be the vehicle fuel of the future. However the economic power and influence of the oil companies led to the production and importing of cheap petroleum oil and petrol was adopted as the everyday fuel.
Ethanol has been used as a vehicle fuel in the United States for a number of years but on a very small scale. Recent growing concerns over the environmental effects of burning fossil fuels and the increasing price of oil have now forced governments and energy producers to consider biofuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol more seriously.
Ethanol is commonly used as an addition to normal petroleum to form ethanol-blended petrol. These blends are commonly made up of around 10% ethanol and 90% petroleum but now higher ratios of ethanol are being used in blends and further testing is being done on new types of blends. The US uses more than 15 billion gallons of ethanol blended petrol every year which makes up around 12% of the US' total fuel sales.
Ethanol as a vehicle fuel on a huge scale - Brazil leads the way
The effect of economics on fuel use can clearly be seen from Brazil's significant use of biofuels. Brazil makes most of its bioethanol from crops of local sugar cane which is a great candiate for ethanol production. Half of all cars in Brazil are run on ethanol (source Sunday Times 31/04/2006). This demonstrates the potential of ethanol as a realistic alternative fuel to petrol and gives us an idea of the scale of potential environmental and economic benefits it could give to countries all over the planet. It is not pie in the sky, it is achieveable and available now.
Sugar Cane thrives in Brazil's climate but is not suited to the climate of the US. Alternative crops for ethanol production include grains such as corn and other crops such as oil seed rape, potatoes, wheat as well as fruit and vegetable waste. In Britain British Sugar have started developing an ethanol plant in Norfolk that will convert sugar beet to fuel.
Benefits of ethanol as a fuel
There are many benefits of using ethanol as a fuel including both environmental benefits of ethanol and economic benefits of ethanol. A brief summary of these benefits is shown below:
- Reduced harmful exhuast emissions
- Sustainable energy source
- Reduced dependence on foreign sources of oil and gas
- Biodegradable with no toxic effect on environment
- Does not contribute to greenhouse effect due to growth / burning cycle
- Cheap method of achieving high octane fuel
- Many cars are already capable of running on ethanol with no modifications
- Can reduce levels of disease causing emissions from petrol blends.
- Can be made at home - reducing energy costs associated with transportation