Ethanol By: Miray Atamian

What is Ethanol Fuel? Ethanol fuel is the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel (a biofuel additive for gasoline). Ethanol is a renewable energy source because the energy is generated by using a nondepletable resource (plants).

Types of Ethanol: Bio fuel It is prepared from the crops like maize, sugar cane, potato and rice. This bio fuel is environment friendly and its production cost is very low. Ethanol fuels like bio ethanol is renewable energy source because it is produced from the used vegetable oil. The most common bio fuel is corn ethanol

Types of Ethanol: Cellulosic Fuel Cellulosic fuel is produced from the grass, wood and or the non- edible parts of plants. This alternative fuel source can help overcome fuel crisis at affordable low cost. Switchgrass is one of the most common plants used. Even though it is still a low cost, corn fuel is much affordable. The Department of Energy estimates that it costs about $2.20 per gallon to produce cellulosic ethanol, which is twice as much as ethanol from corn.

Cellulosic Fuel Cellulosic ethanol contributes little to the greenhouse effect and has a five times better net energy balance than corn-based ethanol Cellulose is not used for food and can be grown in all parts of the world. The entire plant can be used when producing cellulosic ethanol Cellulosic ethanol's potential is enormous. With over1.3 billion tons of biomass available for ethanol production, we can replace all gasoline made from imported oil.

Ethanol vs Gasoline Compared with conventional unleaded gasoline, ethanol is a particulate-free burning fuel source that combusts cleanly with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water. Use of ethanol, produced from current methods, emits a less net amount of carbon dioxide and an incredibly less amount of carbon monoxide than gasoline.

How is it made? Dry Milling In the dry milling process the entire corn kernel is ground into flour and referred to as “meal.” The meal is then slurried by adding water. Enzymes are added to the mash that convert starch to simple sugar Ammonia is added to control the pH and as a nutrient for the yeast. Then it is exposed to high temperatures to kill the bacteria. The Yeast is now added, which converts the sugar to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Takes up to hours.

Main goal One of the major reasons for increasing the use of biofuels is to reduce greenhouse gas emission. Even though CO 2 is released (85% less than gasoline), there is no CO emissions. Only low levels of smog are produced from combustion.

Producers Worldwide ethanol is produced but it is most commonly produced and associated with USA and Brazil. Ethanol fuel industry in Brazil is working from almost thirty years. The Brazilian government gave many incentives to people and industry to work on this useful fuel reservoir. In Brazil, sugar cane is the crop of, and it provides about 18 percent of the country's automotive fuel. In Brazil, sugar cane is the crop of, and it provides about 18 percent of the country's automotive fuel.

Ethanol Use: E10 Approximately 70 percent of all gasoline sold in the United States contains some ethanol. Most of that is in E10 blends –10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline - which can be used in any standard car engine.

Ethanol Use: E 15 and E85 E15 contains 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. This is generally the highest ratio of ethanol to gasoline that is possible to use in vehicles recommended by auto manufacturers to run on E10 in the U.S. E15 contains 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. This is generally the highest ratio of ethanol to gasoline that is possible to use in vehicles recommended by auto manufacturers to run on E10 in the U.S

Ethanol Use: E100 E100 is pure ethanol fuel. Straight hydrous ethanol as an automotive fuel has been widely used in Brazil since the late seventies. The first car to use pure ethanol is Ford Model T.

How to store and dispensed? Ethanol must be stored in tanks. They should not be mixed with other types of liquids. The E85 dispenser must use iron, unplated steel, or stainless steel in the fuel path. Aluminum nozzles should not be used with E85, and nozzles made from any aluminum alloy must be used with caution. A nickel-plated nozzle is the best choice

Advantages and Disadvantages Ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, reducing GHG emissions. By using more ethanol countries would be less dependent on foreign oil import, and volatile oil prices. Ethanol does not contain significant amounts of toxic materials such as lead and benzene In order to produce enough corn or grain or sugar cane to meet the demands of the ethanol industry, farmers may have to restrict how much of their crop will be available for other uses. There are not enough cars that run on E85. The fertilizer used to grow the corn runs off into streams and nearby water sources.

Political and Economic Barriers There are concerns with prices going up for crops such as corn and potatoes because they are being used more and more for fuel, and less crops will be going to the people for food supply. Politicians think it is a problem of our deficit because they are given ethanol subsidies.

Selling and Buying In the United States, ethanol is sold in many gas stations. They are sold in gallons

Ethanol Fun Facts It takes 1.5 gallons of ethanol (E-85) to drive as many miles as one gallon of gasoline. Every gallon of ethanol removes 53 cents from the Federal Highway Trust Fund because of a special tax break for producers. Today there are 134 ethanol plants in the U.S. Ethanol helps prevent wintertime problems by acting as a gas-line antifreeze Ethanol helps prevent wintertime problems by acting as a gas-line antifreeze

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