Q: My father-in-law says that ethanol
(which he seems to use interchangeably with “biofuel”) is the way of the future.
Can you tell me what it is exactly and if it really is an environmentally
friendly and sustainable alternative to regular gasoline?
A: Biofuel is the term given to any fuel
produced from organic plant matter, rather than from fossil fuels. It can be
produced from specially grown crops, from agricultural waste, by using waste
vegetable oil or even with animal manure. There are a number of different
biofuels, but the ones we hear about the most these days are ethanol and
biodiesel.
Ethanol
Ethanol is a high octane fuel that is commercially produced
by the fermentation of plant sugars. In the United
States and Canada, it is typically made from
corn, while Latin American countries use sugar cane. It can also be produced
from cellulose materials such as agricultural and wood waste (including
cornstalks), fast-growing trees and grasses and crops like barley, wheat, rice,
sorghum, sunflower and potatoes.
In North America, ethanol
is often blended with gasoline at concentrations of seven to ten percent by
volume. All cars built since the 1970s can burn up to ten percent ethanol (E-10)
in the fuel mixture with no modification, no loss of performance and no threat
to vehicle warranties. In fact, ethanol’s
high octane level reduces the need for toxic anti-knock additives.
Ethanol can also be used in much higher proportions - up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline (E-85) - but only in what are called flexible fuel vehicles. These vehicles can
operate on straight gasoline or on any proportion of ethanol mixed with
gasoline, up to the 85 percent limit. A limited but growing number of flexible
fuel vehicles are now being produced by auto manufacturers.
The environmental benefits like reduced greenhouse gas
emissions are . . .
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