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from Natural Life Magazine, September/October
2006 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 . . . To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition, which includes access to this and other back issues. |
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