The Pros And Cons Of Ethanol As A Vehicle Fuel

Ethanol as a vehicle fuel is not a new concept. Henry Ford designed the framed Model T to run on alcohol, he said it was “the fuel of the future”. The oil companies thought otherwise, however the oil crisis of the early 1970s gave ethanol fuel the new lease of life. More than two trillion miles have been driven on ethanol blended fuels in the United States since 1980. Ethanol can save our future children generations of work by keeping our planet clean and prevent warfare.

Today our renewable fuel of the future is ethanol. Many of us know ethanol as E85 or other higher levels of ethanol blends. Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from various plant materials known as biomass. Ethanol is non-toxic and biodegradable. Ethanol is a clear, colorless liquid primarily made from corn,sugar or cellulosic feedstocks.The potential benefits of cellulosic feedstock is that it results in lower levels of greenhouse gases emissions into the atmosphere. Cellulosic ethanol use could reduce greenhouse gases by as much as 86 percent. In the United States, ethanol is mostly made up of corn grain. Ethanol is not meant for a fuel substitute but a fuel additive. Of gasoline

Ethanol blended fuels reduce tailpipe emissions of volatile organic compounds, which readily from the ozone in the atmosphere. Importantly, in reformulated gasoline areas where smod is of most concern, gasoline blend with ethanol must meet the same evaporative emissions standard as gasoline without ethanol.Without the use of indirect emissions average corn ethanol decreases greenhouse gases by 44 percent. Water usage has cut in half since 1998. Water is required to produce most of the energy we consume. For example a gallon of gasoline requires 2.5 to 8 gallons of water to produce. The average dry mill ethanol biorefinery uses 2.7 gallons of water per gallon of production. By comparison it takes 40 gallons of water to produce one cup of coffee or 4 gallons of water per pound of