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The use of ethanol as a fuel for internal combustion engines, either alone or in combination with other fuels, has been given much attention mostly because of its possible environmental and long-term economical advantages over fossil fuel. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A colorized automobile engine The internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which combustion occurs in a confined space called a combustion chamber. ... For the workstation, see SGI Fuel. ... Coal rail cars in Ashtabula, Ohio Fossil fuels, also known as mineral fuels, are hydrocarbon-containing natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. ...

Both ethanol and methanol have been considered for this purpose. While both can be obtained from petroleum or natural gas, ethanol may be the most interesting because many believe it to be a renewable resource, easily obtained from sugar or starch in crops and other agricultural produce such as grain, sugarcane or even lactose. Since ethanol occurs in nature whenever yeast happens to find a sugar solution such as overripe fruit, most organisms have evolved some tolerance to ethanol, whereas methanol is toxic. When 10% alcohol fuel is mixed into gasoline, the result is known as gasohol. When 85% alcohol fuel is mixed into gasoline, the result is known as E85. Other experiments involve butanol, which can also be produced by fermentation of plants. This article has been identified as possibly containing errors. ... Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, tasteless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a very faint odor. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Natural gas (commonly referred to as gas in many countries, but note that gas is also an American and Canadian shortening of gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... A renewable resource is a natural resource that is not depleted when used by human beings. ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum at Kew Gardens, London Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6–37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe... Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... Logo used in the United States for E85 fuel E85 is an alcohol fuel mixture of 85% ethanol (ethyl alcohol, i. ... Butanol is a higher alcohol with a 4 carbon atom structure and a general formula of C4H10O. There are 4 different isomeric structures for butanol: butan-1-ol CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-OH (also n-butanol) butan-2-ol CH3-CH2-CH(OH)-CH3 (also sec-butanol) isobutyl alcohol CH3...

Alcohol is also increasingly used as an oxygenate for gasoline, as a replacement for MTBE. A fuel additive containing Oxygen in its chemical makeup. ... MTBE is highly flammable and is widely used as an oxygenate. ...

Ethanol fuels

Proposals to use alcohol as a fuel are generally concerned with its use in transportation, chiefly as a total or partial replacement for gasoline in cars and other road vehicles. However, other less conventional approaches have been advanced, such as the use of alcohol in fuel cells, either directly or as a feedstock for hydrogen production. A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... A fuel cell is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, but differing from the latter in that it is designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; i. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ...

To have a net energy gain, it is critical that detailed energy and input stock analyses be performed. Currently, all studies indicate a net energy loss in the production of Alcohol Fuel versus equivalent oil products. This is due to the use of petrochemicals for pesticides, fertilizers, and operation of farm and other machinery in the processing of the feed stock.

Fuel ethanol can be produced from a variety of crops, such as hemp, kenaf, sugarcane, sugar beets, switchgrass, maize, barley, potatoes, cassava, sunflower, etc. U.S. Marihuana production permit, from the film Hemp for Victory. ... Binomial name Hibiscus cannabinus L. Kenaf is the name of a hibiscus plant Hibiscus cannabinus and also the term for the fiber obtained from this plant. ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum at Kew Gardens, London Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6–37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe... Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ... Binomial name Panicum virgatum L. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), also called Tall Panic Grass, is a warm-season plant (C4 carbon fixation) and is one of the dominant species of the central North America tallgrass prairie. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (plural form: potatoes) (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, grown for its starchy tuber. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz The cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrate. ... Binomial name Helianthus annuus L. The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant in the Family Asteraceae with a large flower head (inflorescence). ...

Three countries have developed significant bio-ethanol programs: Brazil and Colombia (from sugarcane), and the United States (from maize). Ethanol for industrial use is often made synthetically from petroleum feedstock, typically by the catalytic hydration of ethylene with sulfuric acid as the catalyst. This process is cheaper than the production by fermentation. It can also be obtained via ethene or acetylene, from calcium carbide, coal, oil gas, and other sources. A catalyst (Greek: καταλύτης, catalytēs) is a substance that accelerates the rate (speed) of a chemical reaction (see also catalysis). ... Ethylene or ethene is the simplest alkene hydrocarbon, consisting of two carbon atoms and four hydrogens. ... The chemical compound acetylene, also known under IUPAC nomenclature (see IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry) as ethyne, was discovered in 1836 by Edmund Davy, in England. ... Chemical compound with the chemical formula CaC2. ...

Agricultural alcohol for fuel requires substantial amounts of cultivable land with fertile soils and water. It is hardly an option for densely occupied and industrialized regions like Western Europe. For example, even if Germany were to be entirely covered with sugarcane plantations, it would get only half of its present energy needs (including fuel and electricity), and even that only if we assume that sugarcane would grow in Germany at all. However, if the fuel alcohol is made of the stalks, wastes, clippings, straw, corn cobs, and other crop field trash, then no additional land is needed. However using these sources for this purpose would require additional replacement animal feedstock, fertilizers and electric power plant fuels.

Production and Distribution

Ethanol can be derived from corn, wheat, potato wastes, cheese whey, rice straw, sawdust, urban wastes, paper mill wastes, yard clippings, molasses, sugar cane, seaweed, surplus food crops, and other cellulose waste. Petroleum is also used to make industrial ethanol. Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a long-chain polymer polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose. ...

Ethanol, which is the same chemical as the alcohol in alcoholic beverages, can reach 96% purity by volume by distillation, and is as clear as water. This is enough for straight-ethanol combustion. For blending with gasoline, purities of 99.5 to 99.9% are required, depending on temperature, to avoid separation. These purities are produced using additional industrial processes. Ethanol in water is an azeotropic mixture which cannot be purified beyond 96% by distillation. Today, the most widely used purification method is a physical adsorption process using molecular sieves. Ethanol is flammable and pure ethanol burns more cleanly than many other fuels. Assuming it is derived from biomass, the combustion of ethanol produces no net carbon dioxide. When fully combusted, its combustion products are only carbon dioxide and water which are also the by-products of regular cellulose waste decomposition. For this reason, it is favoured for environmentally conscious transport schemes and has been used to fuel public buses. However, pure ethanol reacts with or dissolves certain rubber and plastic materials and cannot be used in unmodified engines. Additionally, pure ethanol has a much higher octane rating acording to http://www.ethanol.org:/autoracing.html has 113, than ordinary gasoline, requiring changes to the compression ratio or spark timing to obtain maximum benefit. To change a gasoline-fueled car into an pure-ethanol-fueled car, larger carburetor jets (about 30-40% larger by area) are needed. (Methanol requires an even larger increase in area, to roughly 50% larger.) A cold starting system is also needed to ensure sufficient vaporization for temperatures below 15 °C (59 °F) to maximize combustion and minimize uncombusted nonvaporized ethanol. If 10 to 30% ethanol is mixed with gasoline, no engine modification is typically needed. Many modern cars can run on the mixture very reliably. Bottles of cachaça, a Brazilian alcoholic beverage. ... Strathisla whisky distillery in Keith, Scotland Distillation is a means of separating liquids through differences in their vapor pressures. ... An azeotrope is a liquid mixture of two or more components which has a unique constant boiling point. ... A molecular sieve is a material containing tiny pores of a precise and uniform size that is used as an adsorbent for gases and liquids. ... For the workstation, see SGI Fuel. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Combustion or burning is a chemical process, an exothermic reaction between a substance (the fuel) and a gas (the oxidizer), usually O2, to release heat. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter; c. ... Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a long-chain polymer polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose. ... Skytrain Bangkok. ... TheBus, established by Mayor Frank Fasi, is Honolulus only public transit system. ... Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky emulsion (known as latex) in the sap of a number of plants but can also be produced synthetically. ... Plastic is a term that covers a range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products. ... The octane rating is the most important characteristic of gasoline (petrol) and other fuels used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines. ... Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... The carburetor (American spelling, carburettor or carburetter in Commonwealth countries, carb for short, or carbie (slang)) is a device which mixes air and fuel for an internal-combustion engine. ...

A mixture containing gasoline with approximately 10% ethanol is known as gasohol. It was introduced nationwide in Denmark, and in 1989, Brazil produced 12 billion litres of fuel ethanol from sugar cane, which was used to power 9.2 million cars. It is also commonly available in the Midwest of the United States and is the only type of gasoline allowed to be sold in the state of Minnesota. The most common gasohol variant is "E10", containing 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. Other blends include E5 and E7. These concentrations are generally safe for recent, unmodified automobile engines, and some regions and municipalities mandate that the locally-sold fuels contain limited amounts of ethanol. One way to measure alternative fuels in the US is the "gasoline-equivalent gallons" (GEG). In 2002, the U.S. used as fuel an amount of ethanol equal to 137 petajoules (PJ), the energy of 1.13 billion US gallons (4,280,000 m³) of gasoline. This was less than 1% of the total fuel used that year.[1] The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... State nickname: North Star State, The Land of 10,000 Lakes, The Gopher State Official languages None Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) Senators Mark Dayton (D) Norm Coleman (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 12th 225,365 km² 8. ... Alternative fuels often have different caloric values (energy content) than gasoline. ... The joule (symbol: J) is the SI unit of energy, or work. ...

The term "E85" is used for a mixture of 15% (by volume) gasoline and 85% ethanol. This mixture has an octane rating of about 105. This is down significantly from pure ethanol but still much higher than normal gasoline. The addition of a small amount of gasoline helps the engine under cold start conditions. E85 does not always contain exactly 85% ethanol. In winter, especially in colder climates, additional gasoline is added (to facilitate cold start). E85 has traditionally been similar in cost to gasoline, but with the large oil prices seen during 2005 it has become common to see E85 sold for as much as $0.70 less per gallon than gasoline, making it highly attractive to the small but growing number of motorists with cars capable of burning it. With no real hope of large long-term reductions in oil prices, the long term cost-competitiveness (even without tax subsidies) of E85 seems assured. Logo used in the United States for E85 fuel E85 is an alcohol fuel mixture of 85% ethanol (ethyl alcohol, i. ...

Beginning with the model year 1999, an increasing number of vehicles in the world are manufactured with engines which can run on any gasoline from 0% ethanol up to 85% ethanol without modification. Many light trucks (a class containing minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks) are designed to be dual fuel or flexible fuel vehicles, since they can automatically detect the type of fuel and change the engine's behavior, principally air-to-fuel ratio and ignition timing to compensate for the different octane levels of the fuel in the engine cylinders. Light truck is a vehicle classification generally used by the United States government for regulating fuel economy and safety. ... A modern minivan - 2004 Chrysler Town & Country Typical early minivan (a Dodge Caravan) A minivan, or people carrier (British English), is a type of vehicle (considered an Multi Purpose Vehicle in Europe) developed independently by Matra/Renault and the Chrysler Corporation. ... A sport utility vehicle (SUV) or off-roader, known in some countries as a four wheel drive, (often abbreviated to 4WD or 4x4 - pronounced four-by-four) or soft roaders, is a type of passenger vehicle which combines the load-hauling and passenger-carrying capacity of a large station wagon... Mazda compact Pickup truck with extended cabin and homebuilt lumber rack. ... A flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an automobile or truck (lorry) that can accept a range of fuel mixtures. ... A flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an automobile or truck (lorry) that can accept a range of fuel mixtures. ...

In the past, when farmers distilled their own ethanol, they sometimes used radiators as part of the still. The radiators often contained lead, which would get into the ethanol. Lead entered the air during the burning of contaminated fuel, possibly leading to neural damage. However this was a minor source of lead since tetraethyl lead was used as a gasoline additive. Today, ethanol for fuel use is produced almost exclusively from purpose built plants eliminating any use of lead. The term still is a contraction of the verb to distill. A still is an apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible (eg. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish white Atomic mass 207. ... Tetra-ethyl lead (also known as TEL, lead tetraethyl and tetraethyllead) is a toxic organometallic chemical compound, with formula (CH2CH3)4Pb, which was once used as a gasoline (petrol) additive. ...

In Brazil and the United States, the use of ethanol from sugar cane and grain as car fuel has been promoted by government programs. Some individual U.S. states in the corn belt began subsidizing ethanol from corn (maize) after the Arab oil embargo of 1973. The Energy Tax Act of 1978 authorized an excise tax exemption for biofuels, chiefly gasohol. The excise tax exemption alone has been estimated as worth US$1.4 billion per year. Another U.S. federal program guaranteed loans for the construction of ethanol plants, and in 1986 the U.S. even gave ethanol producers free corn. Species Ref: ITIS 42058 as of 2004-05-05 Sugarcane is one of six species of a tall tropical southeast Asian grass (Family Poaceae) having stout fibrous jointed stalks whose sap at one time was the primary source of sugar. ... A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, with the District of Columbia, forms the United States of America. ... Categories: US geography stubs | Belt regions of the United States ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... (Redirected from 1973 energy crisis) United States, drivers of vehicles with odd numbered license plates were allowed to purchase gasoline only on odd-numbered days of the month, while drivers with even-numbers were limited to even-numbered days. ... The Energy Tax Act (Public Law 95-318) was a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1978 as part of the National Energy Act. ... Biofuel is any fuel that derives from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows. ... This article is about general United States currency. ...

In August 2005, President Bush signed a comprehensive energy bill which included a requirement to increase the production of ethanol and biodiesel from 4 to 7.5 billion US gallons (15,000,000 to 28,000,000 m³) within the next ten years. It is expected that in the short term the majority of this increase will come from ethanol produced from corn. George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and the 43rd and current President of the United States. ...

Other alcohols

See also Methanol fuel

Although not as common as ethanol, other fuel alcohols have been considered, notably methanol, butanol, and propanol. These alcohols are toxic, although the latter two are considerably less toxic than methanol, and considerably less volatile. In particular, butanol has a high flashpoint of 35 °C, which is a benefit for fire safety, but a difficulty for starting engines, particularly in cold weather. (In comparison, ethanol has a flashpoint of 13 °C; methanol has a flashpoint of 11 °C; and propanol has a flashpoint of 15 °C.) Liquid fuels are those combustible or energy-generating molecules which can be harnessed to create mechanical energy, which in turn usually produces kinetic energy, and which also must take the shape of their container. ... Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, tasteless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a very faint odor. ... Butanol is a higher alcohol with a 4 carbon atom structure and a general formula of C4H10O. There are 4 different isomeric structures for butanol: butan-1-ol CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-OH (also n-butanol) butan-2-ol CH3-CH2-CH(OH)-CH3 (also sec-butanol) isobutyl alcohol CH3... Propanol, also known as 1-propyl alcohol, is a higher alcohol with a three carbon atoms. ... The flashpoint of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which it can form an ignitable mix with air. ...

The fermentation processes to produce butanol and propanol from cellulose are fairly tricky to execute, and the Weizmann organism (Clostridium acetobutylicum) used to perform these conversions produces an extremely bad smell that must be considered when designing and locating a fermentation plant. Clostridium acetobutylicum () is a commercially valuable bacterium, included in the genus Clostridium. ...

One advantage shared by all four alcohols is octane rating. Butanol has the additional attraction that its energy per kilogram is closer to gasoline than the other alcohols (while still retaining over 25% higher octane rating). Butanol is a higher alcohol with a 4 carbon atom structure and a general formula of C4H10O. There are 4 different isomeric structures for butanol: butan-1-ol CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-OH (also n-butanol) butan-2-ol CH3-CH2-CH(OH)-CH3 (also sec-butanol) isobutyl alcohol CH3...

As of 2005, production of all four alcohols from petroleum is cheaper than fermentation and extraction from biomass, but this is expected to change as fermentation and extraction processes become more efficient while petroleum becomes more expensive. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ethanol and hydrogen

A view is emerging that current consumers of fossil fuels should move to using hydrogen as a fuel, creating a new so-called hydrogen economy. However, hydrogen is not a fuel source in and of itself. Rather, it is merely an intermediate energy storage medium existing between an energy source (be it solar power, biofuels, and nuclear power) and the place where the energy will be used. Because hydrogen in its gaseous state takes up a very large volume when compared to other fuels, logistics becomes a very difficult problem. One possible solution is to use ethanol to transport the hydrogen, then liberate the hydrogen from its associated carbon in a hydrogen reformer and feed the hydrogen into a fuel cell. Alternatively, some fuel cells can be directly fed by ethanol or methanol. As of 2005, fuel cells are able to process methanol more efficiently than ethanol. General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... A hydrogen economy is a hypothetical future economy in which the primary form of stored energy for mobile applications and load balancing is hydrogen (H2). ... Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ... Biofuel is any fuel that derives from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Volume, also called capacity, is a quantification of how much space an object occupies. ... It has been suggested that Logistics Overview be merged into this article or section. ... A hydrogen reformer is a device that extracts the hydrogen contained in other fuels. ... A fuel cell is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, but differing from the latter in that it is designed for continuous replenishment of the reactants consumed; i. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In early 2004, researchers at the University of Minnesota announced that they had invented a simple ethanol reactor that would take ethanol, feed it through a stack of catalysts, and output hydrogen suitable for a fuel cell. The device uses a rhodium-cerium catalyst for the initial reaction, which occurs at a temperature of about 700 °C. This initial reaction mixes ethanol, water vapor, and oxygen and produces good quantities of hydrogen. Unfortunately, it also results in the formation of carbon monoxide, a substance that "chokes" most fuel cells and must be passed through another catalyst to be converted into carbon dioxide. (The odorless, colorless, and tasteless carbon monoxide is also a significant toxic hazard if it escapes through the fuel cell into the exhaust, or if the conduits between the catalytic sections leak.) The ultimate products of the simple device are roughly 50% hydrogen gas and 30% nitrogen, with the remaining 20% mostly composed of carbon dioxide. Both the nitrogen and carbon dioxide are fairly inert when the mixture is pumped into an appropriate fuel cell. Once the carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere, where it can be reabsorbed by plant life. No net carbon dioxide is released, though it could be argued that while it is in the atmosphere, it does act as a greenhouse gas. UMN redirects here. ... A catalyst (Greek: καταλύτης, catalytÄ“s) is a substance that accelerates the rate (speed) of a chemical reaction (see also catalysis). ... Rh redirects here. ... General Name, Symbol, Number cerium, Ce, 58 Chemical series lanthanides Group, Period, Block ?, 6, f Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 140. ... In English, to be inert is to be in a state of doing little or nothing. ...

EEI has developed a new method for producing butanol from biomass. This process involves the use of two separate micro-organisms in sequence to minimize production of acetone and ethanol byproducts. Interestingly, this process produces significant amounts of hydrogen as well as butanol. [2][3] Butanol is a higher alcohol with a 4 carbon atom structure and a general formula of C4H10O. There are 4 different isomeric structures for butanol: butan-1-ol CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-OH (also n-butanol) butan-2-ol CH3-CH2-CH(OH)-CH3 (also sec-butanol) isobutyl alcohol CH3...

Alternate sources

Sugar cane grows in the extreme southern United States, but not in the cooler climates where corn is dominant. However, many regions that currently grow corn are also appropriate areas for growing other crops that can be used for energy production. These crops include corn stover, sugar beets, wheat straw, hybrid poplars, and dedicated herbaceous biomass feedstocks such as switchgrass or bermudagrass. Some studies indicate that using these sugar beets would be a much more efficient method for making ethanol in the U.S. than using corn. United States Department of Energy reports have shown that a minimum farmgate price, hybrid poplars and switchgrass would be economically advantageous over conventional crops in certain regions of the U.S. Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ... Binomial name Panicum virgatum L. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), also called Tall Panic Grass, is a warm-season plant (C4 carbon fixation) and is one of the dominant species of the central North America tallgrass prairie. ...

In the 1980s, Brazil seriously considered producing ethanol from cassava, a major food crop with massive starchy roots. However yields were lower than sugarcane, and the processing of cassava was considerably more complex, as it would require cooking the root to turn the starch into fermentable sugar. The babaçu plant was also investigated as a possible source of alcohol. Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz The cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrate. ...

There is also growing interest in the use of waste biomass as a source for alcohol other types of fuel. New technologies such as cellulose to ethanol production could provide much higher positive energy ratios of 2 to 3 times more energy in ethanol produced than input. Cellulose to ethanol production could also run on any cellulose and hemicellulose source from farm waste, hay/grass, basically any plant matter including wood, cardboard and paper. Theoretically farms could produce fuel without sacrificing food production, because all that is needed is the left over plant matter after harvesting. Cellulose to ethanol production is still in development and has seen limited use in industrial ethanol production. However, a bioenergy corporation in Canada is producing 1 million gallons/year of cellulosic ethanol from their Ottawa facility. Using current technologies, 1 ton of biomass (such as switchgrass) would be able to produce 80 gallons of ethanol using a conventional enzymatic fermentation process. The biggest challenges in using cellulose as a feedstock is the treatment and disposal of process waste and the conversion of C₅ sugars (hemicellulose). Lignin, a part of the cell wall that provides plant structure, does not readily break down to simple sugars but has a energy equivalent of soft coal. Lignin would be incinerated to produce energy for the ethanol plant and surrounding areas or gasified to produce a syngas (hydrogen and carbon dioxide). Unlike grain based processes which produce a by-product known as distillers grain with minimal waste treatment needs, cellulosic processes are typically effluent and waste treatment intensive. Biomass is organic non-fossil material, collectively. ... Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a long-chain polymer polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose. ... Lignin is a chemical compound that is an integral part of the cell walls of some cells, e. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). ...

Distiller grain is a protein enriched animal feed with much higher nutritional value than natural grain and is typically priced at less than half that of natural grain. It therefore tends to be a desirable product for animal feeders. Approximately one-third of grain usage in the production of ethanol in modern plants is recovered as distillers grain.[4] [5] [6]

At this time, most of the different processes for converting biomass into ethanol and other fuels are very complicated and not particularly efficient. A few processes have seen increasing buzz, including thermal depolymerization (though that process produces what is described as light crude oil). Word of mouth is the passing of information by verbal means, especially recommendations, but also general information, in an informal, person-to-person manner, rather than by mass media, advertising, organized publication, or traditional marketing. ... Thermal depolymerization (TDP) is a process for the reduction of complex organic materials (usually waste products of various sorts, often known as biomass) into light crude oil. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petrus – rock and oleum – oil), mineral oil, or crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths...

It is possible to decompose cellulose into sugar in strong or weak solutions of sulphuric acid, but this process also decomposes and wastes perhaps half the potential sugar content and creates large amounts of acidic waste, so scientists are searching for more efficient and less polluting enzymatic and microbial processes for breaking down cellulose into sugar.

Another approach under development is to gasify biomass by heating it in an oxygen-poor environment. This yields hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide as well as noncombustible carbon dioxide and nitrogen compounds. Bacterial cultures have been isolated that can convert the reactive gasses into ethanol, which is then distilled out of the liquid medium.

Economics of corn ethanol in the U.S.A.

While the energy balance of ethanol production is controversial and estimates vary widely, the economics are more certain. Ethanol production from corn costs $1.10 per US gallon (290 $/m²). [7] This figure takes into account a government subsidy of $0.214 per US gallon (57 $/m²). Additionally, corn farmers receive subsidies equivalent to about $0.61 per US gallon (161 $/m²) of ethanol. Finally, the government subsidizes $0.54 per US gallon (143 $/m²) of ethanol sold as fuel. Totaling these subsidies and including the $1.10 cost of production gives $2.464 per US gallon (651 $/m²) of ethanol.

The national trade deficit (USA) has risen to an all time high of $686 billion. Most of this rise has been attributed to the record high prices of crude oil ($67/barrel). [8] Domestic production of ethanol for fuel has the potential to ease this deficit, as paying US farmers for their ethanol is much cheaper than buying petrol or diesel from foreign nations.

Ethanol production from corn is less economical than ethanol production from sugar cane. Corn ethanol yields less work power than does sugar cane ethanol. Also, energy extraction from sugar cane is currently more effective. A cost-benefit analysis between these two options tips in the favor or promoting sugar cane ethanol extraction. This would do little to ease the trade deficit as the United States would have to import sugar cane. The United States government will be required to make significant decisions and commitments before definitely choosing to make ethanol and alternative fuel source.

Net fuel energy balance

To be viable, an alcohol-based fuel economy should have positive net fuel energy balance. Namely, the total fuel energy expended in producing the alcohol — including fertilizing, farming, harvesting, transport, fermentation, distillation, and distribution, as well as the fuel used in building the farm and fuel plant equipment — should not exceed the energy contents of the product. Energy balance has the following meanings in several fields: In physics, energy balance is a systematic presentation of energy flows and transformations in a system. ... Fertilizers or fertilisers are compounds given to plants with the intention of promoting growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar spraying, for uptake through leaves. ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... This article is about gathering crops. ... In its strictest sense, fermentation (formerly called zymnosis) is the anaerobic metabolic breakdown of a nutrient molecule, such as glucose, without net oxidation. ... Strathisla whisky distillery in Keith, Scotland Distillation is a means of separating liquids through differences in their vapor pressures. ...

This is a controversial subject charged with potential bias. Much of it depends on what is included and what is excluded from the calculation, particularly when compared with the energy balance of the production of gasoline itself. Analyses are greatly complicated by various methods of accounting for the energy value coproducts and consideration of alternate uses of the feedstock. Not surprisingly, this debate has been at best inconclusive to date.

Switching to a system with negative fuel energy balance would only increase the consumption of non-alcohol fuels. Such a system would only be worth considering as a way of exploiting non-alcohol fuels that may not be suitable for transportation use, such as coal, natural gas, or biofuel from crop residues. (Indeed, many U.S. proposals assume the use of natural gas for distillation.) However, many of the expected environmental and sustainability advantages of alcohol fuels would not be realized in a system with negative fuel balance. Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). ... Natural gas (commonly referred to as gas in many countries, but note that gas is also an American and Canadian shortening of gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ... Biofuel is any fuel that derives from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows. ... ...

Even a positive but small energy balance would be problematic: if the net fuel energy balance is 50%, then, in order to eliminate the use of non-alcohol fuels, it would be necessary to produce two units of alcohol for each unit of alcohol delivered to the consumer.

In this regard, geography is the decisive factor. In tropical regions with abundant water and land resources, such as Brazil, the viability of production of ethanol from sugarcane is no longer in question; in fact, the burning of sugarcane residues (bagasse) generates far more energy than needed to operate the ethanol plants, and many of them are now selling electric energy to the utilities. Also, in countries with abundant hydroelectric power, the net fuel energy balance of the cycle could be improved to some extent by using electricity in the production, e.g. for milling and distillation. Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum at Kew Gardens, London Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6–37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe...

The picture is quite different for other regions, such as the United States, where the climate is too cool for sugarcane. In the U.S., agricultural ethanol is generally obtained from grain, chiefly maize, and the net fuel energy balance of that route is still critical. Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ...

Energy balance in the United States

One study has concluded that the use of corn ethanol for fuel would have a negative net energy balance. Namely, the total energy needed to produce ethanol from grain — including fermentation, fertilizing, fuel for farm tractors, harvesting and transporting the grain, building and operating an ethanol plant, and the natural gas used to distill corn sugars into alcohol — exceeds the energy content of ethanol. However, all subsequent studies have concluded that ethanol production yields more energy than it consumes (most agree on a ratio of 1.34:1 — [9] and see below). Net Energy Gain is an important concept in energy economics, referring to the difference between the energy required to harvest the energy source against the energy provided by using that source. ... Fertilizers or fertilisers are compounds given to plants with the intention of promoting growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar spraying, for uptake through leaves. ... This article is about gathering crops. ... Natural gas (commonly referred to as gas in many countries, but note that gas is also an American and Canadian shortening of gasoline) is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane. ...

Using old data greatly affects the outcome in these studies. According to the USDA, farms have become more energy efficient since 1978 due in large part to replacing gasoline powered equipment with more fuel-efficient diesel engines. Total farm energy use peaked in 1978 at 2,244 trillion Btu (2.368 EJ), but by 2000 had dropped to about 1,600 trillion Btu (1.7 EJ). In the meantime, corn production rose from an average of 110 bushels per acre (6.9 Mg/ha) in 1980 to 140 bushels per acre (8.8 Mg/ha) in 2000. The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of energy still used in the United States. ... The joule (symbol: J) is the SI unit of energy, or work. ...

A study by Cornell University ecology professor David Pimentel seemed to confirm this conclusion. Pimentel's study was disputed by other specialists, forcing him to revise his figures. Still, in August 2003 (and again in March 2005), he stated in a Cornell bulletin that production of ethanol from corn takes 29% more energy than it produces, ethanol from switch grass requires 45% more energy and ethanol from wood biomass requires 57% more energy that it produces [10]. However, he concluded yield was 218 US gallons per acre (204 m³/km²) of gasoline equivalent, due to the energy in ethanol being only 66% that of gasoline. Cornell University is a research university whose main campus is located on the East Hill of Ithaca, New York, and whose two medical campuses are located in New York City and in Education City, Qatar, near Doha. ... (Ecology is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for the natural environment. ...

Pimentel also calculated it corn (maize) production requires about 115 US gallons per acre (108 m³/km²) of gasoline equivalent. Thus, he calculated a net energy production of 103 US gallons per acre (96 m³/km²), while his studies somehow all concluded a net energy loss in producing ethanol. Critics of Pimentel's study cite questionable deductions, for example; 1,000,000 Btu per acre (260 kJ/m²) for labor, 5,656,000 Btu per acre (1474 kJ/m²) for machinery, as well as additional deductions for steel and concrete production and construction of ethanol refineries, while not saying from where these numbers were derived. (Shapouri, Hosein, James A. Duffield, Michael Wang. The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update. USDA: Office of the Chief Economist; Office of Energy Policy and New Uses. Washington, DC. July, 2002) Pimentel’s work has been largely criticized and discredited by subsequent studies.

It is only fair to hold gasoline to the same standard that ethanol is being put through. The focus of the USDA report, and others, was on ethanol and the energy balance equation, but according to a report by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, when taking into account the energy needed to extract, transport and refine crude oil into gasoline, the final energy product of gasoline has an energy ratio of 0.805. That means ethanol production is 81% more energy efficient than gasoline. (Groschen <http://www.mda.state.mn.us/Ethanol/balance.html>)

Continuous refinements to ethanol production procedures have much improved the benefit/cost ratio, and most studies of modern systems indicate that they now have a positive net energy balance. Also, when ethanol is mixed with water vapor and converted into hydrogen, it does not need to be as pure as when it is used in a combustion engine, making the process more efficient. (see source below)

Many other studies of corn ethanol production have been conducted, with greatly varied net energy estimates. Most indicate that production requires energy equivalent to 1/2, 2/3, or more of the fuel produced to run the process. A 2002 report by the United States Department of Agriculture concluded that corn ethanol production in the U.S. has a net energy value of 1.34, meaning 34% more energy was produced than what went in. This means that 75% (1/1.34) of each unit produced is required to replace the energy used in production. The study also concluded that the energy used to produce and convert the ethanol was from abundant domestic sources, with only 17% of the energy used coming from liquid fuels, therefore, for every 1 unit of energy from of liquid fuel used, such as gasoline or diesel fuel, there was a gain of 6.34 units of energy. MSU Ethanol Energy Balance Study: Michigan State University, May 2002. This comprehensive, independent study funded by MSU shows that corn ethanol production has a net energy value of 1.56: it produces 56% more energy per unit volume of ethanol than it consumes. Nevertheless, as noted earlier, these relatively small energy gains are problematic, for they imply that between 2.79 (assuming net energy value 1.56) and 3.94 (assuming net energy value 1.34) units of ethanol must be produced for each unit of ethanol that can be sold to consumers. Actual net energy values might be improved by measures such as burning corn stalks (which are not fermentable using current technology) to run some parts of the corn ethanol production process that currently consume petroleum, gas, or ethanol (similarly to the way bagasse is currently burned to produce energy to run the ethanol production facilities in Brazil). As of 2005, ethanol production from corn has a long way to go (or requires a great rise in the cost of petroleum) before it will become economically viable without government subsidies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Arguments and criticisms

The use of alcohol as fuel is advocated with various arguments, mainly relating to its beneficial effects on the local and global environment, its independence from foreign oil, and its economic advantages. Critics generally dispute those arguments, claim that the switch would be expensive, and object to perceived need for increased government subsidies, taxes, and regulations.

Air pollution

There has long been widespread acknowledgement that ethanol is a cleaner-burning fuel than gasoline. Ethanol has far fewer standard regulated pollutants such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, compared with plain gasoline in equivalent tests. See, for example, the air pollution and environmental studies listed at the Renewable Fuels Association website http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pubs.shtml

There has been concern about increased evaporative smog-forming hydrocarbon emissions. For example, the conservative organization RPPI claims that "adding ethanol to gasoline will at best have no effect on air quality and could even make it worse. Studies show ethanol could even increase emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which are major ingredients of smog." [11] Other critics have argued that the beneficial effects of ethanol can be achieved with other cheaper additives made from petroleum.

It is important to distinguish the issues. Ethanol in a blend with gasoline replaces tetra ethyl lead, benzene and MTBE -- all of which are additives that are meant to raise octane levels. Ethanol, with an octane rating of 110, far surpasses regular gasoline and precludes needs for other dangerous additives. However, ethanol can increase vapor pressure of gasoline causing increased evaporative emissions which, on balance, are far less serious than lead, benzene or MTBE.

Ethanol as a straight fuel is far cleaner than gasoline in its own right and this has been recognized from the dawn of the automotive age. See, for instance, Kovarik's "Fuel of the Future" http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/lead

Fire safety

Ethanol appears to be less of a fire hazard than gasoline; while methanol, being more volatile, is somewhat more prone to fire and explosions. However, since ethanol and methanol dissolve in water (rather than floating on it like gasoline) their fires can be extinguished with ordinary water hoses.

One of the problems with accidental combustion of pure ethanol is that it burns with a dim, blue flame, with invisible smoke. Methanol flames are dim enough to be considered invisible in daylight. Blending significant amounts of gasoline produces a highly visible flame; small quantities of dye can also produce this effect.

Greenhouse gases

A separate (and perhaps more important) benefit of switching to an ethanol fuel economy would be the decreased net output of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂), since all the CO₂ that would be liberated in the manufacture and consumption of ethanol would have to be absorbed by the plantations. In contrast, the burning of fossil fuels injects massive amounts of "new" CO₂ into the atmosphere, without creating a corresponding sink. Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon-containing natural resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas. ...

Needless to say, this advantage will be accrued only with agricultural ethanol, not with ethanol derived from petroleum — which, due to its much smaller cost, presently accounts for most of the alcohol produced for industrial consumption. This point must be taken into account when estimating the cost of the switch.

However, this assumes processes such as distillation of ethanol and production of fertiliser which require large amounts of energy would be done without using fossil fuels.

Renewable resource

According to its proponents, another advantage of (agricultural) alcohol as a fuel is that it is a renewable energy source that will never be exhausted; whereas an economy based on fossil fuels will sooner or later collapse when the world runs out of oil. Renewable energy (sources) or RES capture their energy from existing flows of energy, from on-going natural processes, such as sunshine, wind, flowing water, biological processes, and geothermal heat flows. ...

However, David Pimentel disputes that "ethanol production from corn" is a renewable energy source. However, Pimentel's studies have been widely discredited, and also fails to compare other viable sources of ethanol such as Sugar beets and Sugarcane. Renewable energy (sources) or RES capture their energy from existing flows of energy, from on-going natural processes, such as sunshine, wind, flowing water, biological processes, and geothermal heat flows. ... Two sugar beets - the one on the left has been cultivated to be smoother than the traditional beet, so that it traps less soil. ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum at Kew Gardens, London Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6–37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe...

Dependency on foreign oil and international crime

A somewhat related (but more compelling) argument is that developed regions like the United States and Europe consume much more fossil fuels than they can extract from their territory, therefore becoming dependant upon foreign suppliers as a result. As such, this dependency has become a major cause of oil wars and coups d'etat initiated by Western powers, and attendant misery and human rights violations in certain oil-producing countries allied with the West. Even if the energy balance is negative, US production involves mostly domestic fuels such as natural gas and coal, so the impact on oil importation is still positive. Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ...

Statism

Some critics, mainly on ideological grounds, dislike the idea of an ethanol economy because they see it as leading to increased government subsidy for corn-growing agribusiness, and statism. The Archer Daniels Midland Corporation of Decatur, Illinois, better known as ADM, the world's largest grain processor, produces 40% of the ethanol used to make gasohol in the U.S. The company and its officers have been eloquent in their defense of ethanol and generous in contributing to both political parties. In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the various businesses involved in the food production chain, including farming, seed, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesaling, processing, distribution, and retail sales. ... Statism is a term that is used in a variety of disciplines (economics, sociology, education policy etc) to describe a system that involves a significant interventionist role for the state in economic or social affairs. ... The Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), based in Decatur, Illinois, operates more than 270 plants worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into numerous products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial and animal feed markets worldwide. ... The Decatur Transfer House in the background with a newly completed fountain in the foreground. ...

Tax Incentives for ethanol and petroleum: U.S. General Accounting Office, September 2000. This study examines subsidies historically given to the oil industry and to the ethanol industry and finds that the amounts of those to the oil industry are far higher. At the same time, this study applies only to historical subsidies and doesn't investigate the question of what the case would be if petroleum fuels were substantially replaced by ethanol.

Cost

Some economists have argued that using bioalcohol as a petroleum substitute is economically infeasible because the energy required to grow the corn and other crops used as fuel is greater than the amount ultimately produced. They argue that government programs that mandate the use of bioalcohol are simply agricultural subsidies enacted to gain votes from heavily agricultural states, especially Iowa. However, this reflects a lack of understanding of the motor fuel industry; production of gasoline also requires more energy input than the fuel itself provides, but the trade-off is worthwhile because it converts less portable forms of energy (electricity for pumps, burning off crude oil for heat at refineries, etc.) into a high-value (portable, easily used) form of energy. As of 2005, ethanol production has actually become much more energy-efficient than gasoline production, with energy inputs as low as 70% of the energy value of the ethanol produced. State nickname: The Hawkeye State Official languages English Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Governor Thomas Vilsack (D) Senators Chuck Grassley (R) Tom Harkin (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 26th 145,743 km² 0. ...

Ethanol fuel in Colombia

Colombia’s first sugarcane ethanol plant began production in 2005, with output of 300,000 liters a day in the southwestern department of Cauca, the government said.

The $20 million Ingenio del Cauca plant owned by businessman Carlos Ardila is the first of five plants with a total investment of $100 million which should begin operation over the next few months.

The government aims to gradually convert the nation’s auto fuel supplies to a mixture of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.

Ethanol plants are being encouraged by tax breaks.

Ethanol production should help to decrease Colombia’s dependency on gasoline at a time when its oil production is decreasing as well as reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

In the past year, many small amounts of petroleum deposits have been discovered in colombia. It is estimated that Colombia is sitting on 5 billion barrels of petroleum.

Ethanol fuel in Brazil

Main article: Ethanol fuel in Brazil

Since the 1980s, Brazil has developed an extensive domestic ethanol fuel industry upon sugarcane production and refining. Ethanol plants in Brazil maintain a positive energy balance by burning the non-sugar waste from sugarcane. An early poster promoting alcohol fuel warns Brazilians not to mix standard petrol with alcohol fuel, and not to use alcohol in unconverted engines In Brazil, ethanol fuel is produced from sugar cane which is a more efficient source of fermentable carbohydrates than corn as well as much easier to... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum at Kew Gardens, London Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6–37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe...

U.S. National security

It is believed by some (including former CIA director James Woolsey and Frank Gaffney, President Reagan's undersecretary of defense [12]) that oil consumption in the U.S. contributes in a large way to the funding of terrorism. Oil is the primary source of revenue for many mid-east countries. Many of these countries are thought to harbor and/or fund terrorist organizations. The use of alternative fuels would divert money away from these nations. Ideally, instead of funding terrorism, this money would then be used to fuel the U.S. economy. The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Robert James Woolsey, Jr. ... Frank J. Gaffney Jr. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... Alternative fuel refers to methods of powering an engine that do not involve petroleum (oil). ...

See also

• List of energy topics
• biodiesel
• biofuel
• biomass
• butanol from Clostridium acetobutylicum
• sugarcane

• liquid fuels
• oil crisis
• Timeline of Alcohol Fuel

• Landless Movement (Movimento dos Sem-Terra) under Politics of Brazil

This list identifies articles and categories that relate to energy. ... Biodiesel sample Biodiesel is fuel made from renewable materials such as vegetable oils or animal fats. ... Biofuel is any fuel that derives from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows. ... Biomass is organic non-fossil material, collectively. ... Butanol is a higher alcohol with a 4 carbon atom structure and a general formula of C4H10O. There are 4 different isomeric structures for butanol: butan-1-ol CH3-CH2-CH2-CH2-OH (also n-butanol) butan-2-ol CH3-CH2-CH(OH)-CH3 (also sec-butanol) isobutyl alcohol CH3... Clostridium acetobutylicum () is a commercially valuable bacterium, included in the genus Clostridium. ... Species Saccharum arundinaceum Saccharum bengalense Saccharum edule Saccharum officinarum Saccharum procerum Saccharum ravennae Saccharum robustum Saccharum sinense Saccharum spontaneum Sugar cane Saccharum officinarum at Kew Gardens, London Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of between 6–37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall grasses (family Poaceae, tribe... Liquid fuels are those combustible or energy-generating molecules which can be harnessed to create mechanical energy, usually producing kinetic energy, and which also must take the shape of their container. ... An Energy Crisis is any great shortfall (or price rise) in the supply of energy to an economy. ... Ethanol is the main alcohol fuel used to run cars, other vehicles, and machinery, instead of gasoline. ... Brazil is a federal republic with 26 states and a federal district (see: States of Brazil). ...

External links

• Ethanol Facts, provided by the National Corn Growers Association.
• U.S. Department of Energy: Biomass Program.
• U.S. Department of Energy: Clean Cities. Includes info on flexible fuel vehicles.
• Zen Alcohol Stoves. Includes info on alcohol fuels for stove use.
• Ethanol as Fuel - Documentation that Ethanol consumes more energy to make than is derived from its burning.
• American Coalition for Ethanol: www.ethanol.org. Advocacy group.
• Methanol Institute: [13] Article about methanol in race cars.
• How To Run Your Car On Alcohol Fuel - A 1982 book, now published online, with information on converting gasoline cars to use ethanol.
• Farm Industry News: Hydrogen Corn Economy. Article about converting ethanol to hydrogen.
• Making Alcohol Fuel - A website that covers the use and production of ethanol as a fuel.
• Renewable Fuel Association [14]
• National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition [15] Shows locations of E85 fuel pumps in the USA
• Clean Fuels Development Coalition [16]
• Pimentel: Ethanol - Inefficient Fuel
• Debunking Pimentel: Ethanol - Efficient Fuel
• Ethanol Fuel News and Discussion
• Henry Ford, Charles Kettering and the Fuel of the Future (history of ethanol) [17]