Waste-to-Energy
Incineration Anaerobic Digestion Gasification Ethanol Fuel Pyrolysis Oil Plasma Arc Mechanical Biological Refuse Derived Fuel

• Curriculum that teaches high school students about ethanol and its effect on vehicle performance, the environment, and the economy.
  
• The power of corn: E85 ethanol and the world’s increasing demands for energy. (middle school)
  
• Automobile Choices and Alternative Fuels (high school)
  
• Statistical Analysis of Corn Plants and Ethanol Production (high school)
  
• Make your own ethanol fuel
  
• Backyard ethanol production
  
• Fermenting waste fruit to fuel ethanol
  

Information on pump, California.

Ethanol fuel is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It can be used as a fuel, mainly as a biofuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. Because it is easy to manufacture and process, and can be made from very common materials, such as sugar cane, it is steadily becoming a promising alternative to gasoline throughout much of the world.

Ethanol is considered "renewable" because it is primarily the result of conversion of the sun's energy into usable energy. Creation of ethanol starts with photosynthesis causing the feedstocks such as switchgrass, sugar cane, or corn to grow. These feedstocks are processed into ethanol.

Anhydrous ethanol (ethanol with less than 1% water) can be blended with gasoline in varying quantities up to pure ethanol (E100), and most spark-ignited gasoline style engines will operate well with mixtures of 10% ethanol (E10).^[1] Most cars on the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol,^[2] and the use of 10% ethanol gasoline is mandated in some cities where harmful levels of auto emissions are possible.^[3]

Ethanol can be mass-produced by fermentation of sugar or by hydration of ethylene from petroleum and other sources. Current interest in ethanol mainly lies in bio-ethanol, produced from the starch or sugar in a wide variety of crops, but there has been considerable debate about how useful bio-ethanol will be in replacing fossil fuels in vehicles. Concerns relate to the large amount of arable land required for crops,^[4] as well as the energy and pollution balance of the whole cycle of ethanol production.^[5][6] Recent developments with cellulosic ethanol production and commercialization may allay some of these concerns.^[7]

According to the International Energy Agency, cellulosic ethanol could allow ethanol fuels to play a much bigger role in the future than previously thought.^[8] Cellulosic ethanol offers promise as resistant cellulose fibers, a major component in plant cells walls, can be used to generate ethanol. Dedicated energy crops, such as switchgrass, are also promising cellulose sources that can be produced in many regions of the United States.^[9]

For more information see the following links:

• Production and Chemistry


• Ethanol-Based Engines


• Ethanol and Environment


• Use by Country


• Food vs. Fuel


• Renewable Energy Crops

References

External links

• Biofuels: Ethanol at the Open Directory Project