Advantages And Disadvantages Of Ethanol

Switching from the expensive oil to alternative fuels has moved from a dream to reality. Today, there are dozens of alternatives to oil that are currently available us to be used. One alternative to oil that is being used more today is ethanol. Derived from plant materials, ethanol can be a cheaper, cleaner alternative to the gasoline that our vehicles run off. When going to gas pumps, one will notice that much of the gasoline is up to 10 percent of ethanol. According to our text, most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn, yet ethanol can be made from any biomes-- including garbage. (Turk & Bensel, 2011)

According to statistical data “Almost all (95%) of the world's transportation energy comes from petroleum-based fuels, largely gasoline and diesel.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.).

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

Ethanol is a moderately low cost alternative fuel that benefits the environment by polluting less. It is considered better for the environment than gasoline and ethanol fueled vehicles provide lower levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, and oxides of nitrogen emissions. Through the use of E85 that has fewer volatile components than gasoline, it lessens emissions from evaporation. The renewable source that ethanol is can be produced as long as the raw material needed for it can be grown it is an advantage of using it as a fuel considering it has lower emissions. Ethanol being added to fuel, burns in a cleaner way and releases less emissions making it the hope of one day to be depended on as the use of fuel alone. This energy source also contributes to reducing the dependence on foreign oil since ethanol is domestically produced, thus leading to decrease

A good example of the use of ethanol is the mixtures of 85% ethanol to 15% gasoline used in flex fuel vehicles. Because ethanol is biodegradable and dissolves in water has been said that produces less carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide than the vehicle that runs entirely on gasoline.” Ethanol can be considered atmospheric carbon-neutral because the plants used to make fuel ethanol (such as corn and sugarcane, the two major feedstocks for fuel ethanol production) absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) as they grow and may offset the CO2 produced when ethanol is made and burned. In the United States, coal and natural gas are used as heat sources in the fermentation process to make fuel ethanol” (“Ethanol and the environment - energy explained, your guide to understanding energy - energy information administration,”

As time progresses, the use of ethanol in fueling our planet is vastly increasing. The U.S. Department of Energy explained the strong presence of ethanol in saying, “The use of ethanol is widespread, and approximately 97% of gasoline in the U.S. contains some ethanol.” (U.S. Department of Energy, 2016) But the hang up in this is noticing that only 10% of the ethanol is actually utilized, while the other 90% is gasoline. So, the question begs, can we slowly increase this ratio in favor of ethanol? The U.S. Department of Energy suggests the use of Flex-Fuel as an option. Flex Fuel is a higher use of ethanol percentages that normally seen in fuel usage. The Economic pushback is that ethanol yields 27% less energy than full-on gasoline usage. In

      Since fossil fuels produce carbon dioxide as a by-product, which promotes plant growth, they are, in reality, the only truly “green” source of energy that human beings use at the present time.  Replacing gasoline with ethanol will therefore not only reduce the amount of food that is available for humans; it will also reduce the amount of food that is available for plants.  That is, food that is turned into ethanol is not be available for human consumption and if ethanol does, in fact, reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air then there will be less food available for plant consumption.  Wouldn't it therefore be wise to rethink this policy and practice?

Ethanol is a good alternative fuel but there is negative things that come with it. Ethanol requires a bunch of corn, barley, and wheat to make (Meyers, 2014). Which in turn could be used to feed starving people all over the world. Using corn, barley, and wheat hinders food availability and even the prices of the food. The new York times has stated that using ethanol actually decreases gas mileage. Ethanol gives you 2-3 miles less than normal gasoline (West, 2014). Ethanol can also break down faster than normal gasoline. Meaning that ethanol can cause rust of the car engine. Making ethanol can actually pollute the air a bunch because of all the gasoline it requires to power the tractors and machines that gather the required material to make it. Ethanol has negative impacts on our environment but overall it has more positives then negatives and makes a good alternative fuel.

The most noticeable advantage of corn fuel as an enhancement of fossil fuels is also the biggest advantage of ethanol energy a renewable fuel. Gasoline as a fuel is extracted from petroleum, and what makes petroleum an unreliable source of energy is that petroleum is nonrenewable, meaning it would run out some day in the future. Contrary, corn ethanol is a renewable source of energy, meaning if corns are replanted and remade into fuel, corn ethanol can be a long-term, sustainable energy source. Corn ethanol has the potential to produce a perfect

Alternatively ethanol could be used as a replacement for kerosene for use in a jet engine. The use of ethanol as opposed to kerosene would reduce carbon dioxide emissions, provided that a renewable energy source was used to produce crops and to distil fermented ethanol. In addition to this ethanol is a renewable source unlike kerosene thereby eliminating the concern of this source running out. Also the presence of oxygen in the ethanol molecule means that combustion is almost always complete.

The first pro is that stock of Bio-Ethanol is not endless unlike the fossil fuel stock. In a couple of hundred years or even earlier the world will run out of fossil fuels, there will be nothing left for the upcoming generations on this planet. Therefore the invention of bio-ethanol and other biofuels comes as a great relief. Because we humans now have the control of amount of fuel available. This human control will make that the prices of petrol will not rise through the roof in a couple of years because of the scarcity of fossil fuels. We humans can plant to crops for the fuel and everyone will have access and there will be enough for everyone’s use. Bio-ethanol prices can therefore stay relatively stable and we can control it ourselves. We don´t

Recent legislation by the Congress of the United States has created a mandate for 5 billion gallons of renewable fuel (notably ethanol) to be consumed annually by 2015. In light of this recent push for alternative fuels, many different biomass solutions have been considered to meet the energy need for the 200 million cars on the road. While the most efficient bio-fuels are derived from palm oil and sugarcane, the Unites States has begun to focus on the more regional corn crops to produce new renewable fuels. This program appears to have great potential towards achieving a sustainable future devoid of foreign oil dependence, until the economic implications of large-scale ethanol

What environmental benefits do we receive form an influx in ethanol as an alternative fuel? First let’s look

The main reasons to use biofuel are; to protect destroying environments, reduce CO2 emission, socioeconomic issues, reduce global warming and control climate change (Micheal, 2011) ; thence, countries diverted to reduce gases emission which destroyed ozone layer causes ‘Global Warming’.

Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils, used cooking oils, and animal fats by the production process called “trans-esterification” to convert those mixtures to the chemicals which have long chain mono alkyl esters or fatty acid methyl esters which can be used as “fuel” for vehicles. Approximately, 100 pounds of vegetable oil react with 10 pounds of alcohol (commonly methanol) in the presence of a catalyst, sodium hydroxide; later, 100 pounds of biodiesel and 10 pounds of glycerol (co-product) can be produced. For the glycerol which can be used for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Therefore, biodiesel can be considered as totally natural, alternative fuel source to be available for using in most of