Ethanol Is Ethyl Alcohol Additive Or Replacement?

Generally ethanol is an alcohol found in alcoholic drinks. At 100% concentration, it is pure and a colourless liquid with a strong odour (due to weak Van der Wall forces :D. Ethanol is produced by the fermentation of carbohydrates in yeast cells and is used frequently as a solvent.

In the United States of America, corn ethanol is the main raw material we use to move our vehicles to accomplish our daily goals. Obviously, corn ethanol is presenting ethanol by corn. The biomass in the ethanol adds fermentation, a system that breaks down any chemicals or other substance in any liquid. Additionally, it is added distillation, the action of purifying the process of heating and cooling. This is how corn ethanol is made.

Ethanol is industrially manufactured in two ways: the wet mill process and the dry mill process.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been putting ethanol in our gas for years, and it’s for a multitude of reasons. Mainly, according to The New York Times, to keep pump prices down. But they don't tell you what it could be doing to your car.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established what is the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The RFS was later modified by means of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and is now as we know it today. The purpose of the RFS is to form the requirement of specified volumes of renewable fuel to be used for certain means each year. Those means include transportation fuel, home heating oil, and jet fuel. The creation of the RFS allows for fuel to be distributed and used properly without there being any issues. Having this standard establishes a system that creates fair allocation and dispersal for fuel in all facets. Requirements are also put in place to enable a secure process for managing the fuel.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the renewable fuel standard is a program created by Congress whose goal is to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s renewable fuels sector while reducing reliance on imported oil” (EPA 2016). This new program has been seen as a confident advancement toward benefiting the environment. However, it has also been thought of as unfavorable for varying reasons. Many believe that the renewable fuel standard is a positive thing because the fuel is cleaner, it will reduce pollution, and it will benefit the environment. In contrast, many also believe that it is harmful to the environment and to automobile engines.

i. Ethanol is considered as a alternative fuel at a lower cost level in relation to gasoline. It is produced by fermenting sugars from a range of feedstock such as wheat and corn. Ethanol is blended with gasoline from E10 (5% ethanol - 95% gasoline) to E85 (85% ethanol - 15% gasoline).

Since few people have flex-fuel cars, only 2,250 service stations in the U.S. (excluding private stations) have ethanol pumps, out of a total of about 176,000 stations. It is simply not profitable for more gas stations to carry this fuel. On the other hand, the government wants to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and, therefore, wants to

The production and consumption of ethanol as fuel is presented by several interesting facts. The ability to compete with non-renewable fossil fuels, concern about the environment and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and have a source of fuel coming from agriculture as a alternative outlet for agricultural producers, ethanol production became an important and endorsed industrial process (Mussatto et al., 2010).

Ethanol is produced by corn and sugarcane by a process called enzyme digestion to release sugars from stored starches. It is the primary biofuel world wide because it can go directly into the gasoline tank, but specifically in Brazil. (Wikipedia). Biodiesel is produced from oil and animal oil. Some companies even

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Converting every drop into biodiesel would meet about 5 percent of the U.S. diesel demand”(par. 5). This waste oil can even be found in fast food restaurants where it 's basically ready to be put into your vehicle. All that is needed is to burn the grease until liquid is derived from the grease creating a clean and effortless new fuel. Now biodiesel isn 't the only effortlessly made alternative, Ethanol, a corn based fuel, also is easy to make. An article from Consumer Energy Center says “Ethanol is processed via fermentation and distillation to produce ethanol, animal feed, and other by-products”(par 9). When we have all of these biodegradable products around why wouldn 't we use them to our advantage? All we need to do is burn and liquify the product we can create fuel really easy. Ethanol is also so easy to make, you can make it at home! The process is similar to making alcohol. If were able to keep production it 's able to keep costs lower. Pacific Biodiesel published an article stating, “The money stays in the community while reducing impact on the local environment and increasing energy security”(par 2). This again would keep production local and beneficial to the community surrounding it, making alternative fuels an important choice to look into and overall making them easier to produce. To sum up what has been said, alternative fuels such as Biodiesel and Ethanol are a lot easier to produce than gasoline.

Ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, commonly known as Ethanol (commonly seen as E-85 at the gas pumps) has a long history in the United States. Henry Ford considered it the fuel of choice. [1] In fact, his very first automobile, built in 1896, ran solely on ethanol. He said, “There is enough alcohol in one year 's yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred years.” But it 's use in that capacity on a commercial scale was never realized due to the abundant resources and soon to arrive efficient production processes of petroleum products. However, with the highly volatile petroleum markets, mounting environmental concerns and the increase of gasoline fuel prices it is being reconsidered. To where in 2013, ethanol use had displaced as much as 462 million barrels of imported oil, reducing the dependence on foreign oil by 6 percent. [2]

Renewable Fuels Regulations – Environment Canada – Federal regulations requiring an average 5% ethanol in gas since 2010, and an average 2% bio-based content in distillate fuels since 2011. Proposed Regulations have been developed under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Source: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2010/2010-04-10/html/reg1-eng.html

Ethanol is made from a renewable source and does not harm the environment in any way. E10, containing 10% ethanol has an octane rating of 94 or 95. Although E10 will make the vehicle run better, it will be consumed faster because it does not contain as much energy. The chemical composition of ethanol is C2H5OH. As shown in Diagram 2. But because E10 if only 10% ethanol the other 90% will be pentene (as shown in Diagram 1). This is because E10 is mixed with petrol.

It seems crazy that it is how we get the crops and different things that can be turned into ethanol like with corn is turned into gas for vehicles.