1 ETHANOL AS A FUEL SOURCE

Ethanol as a fuel source James Price Grantham University GS104

2 Ethanol as a fuel source Ethanol as a fuel source One of the major underlying problems the world is faced with today is what to do about the dependency on fossil fuels. Petroleum dependence is a big problem for the United States because the supply will be depleted soon if consumers continue to use it at the rate they use it now. These fossil fuels include coal, natural gas, and oil, which is processed to derive gasoline and diesel fuels. Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane motor fuel that is produced from renewable sources. At its most basic, ethanol is grain alcohol, produced from crops such as corn and sugarcane.100% ethanol is not generally used as a motor fuel. Instead, a percentage of ethanol is combined with unleaded gasoline. Any amount of ethanol can be combined with gasoline. Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) are designed to run on a certain blend of the Ethanol in with unleaded gasoline with concentrations of the Ethanol as high as 85 percent, thus giving us the E85 derivative. (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/ethanol-e85flex-fuel.htm) More than 95 percent of the gasoline supplied in the state today contains 6 percent ethanol. There is a small but growing market for E85 fuel (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) for use in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs), several million of which have been produced by U.S. automakers. But E85 is primarily found in the Midwest in corn-producing states. Ethanol is also being used to formulate a blend with diesel fuel, known as "E-Diesel", and as a replacement for leaded aviation gasoline in small aircraft. (http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/ethanol.html )To be a viable

3 alternative, a bio-fuel should provide a net energy gain, have environmental benefits, be economically competitive, and be producible in large quantities without reducing food supplies. (http://www.pnas.org/content/103/30/11206.full) The price of corn and food products made from corn will increase from the higher demand of corn and vehicles have to use one-third more ethanol than regular gas. Ethanol gas in the end will end up costing more than petroleum gas being used now. Ethanol gas as an alternative to gas will mean that the demand for corn will become greater and greater. The use of ethanol in motor fuel has increased for years an average of twenty-five percent per year. If the country was to experience drought, or major flood, a different method of creating ethanol would be needed. Unforeseen natural disasters could destroy necessary crops. Ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline. That means that about one-third more ethanol is required to travel the same distance as on gasoline. (http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/ethanol.html) Ethanol is beneficial because when mixed with gas, the ethanol decreases the fuel's cost, increases the fuel's octane rating, and decreases gasoline's harmful emissions. It can reduce pollution, and increase engine performance.

The US has provided a 51-cent-per-gallon blenders tax credit. This tax credit goes to the fuel blenders, not the corn farmers. The credit increases the willingness of blenders to buy ethanol. This increased demand increases the price of ethanol, ethanol profits, and production,

4 the demand for corn, and the price of corn. (http://deltafarmpress.com/government-policyethanol-and-rising-food-prices) I do see ethanol as being a viable alternative to pure gasoline usage for fuel to power vehicles. It would greatly reduce the emissions of air pollution and provide a more renewable form of energy than fossil fuels. I would recommend the usage of ethanol blends. It would be beneficial to start looking into flex fuel vehicles to accommodate the changes which the fuel industry is undertaking. On the East Coast we have not seen E-85 fuels take effect as of yet, but it does seem to be the direction we going in as a nation.

5 References 1. Bennett, David (2008). Government policy, ethanol and rising food prices. http://deltafarmpress.com/government-policy-ethanol-and-rising-food-prices D=6319&l=en 2. California Energy Commission (2012). ETHANOL AS A TRANSPORTATION FUEL http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/afvs/ethanol.html 3. Tilman, David (2006). Environmental, economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels. http://www.pnas.org/content/103/30/11206.full