Econotec's Ethanol Factoids

The Low Cost Way to Cheap Fuel

Ethanol is a clear, colorless alcohol fuel made from the sugars found in grains, such as corn, sorghum, and wheat, as well as potato skins, rice, and yard clippings.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel because it is made from plants. There are several ways to make ethanol from biomass. The most commonly used processes today use yeast to ferment the sugars and starch in corn. Corn is the main ingredient for ethanol in the United States due to its abundance and low price. Most ethanol is produced in the corn-growing states in the Midwest. The starch in the corn is fermented into sugar, which is then fermented into alcohol. Other crops such as, barley, wheat, rice, sorghum, sunflower, potatoes, sugar cane and sugar beets can also be used to produce ethanol.

Sugar cane and sugar beets are the most common ingredients for ethanol in other parts of the world. Since alcohol is created by fermenting sugar, sugar crops are the easiest ingredients to convert into alcohol. Brazil, the country with the world's largest ethanol production, makes most of its ethanol this way. Today, many cars in Brazil operate on ethanol made from sugar cane.

A new experimental process which breaks down cellulose in woody fibers, is called "cellulosic ethanol". With this process we can make ethanol from trees, grasses, and crop wastes. Trees and grasses need less energy than grains, which must be replanted every year. Scientists have developed fast-growing trees that grow to size in ten years. Many grasses can produce two harvests a year for many years. Someday, you may find yourself driving by huge farms that are not producing food or animal feed, but feedstock for ethanol. Feedstock is the raw material used to make a product.

History of Ethanol

Ethanol is not a new fuel. In the 1850s, ethanol was a major lighting fuel. During the Civil War, a liquor tax was placed on ethanol to raise money for the war. The tax increased the price of ethanol so much that it could no longer compete with other fuels such as kerosene in lighting devices. Ethanol production declined sharply because of this tax and production levels did not begin to recover until the tax was repealed in 1906.

In 1908, Henry Ford designed his Model T to run on a mixture of gasoline and alcohol, calling it the fuel of the future. In 1919, when Prohibition began, ethanol was banned because it was considered a liquor. It could only be sold when it was mixed with petroleum. With the end of Prohibition in 1933, ethanol was used as a fuel again. Ethanol use increased temporarily during World War II when oil and other resources were scarce. In the 1970s, interest in ethanol as a transportation fuel was revived when embargoes by major oil producing countries cut gasoline supplies. Since that time ethanol use has been encouraged by offering tax benefits for producing ethanol and for blending ethanol into gasoline. In 1988, ethanol began to be added to gasoline for the purpose of reducing carbon monoxide emissions. Learn more about the history of ethanol in a timeline.

Ethanol as a Transportation Fuel

As a transportation fuel, ethanol can be used as a total or partial replacement for gasoline. Gasoline containing ten percent ethanol - E10 - is used in many urban areas that don't meet clean air standards. Some states promote more widespread use of E10. Minnesota, for example, requires almost all gasoline sold in the state to contain 10 percent ethanol. All vehicles that run on gasoline can use E10 without making changes to their engines. Over 99 percent of the ethanol produced in the United States is mixed with gasoline to make E-10.

E85 is an alternative fuel that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, used mainly in the Midwest and South. Vehicles are not modified to run on E85; they are specially manufactured as flexible fuel vehicles (FFV). Flexible Fuel Vehicles can use any mixture of ethanol and gasoline up to E85. There are about 146,000 cars and trucks using E85. Most of these are fleet vehicles.

Ethanol and the Environment

Using ethanol means that we use a little bit less gasoline (a nonrenewable fuel). Unlike gasoline, ethanol is nontoxic (safe to handle) and biodegradable, it quickly breaks down into harmless substances if spilled. When small amounts of ethanol are added to gasoline, usually less than 10 percent, there are many advantages. Ethanol reduces carbon monoxide and other toxic pollution from the tailpipes of vehicles, making the air cleaner. It keeps engines running smoothly without the need for lead or other chemical additives. Because ethanol is made from crops that absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This carbon cycle maintains the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when using ethanol as a fuel.

Last Revised: October 2006

FACT: Blended with gasoline at terminals, ethanol can help extend our fuel supply by adding volume to the market.

The production of ethanol also helps to diversify our energy infrastructure with local production of renewable fuels.

FACT: In 2005, the use of ethanol reduced the U.S. trade deficit by $8.7 billion by eliminating the need to import 170 million barrels of oil.

Source: LECG, LLC January 2006

FACT: Every 1 Btu of petroleum fuel used to produce ethanol generates 13.2 Btus, greatly enhancing U.S. energy security.

Source: USDA

As a domestic, renewable source of energy, ethanol can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and increase the United States' ability to control its own security and economic future by increasing the availability of domestic fuel supplies.

Engine Performance

Ethanol, an alcohol fuel, provides high quality, high octane for exceptional engine performance and reduced emissions. Ethanol has been used in cars since Henry Ford designed his 1908 Model T to operate on alcohol. Trillions of miles have been driven on ethanol-blended fuel since 1980. In fact, several teams in national and international racing competitions use ethanol because of its high octane and exceptional performance. In spring of 2005, the Indy Racing League – home of the Indianapolis 500 - announced it would switch to ethanol from methanol. In 2006, the League will use a 10% ethanol blend, and in 2007 the race cars will be fueled with 100% ethanol. These professional racecar drivers will tell you: "Ethanol performs!"

Ethanol is one of the best tools we have to fight air pollution from vehicles. Ethanol contains 35% oxygen. Adding oxygen to fuel results in more complete fuel combustion, thus reducing harmful tailpipe emissions. Ethanol also displaces the use of toxic gasoline components such as benzene, a carcinogen. Ethanol is non-toxic, water soluble and quickly biodegradable.

FACT: Ethanol is a renewable fuel produced from plants, unlike petroleum-based fossil fuels that have a limited supply and are the major contributor of carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas.

The ethanol production process represents a carbon cycle, where plants absorb carbon dioxide during growth, "recycling" the carbon released during fuel combustion.

FACT: The use of 10% ethanol blends reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 18-29% compared with conventional gasoline, according to Argonne National Laboratory.

In 2006, ethanol use in the U.S. reduced C02-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 8 million tons, equal to removing the annual emissions of more than 1.21 million cars from the road (Argonne's GREET 1.7 Model).

FACT: With a 113 octane rating, ethanol is the highest performance fuel on the market and keeps today's high-compression engines running smoothly.

FACT: The American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago credits ethanol-blended reformulated gasoline with reducing smog-forming emissions by 25% since 1990. The American Lung Association of Illinois "is a major proponent of cleaner-burning fuels such as E85 and biodiesel, and other less-polluting means of transportation."

FACT: Ethanol reduces tailpipe carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 30%, toxics content by 13% (mass) and 21% (potency), and tailpipe fine particulate matter (PM) emissions by 50%.

Ethanol also reduces secondary PM formation by diluting aromatic content in gasoline. Over half of the air pollution attributable to vehicles comes from "high emitting" vehicles that make up only 10% of the vehicle fleet. High emitters include older vehicles as well as well as newer cars with malfunctioning pollution control systems. The use of ethanol-blended fuel is also one of the best pollution control strategies for off-road vehicles, including motorcycles, ATVs and snowmobiles, which represent a significant source of emissions. Source: Smog Reyes, February 2004.

FACT: Ethanol is the oxygenate of choice in the federal winter oxygenated fuels program in cities that exceed public health standards for carbon monoxide pollution.

FACT: Ethanol is rapidly biodegraded in surface water, groundwater and soil, and is the safest component in gasoline today.

A recent study conducted for the Governors' Ethanol Coalition, "The Fate and Transport of Ethanol-Blended Gasoline in the Environment," concluded that ethanol poses no threat to surface water and ground water. According to the report, ethanol is a naturally occurring substance produced during the fermentation of organic matter and is expected to rapidly biodegrade in essentially all environments. When gasoline contaminates soil or water, ethanol is the first component to quickly, safely, and naturally biodegrade. A study commissioned by the MTBE industry suggested that in the event of a gasoline spill or leak, since ethanol breaks down first, benzene would persist in the environment longer. But this ignores the fact that ethanol-blended fuels contain less benzene, and the real threat posed to the environment is from the presence of benzene in gasoline, not ethanol.

FACT: Ethanol reduces smog pollution.

Blending ethanol in gasoline dramatically reduces carbon monoxide tailpipe emissions. According to the National Research Council, carbon monoxide emissions are responsible for as much as 20% of smog formation. Additionally, ethanol-blended fuels reduce tailpipe emissions of volatile organic compounds, which readily form ozone in the atmosphere. These reductions more than offset any slight increases of evaporative emissions due to the higher volatility of ethanol-blended fuel. Thus, the use of ethanol plays an important role in smog reduction.

Importantly, in reformulated gasoline areas where smog is of most concern, gasoline blended with ethanol must meet the same evaporative emission standard as gasoline without ethanol. These ethanol blends have the added benefit of providing reduced tailpipe carbon monoxide emissions and, therefore, further emissions reductions of smog.

FACT: Ethanol has a positive energy balance.

Whether produced from corn or other biomass feedstocks, ethanol generates more energy than used during production. Plants used in ethanol production harness the power of the sun to grow. By releasing the energy stored in corn and other feedstocks, ethanol production utilizes solar energy, replacing fossil energy use. A life cycle analysis of ethanol production - from the field to the vehicle - found that ethanol has a large and growing positive fossil energy balance. According to a 2004 U.S. Department of Agriculture Study, ethanol yields 67% more fossil energy than is used to grow and harvest the grain and process it into ethanol. The study makes note of significant energy efficiency improvements that have been made in ethanol production due to higher yielding corn varieties, technological advances in ethanol production such as the use of molecular sieves and natural gas, and improved farming practices (precision and no-till farming.)

Unlike ethanol, other fuels, including MTBE and gasoline, take more fossil energy to produce than they yield. Importantly, producing ethanol from domestic grains achieves a net gain in a more desirable form of energy. It utilizes abundant domestic energy sources, such as natural gas and coal, to convert grain into a premium liquid fuel. Only about 17% of the energy used to produce ethanol comes from liquid fuels, such as gasoline and diesel fuel.

FACT: Ethanol reduces formaldehyde emissions.

The California Environmental Policy Committee, in a December 1999 review of the air quality impacts of ethanol, concluded that while the use of ethanol does result in slightly increased levels of acetaldehyde and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), "these compounds are more than offset by reductions in formaldehyde," a toxic air contaminant many times more harmful than acetaldehyde. Furthermore, the Committee concluded other gasoline components are primarily responsible for these emissions. "Other components of gasoline, such as aromatic compounds and olefins, are primarily responsible for the formation of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and PAN due to both their greater abundance in gasoline and their shorter atmospheric lifetimes.

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