Ethanol
Also known as ethyl alcohol, ethanol is a colorless liquid used as an active ingredient in drinking alcohol, as a solvent, disinfectant or gasoline additive. Since 1998, some American vehicles have been manufactured to run on E85, a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Ethanol's energy content is roughly two-thirds that of gasoline by volume.
The United States and Brazil are major ethanol producers -- although American ethanol is primarily distilled from corn while Brazil uses sugar cane. When used as automobile fuel, ethanol helps reduce greenhouse emissions. Even so, detractors argue that the massive amount of land and machinery required to grow and harvest the crop effectively offsets any benefits of its use as gasoline. Scientific studies disagree on whether ethanol provides more energy than it takes to produce it.
Sources:
-- “Alternative Fuels: Ethanol,” USDE Alternative Fuels Data Center. Accessed Sept. 6, 2007. http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/ethanol.html
-- “Ethanol,” Columbia Encyclopedia on Bartleby.com. Accessed Sept. 6, 2007. http://www.bartleby.com/65/et/ethanol.html
-- "Ethanol: Energy Panacea or False Promise?" by Charles Q. Choi. April 18, 2007. LiveScience.com. http://www.livescience.com/environment/070418_ethanol_main.html
