Ethanol, Good or Bad?

Alternative fuels have made more of a buzz in the media as fuel costs rise and the damage to the environment is more apparent. Alternative fuels are being developed for use in our cars, and the ones on the market now is the use of ethanol or ethanol mixed with gasoline. Aside from the advertisements featuring vehicles which can run on an alternative fuel, not many people know about the production, use and possible benefits from using ethanol.

Ethanol is a fuel alcohol that is derived from grasses and corn which are rich in cellulose. When the corn is processed, a large amount of product is needed, which makes the use of this food somewhat inefficient. Current processes require that one tank full of ethanol uses enough corn to feed a single person for an entire year. Because of this fact, developments in the use of grass are less wasteful and may yield more fuel.

Other environmental implications in the production of ethanol is the byproducts cannot decay and replenish the soil. This could make ethanol have a very short run unless other cellulose rich organic materials can be used and reused in fuel production.

The difficulty with ethanol these days is the fuel stations featuring ethanol are few and far between, and there is no guarantee that ethanol will be a lasting technology to fuel our vehicles. If a vehicle is not equipped to run on ethanol, do not use it to fuel the car. Vehicles run with ethanol, if not equipped, can experience some problems with their fuel system.

Ethanol will corrode typical fuel lines and can release blockage captured by the fuel filtering system. Engine blocks are made predominantly of iron and the ethanol actual breaks down ferrous elements inside the engine. This means that ethanol could essentially be making the engine run dirty and cause problems down the road. Ethanol is not a new technology and is not a new fuel, in fact the Ford Model-T was equipped to run on ethanol back in the early 1900s.

The main question of fuel economy comes into play when considering the burning of ethanol versus gasoline. The truth of the matter is ethanol run cars will experience a slightly lower gasoline mileage in the area of 15-30%. To make the ethanol engines functional, the compression of the engines must be raised in order to prevent premature ignition of the fuel.

Despite cars being equipped to run on ethanol and gasoline, many older cars in the US would either have to be upgraded or new cars would have to be bought. In the state of the economy, many people do not have the expendable income to upgrade their car or buy a new car equipped for ethanol. Another obstacle is the activists against the production of ethanol fuel. Many people believe the production of ethanol is a crime against humanity because of the mass amount of food supply devoted to fuel production.

When considering the use of an alternative fuel in a vehicle, the practicality and cost effectiveness must be apparent. The development of ethanol has caused fuel prices to drop in the past, but the recent rise in gasoline costs of late make that statement null and void. The technology must be developed more before making a final judgment on the viability and future use of the bio fuels in society.