What Is Ethanol?
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is a clear, colourless liquid – essentially non-drinkable alcohol. It has around 90% of the emissions of standard petrol fuel when burned and is now added to standard UK fuel as a matter of course, to a certain percentage.
How is Ethanol Made?
Ethanol is created by fermentation of sugar, in the form of cane crops. This is what is known as bio-ethanol. Vast tracts of land in various countries including Brazil plant sugar cane to harvest. The crop itself is extremely hardy and in fact the canes themselves are frequently burned in order to loosen them ready for cutting down.
Who Harvests The Crops?
There are various sites in the countries that grow sugar crop for use to create bio-ethanol and there legal and illegal sites. Workers toil long hours in the fields to cut down the crop, frequently in poor conditions. Illegal sites are devoid of regulation. Some critics suggest the working conditions are close to modern day slavery and that in Brazil especially the government should impose further rights for workers.
Does The UK Use The Harvest?
The UK does indeed use the ethanol produced around the world and – much of the import is actually from Brazilian crop.
Can All Cars Use Ethanol As A Fuel Source?
Most cars don’t have a problem running on 10% ethanol petrol mixture – and in fact some will produce more horsepower with bio-fuel. Unfortunately, some older cars can struggle with higher ethanol mixes and the result can be engine knocking, perishing, fuel filter blockages and more.
Is Demand Growing?
Demand for bio-fuels and ethanol is growing around the world due to the benefits it can have to the amount of emissions being produced by any car.
What Rules Are Changing?
In 2010, 10% of the petrol you buy will be ethanol. The purpose of this is to further decrease the amount of emissions that every car pushes out.
The obvious question is what about emissions from this type of fuel? Is it similar to current refined gasoline.