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Ethanol Pros And Cons

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Ethanol is the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It can be used as a biofuel additive for gasoline, or on its own. It is produced from fermenting glucose and other sugars in corn, sugarcane or other crops. Ethanol fermentation also yields side products such acetic acid, glycols and other products. It is possible to generate ethanol out of cellulosic materials. That, however, requires a pretreatment that splits the cellulose into glucose molecules and other sugars that subsequently can be fermented. Ethanol can be produced from a variety of feedstocks such as barley, corn, hemp, sugarcane, sugar beet, sorghum, switchgrass, potatoes, sunflower, wheat, and many types of cellulosic waste material such as wood chips, grass clippings, and plant stalks. …show more content…
Rather than grow algae and then harvest and ferment it, the algae grow in sunlight and produce ethanol directly, which is removed without killing the algae. It is claimed the process can produce 9,000 US gallons per acre per year compared with 400 US gallons per acre for current corn production. This process actually absorbs CO2. (Biofuels Digest)
Ethanol-gasoline blends are denoted by E and the percentage of ethanol in the fuel. Pure ethanol (E100) consumption in an engine is approximately 51% higher than for gasoline since the energy per unit volume of ethanol is 34% lower than for gasoline. (Autos) Despite this, the higher compression ratios in an ethanol-only engine allow for a power output higher than could be obtained with lower compression ratios of a gasoline-only engine, and approximately 20 to 30% more fuel efficiency and 30% less carbon emissions.

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