Ethanol Fuel - The Gas Alternative

What is ethanol fuel? Simply put, it's the same thing James Bond likes, shaken but not stirred. You've got it; good old drinking alcohol. It can be made from corn, sugar cane, hemp and many other plants. Ethanol fuel is made through a process involving fermentation of the ethanol, distillation and all of the old familiar tunes that go along with making a homemade brew. However, this concoction will not be sipped out of a glass, but it will run a vehicle engine for the same amount of time as gasoline.

In fact, ethanol fuel isn't made solely from the fermentation process; it has to be mixed with gasoline to run and then it's a tricky process. Get the wrong mixture of ethanol and you're likely to have a bad day on the interstate. But still, it is a viable biofuel that wouldn't require everyone to purchase new vehicles or converters.

But is ethanol cheaper than gas? To answer; no. In fact, it's slightly more expensive and this creates a problem. Most people are already fed up with the prices being charged at the pumps. If they have to pay more for a biofuel then it seems likely they may not be willing to do so. Unless of course it's cleaner and better for the environment. Ethanol isn't, studies suggest. There is only a minimal differentiation between the green house gases emitted by gas burning cars and those emitted by ethanol burning ones.

There's also the fuel efficiency problem. Ethanol fuel is about thirty four percent less efficient than gasoline. That means you'd be putting more fuel in your car more frequently and paying the same or higher price. Outstanding eh? But there is a major advantage to ethanol. In ethanol engines, the engines that can burn pure ethanol, you get considerably higher torque and acceleration than gas engines would get. Not to mention and overall increase in the power performance of your engine. But most of us don't have ethanol engines and to enjoy this advantage, we would be forced to replace our gasoline engines and that would be expensive.

In the final analysis, ethanol fuel just doesn't hold up. It isn't cleaner than gas and it's more expensive. So, is ethanol as an alternative fuel viable? Maybe not, but given it's popularity it isn't easy to write it off as a contender either.