5 things to know about ethanol
Ethanol is produced and used in diverse industries. These are the key things you need to know about this product.
Biomass is broken down into sugars and then fermented to produce ethanol, a renewable biofuel. It is an alcohol that is both transparent and colourless, and it may be produced from a wide variety of feedstocks.
Feedstocks for fuel ethanol production include corn, sorghum, barley, sugar cane, and sugar beets, among others, chosen for their high starch and sugar content. Ethanol can also be created from some grasses, trees, and other agricultural and forestry leftovers.
Here are the 5 interesting facts about ethanol that you need to know.
1. Ethanol production is fuel-efficient
Studies have shown that there is a net gain of 8.8 MJ/L in energy from corn ethanol. According to research published in Biomass and Bioenergy Journal, the energy balance of second-generation biofuels made from cellulosic sources is up to six times better.
The creation of ethanol now utilises less power than it used to. Today, more than 90 percent of maize used in ethanol production goes through a dry milling process that consumes significantly less energy than the wet milling process utilised earlier.
Energy output has improved thanks to an increase in maize yield per acre and a decrease in the amount of energy required to produce ethanol. The number of gallons of ethanol produced from a single bushel of corn has likewise increased by around 50%.
2. Ethanol production has no effect of food supply
Second-generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol that do not need food crops have seen tremendous research and development thanks to the food-versus-fuel issue. Cellulosic ethanol is produced from plant waste, the “woody” structural material in plants that is inedible to humans.
The soil requirements for food crops are far higher than those for ethanol crops or cellulosic ethanol crops.
3. Ethanol does not contribute to greenhouse gases
Studies have shown that ethanol can cut carbon monoxide and particle pollution emissions by as much as 30 and 50 percent, respectively, at the tailpipe.
Additionally, tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds that contribute to ozone depletion are greatly diminished when ethanol is blended with gasoline.
The reduction increases to 63% when E85 is made by blending gasoline with cellulosic ethanol. Some woody crops produced specifically for use as next-generation fuels increase soil carbon enough to result in a decrease of greenhouse gas emissions of more than 100 percent.
4. Ethanol production has become water efficient
The amount of water used to create ethanol has reduced considerably. These days, it takes around 3.5 gallons of water to make one gallon of ethanol.
That’s a little more than it takes to process a gallon of fuel. The need to irrigate feedstock crops in drier areas accounts for much of the criticism of ethanol’s water requirements. Most ethanol, however, comes from fields that rely on rain for irrigation.
In addition, ethanol is non carcinogenic and doesn’t harm groundwater or the ocean. Ethanol degrades rapidly in the environment.
Because of its low toxicity, spills of ethanol are less of a cause for alarm. You have definitely ingested ethanol in the form of beer, bourbon, and other alcoholic drinks while celebrating.
5. Ethanol is becoming a more affordable fuel
Ethanol reduces the fuel economy of flex-fuel vehicles by about 25%. However, the price of ethanol is around 17 percent lower than that of petrol per gallon.
The fuel economy shortfall can be made up for by lower fuel prices in some areas, but not others. Ethanol prices would decrease much lower if output could be optimised as the market expanded and stabilised.
