Benefits of Ethanol
There are many benefits of ethanol use that you may or may not be aware of which may sway your opinion on alternative fuel. The many benefits of ethanol include reduced toxic emissions, the abolishment of MTBE, and serves as a solution to cleaner air. I'd like to shed some light about these ethanol benefits to help you understand why many believe ethanol to be the future of alternative fuel and energy.
The first benefit of ethanol is that it helps reduce the toxins emitted from exhausts of automobiles.
It is already understood that the production of petroleum gasoline involves an intricate mixture of various toxic chemicals which in turn pollute our air and environment when burned as fuel. However, the addition of ethanol to gasoline tends to reduce these toxins and support cleaner burning fuel. By adding ethanol to gasoline, we are adding oxygen. This helps improve combustion and reduces the toxic exhaust emissions. The addition of ethanol to gasoline also helps dilute the potency of these harmful compounds and chemicals. Since ethanol does not have a greenhouse effect, adding ethanol to gasoline helps reduce ozone issues.
It has been documented by the Environmental Protection Agency that there is a 21.8 percent total lifecycle reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for every BTU of gasoline that is replace by corn ethanol. 21.8 percent reduction is a significant difference that can certainly help improve the greenhouse effect. Besides reducing toxin exhaust emissions, ethanol also helps improve our air by abolishing MTBE.
The leading competitor to ethanol in the marketplace of transportation fuel is MTBE. MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) is a fuel oxygenate obtained from petroleum oil. The problem with MTBE is that its use has gradually come to an end in the United States for polluting and contaminating groundwater. MTBE has also been accounted as a cancer causing chemical. However, due to its 100% biodegradable benefits, water solubility and non-toxic effects, ethanol can easily be recognized as an environmental friendly source of alternative fuel.
At the moment, many American cities are meeting and even exceeding their standards for clean air due to the frequent use of ethanol. As a matter of fact, some American states such as Washington, Minnesota, Louisiana, Montana, Iowa and Hawaii require by law that atleast 10 percent ethanol is mixed with all gasoline. Some major cities such as Las Vegas and Denver require ethanol and other renewable fuels to be used at certain times of the year. The road to cleaner air and a world less dependant on petroleum oil goes through ethanol.
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how to make an ethanol still at home.