Ethanol fuel is ethanol (ethyl alcohol), the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It can be used as a fuel, mainly as a bio-fuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. Because it is easy to manufacture and process, and can be made from very common materials, such as corn, it is steadily becoming a promising alternative to gasoline throughout much of the world.
Anhydrous ethanol (ethanol with less than 1% water) can be blended with gasoline in varying quantities up to pure ethanol (E100), and most spark-ignited gasoline style engines will operate well with mixtures of 10% ethanol (E10). Most cars on the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol and the use of 10% ethanol gasoline is mandated in some cities where
|
 |
 |
