Learn about Ethanol

Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane motor fuel that is produced from renewable sources. At its most basic, ethanol is grain alcohol, produced from crops such as corn. Because it is domestically produced, ethanol helps reduce America’s dependence upon foreign sources of energy. Pure, 100% ethanol is not generally used as a motor fuel; instead, a percentage of ethanol is combined with unleaded gasoline.
This is beneficial because the ethanol decreases the fuel’s cost, increases the fuel’s octane rating, and decreases gasoline’s harmful emissions.

E10 is approved for use in any make or model of vehicle sold in the U.S. Many automakers recommend its use because of its high performance, clean-burning characteristics. Today about 46% of America’s gasoline contained some ethanol, most as this E10 blend. E85 is an alternative fuel for use in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). There are currently more than 6 million FFVs on America’s roads today, and automakers are rolling out more each year. In conjunction with more flexible fuel vehicles, more E85 pumps are being installed across the country.

When E85 is not avaialble, these FFVs can operate on straight gasoline or any ethanol blend up to 85%. It is important to note that it does not take a special vehicle to run on “ethanol”. All vehicles are “ethanol vehicles” and can use up to 10% ethanol with no modifications to the engine. If these higher percentages of ethanol could be used in standard automobiles, the U.S. could use a dramatically higher amount of renewable fuel, thus significantly decreasing our dependence on petroleum.

New research (”Optimal Ethanol Blend-Level Investigation,” released 12/5/07) shows that mid-range ethanol blends can in some cases provide better fuel economy than regular unleaded gasoline - even in standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles. Previous assumptions that ethanol’s lower energy content directly correlates with lower fuel economy were found to be incorrect.

From the local communities where the crops are grown and processed to the metropolitan areas where drivers fill up with a domestically produced fuel, American-made ethanol propels the economy. With an approximate cost of $60 million for one year of construction, an ethanol plant expands the local economic base by $110 million each year.

Because it is made primarily from corn and other agricultural products, ethanol increases demand for these crops, increases the prices farmers receive for these crops, and brings economic development opportunity to the rural areas where the ethanol is made.

Over the past decade, farmer-owned and locally-owned ethanol plants have driven the dramatic growth in the U.S. ethanol industry. American-made, renewable ethanol directly displaces crude oil we would need to import, offering our country critically needed independence and security from foreign sources of energy.

Current U.S. ethanol production capacity of 6 billion gallons per year can reduce gasoline imports by more than one-third and effectively extends gasoline supplies at a time when refining capacity is at its maximum. According to the Energy Information Administration, the 7.5 billion gallon ethanol production level minimum set in the Renewable Fuels Standard could reduce oil consumption by 80,000 barrels per day.

To learn more about Ethanol and the American Coalition for Ethanol