Ethanol is a renewable, domestic fuel made from various plant materials, called "biomass”, which can include starchy feed stocks (like corn or sugar cane) or cellulosic feed stocks (like perennial grasses, wood, old newspapers, or even municipal waste), though the latter is more challenging to make. This is because these materials must first be broken down into their component sugars for subsequent fermentation to ethanol (biochemical conversion).
Ethanol is extremely compatible with internal combustion engines. In fact, nearly half of U.S. gasoline contains low levels of ethanol to oxygenate the fuel and reduce air pollution. Ethanol is available in a variety of blends with gasoline; low-level blends like E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline), are classified as "substantially similar" to gasoline by the EPA. E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) is becoming increasingly popular and can be used in flex fuel vehicles (FFVs), which are designed to tolerate a high ethanol content as well as gasoline.
There are many benefits to using ethanol, especially E85. Although E85 has about 27% less energy per gallon than gasoline, it is typically priced 10% to 30% less than gasoline, which can offset the loss in fuel economy. Also, E85 is increasing in popularity, and is therefore readily available to the general public. As of 2008, more than 1,600 U.S. fueling stations offered E85 to the more than 7 million FFVs on U.S. roadways, and there are over 60 fuel stations that offer E85 in Ohio alone. Besides a significant reduction of harmful emissions and greenhouse gases, E85 is a renewable, biodegradable, domestic fuel and could displace up to 10% of American gasoline use without affecting food supplies.
Read Clean Fuels Ohio's whitepaper "Doing Biofuels Right" (PDF)»
Links
- For information on biofuels pump funding click here.
- For more information on the federal tax incentives extended at the end of 2010, visit our page on the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.
- To learn more about ethanol, please visit the US Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center.
- For general information about using Ethanol as a fuel source, please visit Ethanol Basics.
- To find out if you are driving a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (capable of using E85), please visit the Growth Energy.
- To learn more about vehicles that can operate on E85, please Download the Vehicle Buyer's Guide.
- To locate ethanol fuel stations in Ohio, please visit our updated E85 station locator.
- For ethanol fuel stations out of state, please visit the Alternative Fuels Data Center.
- To read the latest news on ethanol, please visit our Delicious page.
