Alternative Fuels

Biofuels - ethanol

4:17 PM, 19/9/2006 .. Posted in Bio Fuels .. 2 comments .. Link

Liquid fuel can be made from biomass which has a high sugar content. This is done by fermenting it to produce alcohol (ethanol). Fermentation is the process whereby yeasts digest sugar as food and make alcohol as a waste product. This is what happens when beers and wines are made. Sugar in large amounts comes from plants such as sugar-cane, corn, sugar beet, cereals, wood and even seaweed. After harvest, the sugar is taken out of these plants, usually by crushing them. Yeast is added to the sugar solution and after several days the sugar has been converted to ethanol. The ethanol is then taken out of the solution.

The ethanol can be added to petrol. In 2004, ethanol was blended into approximately one-third of America's gasoline. But it is in Brazil that the greatest effort has been made to produce alcohol as fuel. All gasoline sold in Brazil contains at least 26 percent ethanol, but motorists driving flexible-fuel cars have the option of filling up with pure ethanol, or E100, which currently is selling for about half the price of the blend. Brazil is already the largest producer and exporter of ethanol, sending half a billion gallons a year to several countries around the world.

The Australian Government has limited the level of ethanol in petrol in Australia to a maximum of 10%, or E10. Most new and many older vehicle models can run on ethanol blended petrol, although you need to check with the vehicle maufacturer.

Other crops which have a high oil content can also supply liquid fuels for diesel engines. These include soya, coconut, palms and sunflowers. These are crushed to squeeze out their oil content. This oil can then be used in diesel engines without any further processing and is used to power trucks, tractors and electricity generators.

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5:07 PM, 19/9/2006 .. Posted by cherylgraham2
Thank you for informing us of the alternatives. It is a pity more money wasn't being spent on the investigation of alternatives to oil, gas and other non-renewable fuels.

I think people are seriously starting to realise that the earth and humans are heading for disaster if we don't do something NOW!

Thank you
ChezzaJT

food for fuel

9:39 AM, 27/1/2008 .. Posted by Anonymous
How can we justify making fuel out of food when millions still starve?

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