It’s a daily occurrence, you turn on the news and hear that the price of gas is going up, that we are dependent on the Middle East for our fuel, and the many adverse affects it will have on our daily lives.  The true question is, however, what can we do about it?  Can we find an alternative fuel source?  Is ethanol the answer?  What about biodiesel? Are they the same thing?  Can we relieve this dependence on foreign oil?

            Just filling up in Hopkinsville you quickly notice a 4^th fuel pump.  Next to the usual regular, plus, and premium is a yellow label: E85.  E85 is a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.  Almost all U.S. automobiles manufactured since 1998 have been equipped to run on either gasoline or E85.  The major kink in the transition, however, is that E85 is not yet widely available.

            Ethanol is very simply manufactured, as it is the result of a simple fermentation process.  In the United States, most ethanol is made from corn, since it is readily available.  In addition to creating a renewable fuel source, the byproduct of ethanol (distillers dried grains) is widely used as a livestock feedstuff.  Approximately 2.8 gallons of ethanol and 18 lbs of distillers dried grains can be made from one bushel of corn.

            While the transition has been slow in the US, Brazil is leading the way in renewable fuel manufacturing and implementing.  All fuel sold in Brazil contains at least 20% ethanol, a mixture known as gasohol.  Brazilian gasohol is made from fermenting sugar, a readily available crop in Brazil.  The Brazilians have proven many theories with their ethanol fuel.  They find that ethanol burns cleaner and with less pollution, and that urban legends such as ethanol fueled cars exploding are truly mythical. 

The United States is eager to catch up with Brazil.  According to the Renewable Fuels Association, as of November 2006; 107 grain ethanol biorefineries in the United States have the capacity to produce 5.1 billion gallons of ethanol.   56 more refineries were under construction, which were expected to add 3.8 billion gallons to production 18 months.

From a dollars and cents standpoint, ethanol typically costs under $1.50 per gallon to manufacture, which should stay relatively constant, only fluctuating with the price of corn. 

Biodiesel is a totally different entity than ethanol.  Biodiesel is defined as a fuel made from natural, renewable sources for use in a diesel engine.  Biodiesel has physical properties very similar to petroleum-derived diesel fuel, but its emissions are much cleaner and safer for the environment.  Today’s diesel blends are equipped to run on diesel blends containing up to 20% biodiesel.

Fresh soybean oil is most commonly used, in the manufacturing of biodiesel for the same reasons that corn is used for ethanol; they are both readily available crops.  

It makes perfect sense to switch to ethanol, so why haven’t we?  Originally, the major holdup was that there weren’t enough refineries to supply our country with its fuel needs.  Now that these refineries are in place, proponents of ethanol are pushing politicians to make an American gasohol mix mandatory.  Lately, online bloggers are comparing the ethanol holdups to the attempts to convert the entire country to the metric system, great in theory but never executed.