Category: ethanol

A few generations ago, people hid in the woods with their stills hiding from the feds while they made grain alcohol from corn mash. Today, they have shareholders and huge manufacturing plants turning out ethanol to use as fuel. The big differences is the product today is denatured ethanol which is purposely rendered unfit for human consumption.

Ethanol, usually referred to as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is high flammable, slightly toxic clear liquid with a light perfume odor. Typically found in alcoholic beverages it is regulated and highly taxed in its original form. However, with other uses for the alcohol such as industrial and medical applications, it has been denatured to make it unfit for consumption with the addition of benzoate or methanol. Many forms of denatured ethanol can be bought without the high taxation and without regulations.

There are currently over 100 refineries in the United States producing about 5.1 billion gallons of ethanol with close to 60 more denatured ethanol plants under construction. Currently it costs about $1.50 per gallon to refine denatured ethanol with price fluctuations caused by the changing price of corn.

Other Countries Lead Ethanol Production

Used as a fuel or fuel additive, other countries, such as Brazil, has been running on a blend of denatured ethanol and gasoline, commonly called gasohol, and manufactures its ethanol from sugar. As an additive, it is not uncommon to find gasoline in Brazil to contain as much as 20 percent ethanol.

Some have blamed the refinement of sugar in Brazil into ethanol for higher sugar prices and are predicting higher costs of products made from corn in the United States to follow. However, as more denatured ethanol manufacturers are seeing the financial benefits, many are buying their own farms on which to cultivate corn.

In addition to the federal government not taxing denatured ethanol used in fuel production, ethanol also is not charged the 52 cents per gallon tax as is gasoline, keeping the refining costs lower to help spur the increase in use of this renewable fuel.

The governments renewable fuel standard will require the use of 7.5 billion gallons of denatured ethanol be used as a fuel by 2012, up from the four billion gallon requirement that existed in 2006. Additional manufacturing facilities and refineries, along with an increase in corn production will be required to enable manufacturers to meet the deadline.

Grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol are other names for ethanol, which is inflammable and contains no color while also being a slightly toxic chemical compound that gives off a very distinct odor that may remind one of a perfume and is also the alcohol content of alcoholic beverages. Some people may also call it alcohol and it has been known to man from prehistoric times, being used for purposes of intoxication in alcoholic beverages.

Ethanol may be made with the help of biological feed stocks of any variety which contain plenty of sugar or materials that can be transformed to sugar that include starch or cellulose. Other examples of feed stocks containing sugar are sugar beets and sugar cane. After grinding the feedstock, the sugar content can be dissolved and then fed to microbes that draw on it for food and produces ethanol as well as carbon dioxide and it should further be refined to get the exact amount of concentration required. There are several advantages to using ethanol such as it is easy to use as well as handle and can be used to reduce consumption of petroleum and is also good for the environment.

Dates Back 9000 Years Ago

Its history may be traced back 9000 years ago when some traces of it were found in pottery items in the northern parts of mainland China which points to use of alcoholic beverages among Neolithic people of ancient times. Its hydroxyl group enables it to take part in hydrogen bonding and it is a versatile solvent that can be used for dissolving medicines, food flavorings and colorings that are not easily dissolved in water.

Ethanol may be produced as a petrochemical via hydration of ethylene and also for fermentation of sugar with yeast. There is also use for ethanol as industrial feedstock but ethanol is used in alcoholic beverages as well as mostly for fuel which is derived by fermentation. It is basically produced through the fermentation as well as distillation of starch crops that are transformed into plain sugar and common feedstock for this fuel is corn, barley as well as wheat.

Ethanol may be made with the help of biological feed stocks of any variety which contain plenty of sugar or materials that can be transformed to sugar that include starch or cellulose. Other examples of feed stocks containing sugar are sugar beets and sugar cane. After grinding the feedstock, the sugar content can be dissolved and then fed to microbes that draw on it for food and produces ethanol as well as carbon dioxide and it should further be refined to get the exact amount of concentration required.