The idea to use ethanol as fuel is not new. Back in 1860 the famous German inventor Nikolaus Otto had used alcohol in his internal combustion engine.
Today about a hundred ethanol plants operate in America and produce corn ethanol for cars. Look at the Chicago commodity exchange. A new product has gone into its system lately - corn ethanol is now a valuable commodity. Each day around 100 contracts are closed on commodity exchanges worth more than 2 million dollars, each representing at least 30 thousand gallons of corn ethanol. USA produces 4 billion gallons of biofuel ethanol annually.
In Europe, Asia and America, the demand for corn ethanol for automotive industry rises every year. It is estimated that by 2020 the demand could grow beyond 33 billion gallons, or 125 billion liters of corn ethanol.
Today, ethanol is mainly processed from corn, sugar cane stalks and straw. Corn is one of the best choices for producing biofuel ethanol because it contains a lot of starch. However, we need to look at some cheaper alternatives too.
It is known by American farmers for more than 100 years that ethanol can be produced by a primitive distillation of straw. American experts have estimated that straw biomass could produce up to 400 billion liters of ethanol a year.
The production of corn ethanol leads to a reduction of land for growing grain. This has already triggered higher prices for bread and other products. However, countries continue to allocate land to grow corn for producing high quality biofuel ethanol. We cannot forget about the famine, yet a balance is needed. We have to be aware that the world needs both fuel and food. Corn is one of the best type of grain for ethanol production.
Adding 10% alcohol in gasoline, no engine modifications are required. Besides gasoline diluted with ethanol gives a more economical fuel consumption and less wear on engine parts. However, if you switch to pure ethanol, several engine modifications have to take place.