The Future of Ethanol as an Alternative Fuel Source

Ethanol has a long history being one of the most versatile and frequently used substances available. It has even been found in trace elements of pottery and in various storage and holding items that date back almost eight thousand years and can also be traced across the continents. There is no end insight for the product as it is a renewable source, and is derived from different types of grain, such as corn and sugarcane.

After being fermented, ethanol can be distributed and used in processes, mixtures and procedures almost across the board. The future of ethanol is as secure as its reliable past. Despite how much is already known about ethanol, there is still much research being done in regards to additional applications down the road.

One of the major areas being looked at is ethanol as a fuel source. Although it is already being used as a component of fuel, ethanol must still be mixed with regular gasoline. However, it may be that in the future, this will not be so. Some countries, such as Brazil, are already leading the way in ethanol production and usage across the board as a dependable source of fuel in many different areas, not just for vehicles.

In Brazil, the current laws require that all gasoline fuel contain twenty-five percent ethanol. It is estimated that Brazil will soon move to having cars that run on one hundred percent ethanol fuel. In the United States, the standard is just ten percent, which is not actually a law. Most car manufacturers won't honor the warrantee of a car that uses a gasoline with a higher ethanol content.

Ethanol is also being used in aviation as fuel for planes based on the vegetable biofuels derived form soybeans. One of the main reasons for this usage is that ethanol fuels are more widely available and can be acquired or even produced in very remote locations where conventional gasoline is not available.

In the future, this principal of producing naturally-based fuels, such as ethanol, could potentially revolutionize many third world countries and boost their agricultural industries to the point where they can become self-reliant. The world-wide implications of moving towards an ethanol-based system, rather than a petroleum-based system are seemingly endless.

Ethanol has been found to be a positive source of energy - giving almost sixty-five percent more than the energy that it takes to produce it. Ethanol may seem like a practical and very viable solution to many of the current energy issues facing not only the United States, but also the rest of the world as the earth's precious resources are being quickly depleted.

Despite the tremendous success Brazil has seen with the conversion to ethanol, there is still a relatively constant level of resistance to using the same principles if many larger countries. While this may be in part due to concerns about the vast amounts of farmland it would take to keep up with energy demands or the cost of inventing cars or converting cars to run on ethanol, the long-term conversion benefits seem to outweigh any disadvantages.