Ethanol is a renewable liquid fuel which reduces the use of gasoline made from fossil petroleum. Made from sugars created by green plants through photosynthesis, ethanol provides the practical link from solar energy to automobiles today. Green plants trap solar energy and use it to make sugar molecules from carbon dioxide and water. Sugar is then fermented to ethanol which substitutes for gasoline.  An additional benefit is that ethanol fits easily into the existing automotive infrastructure. Ethanol blended with gasoline at 10% (E10) runs today in all standard automobiles. Ethanol at 85% (E85) can run today in millions of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in the U.S. and Brazil, saving more gasoline and emitting less fossil carbon.   Nearly 4 billion gallons of fuel ethanol will be made in the U.S. from corn grain this year, and a similar amount from sugar cane in Brazil. Future expansion of ethanol capacity in the U.S. beyond 8-10 billion gallons will require using cellulosic biomass feedstocks such as paper waste, wood, switchgrass and corn stover. These more abundant feedstocks could provide enough cellulosic ethanol to replace 25% or more of U.S. gasoline, or about 50 billion gallons of ethanol. The non-sugar component of biomass, called lignin, can be burned for process energy, substituting for expensive natural gas, a fossil fuel.   Making this vision a reality will require investment, new technology, and a commitment to replace substantial amounts of gasoline with bioethanol. Benefits for the U.S. will be progress in reducing CO2 emissions, the growth of a sustainable industry which creates jobs here, better energy security and a reduction in the trade deficit.   Ethanol can also be used to power fuel cells, and is easier to store and distribute than gaseous hydrogen.   For the potential of cellulosic ethanol in the U.S., see:   Rocky Mountain Institute (2005) Setting the Record Straight on Ethanol   Natural Resources Defense Council (2005) Bringing Biofuels to the Pump   Argonne National Laboratory Michael Wang (2005) An Update of Energy and Greenhouse Emission Impacts of Fuel Ethanol   Email: dgibbs@generalbiomass.com <-- Back to the General Biomass Main Page   Copyright © 2000-2005 by General Biomass Company. All Rights Reserved.