Ethanol
Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol or just alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound whose chemical formula is C 2 H 5 OH, also written as C 2 H 6 O. It is the active part of alcoholic drinks, which are drunk in most cultures worldwide. Ethanol is also used as a solvent because it can dissolve many other chemicals and is not very toxic. Yeast makes most of the ethanol that people use.
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel can be used instead of gasoline in cars and other engines. Engines can use pure ethanol or ethanol mixed with gasoline.
In Brazil, ethanol fuel made from sugar cane provides 18% of the fuel for cars. Therefore, the country does not have to buy petroleum from other countries.To do so, much of the rainforest has been cut down to grow more sugarcane, which is then fermented into ethanol.
Most cars in the United States can run on fuels that have of up to 10% ethanol in them. Carmakers like Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and GM also make vehicles specifically designed to run on higher ethanol blends. Some of their engines can run on up to 85% ethanol (E85). By mid-2006, there were about six million E85-compatible vehicles on the country’s roads, which can run on fuel wth 85% ethanol.
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