Ethanol-A Serious Contender to Big Oil

As the world stands and watches planet Earth's glaciers plunging and shattering into the sea in unforeseen amounts and an island nation preparing to be completely submerged by water in the near future. When we hear about said incidents or witness it in front of our bare eyes, it is very easy to put the blame on big oil for this issue. Although, what we don't witness in front of our bare eyes is the fact that there has been a hidden solution all the way through this struggle that humanity faces today that has an answer to all these problems it is neither wind energy nor solar energy. The answer to what will replace oil once it runs out or what should replace oil right now to sustain the already volatile environment of today's Earth is Ethanol. Some may have heard of it and some may have not but it is the best answer to our current hassle with fossil fuels both in terms of cost and in terms of the environment.

So, what is Ethanol exactly?What makes it the "the solution" to our current hassle with fossil fuels? Ethanol basically is an alcohol that is sometimes referred to as ethyl alcohol or drinking alcohol. Yes, the very alcohol that is present in the Miller Lite Beer cans that you see stocked up at your supermarket. The basic chemical formula for this substance is C2H6O. Ethanol is not just used in alcoholic beverages, in fact, they are also used in perfumes, flavoring, varnishes and as a preservative for living specimens. Along with that, it is mostly used as a gasoline additive as you may have come across the term 10% Ethanol or E85 whenever you fill up your car at the gas station. Sure, it may have several applications in our lives but what makes it superior to gasoline? We all know that gasoline is present in limited amounts only and we will eventually run out of oil no matter how many new oil extraction methods we discover. On the other hand, Ethanol can be created in almost unlimited amounts enough to completely replace gasoline. Cellulosic Ethanol is basically ethanol that is produced from the inedible parts of plants. It is mostly produced from lignocellulose which is a structural material in plants that comprises most of the mass of plants. Lignocellulose is present in all plants out there from the tallest of trees to the shortest of weeds. This cellulose can then be hydrolyzed with sulfuric acid or enzymes which basically converts this into sugar. Then the sugar comes in contact with yeast and the process of fermentation is carried out in an anaerobic setting where the yeast breaks down the sugar into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Please refer to the image below to get a better picture of how cellulosic ethanol is produced.

The fact that this fuel can be created from plant scraps truly shows that it can be produced in unlimited amounts. In fact, statistics show that the production of cellulosic ethanol can reduce carbon emissions by a shocking 85-90%. Some sources indicate percentages as high as 95%. Although, how are we able to judge that this biofuel is able to reduce carbon emissions by 85-90%. Most of the time scientists judge the polluting factor of a fuel by looking at how much residue it leaves behind when burnt. Scientists also look at how clean the flame is, that is how blue the flame is or how stable it is. When both E85 and Gasoline are burned separately, we can observe that E85 contains a cleaner and more stable flame compared to gasoline which is completely orange and is not able to control itself. Please refer to the figure shown below.

In fact during the process of combustion, these fuels leave out residue and the results prove that Ethanol leaves very little to no residue but gasoline leaves a very high amount of residue when combusted as shown in the second figure below. This should be enough evidence to support the fact that Ethanol is the solution to the problem of pollution that big oil poses on us.

So, there certainly is scientific evidence proving that Ethanol can be produced in unlimited amounts and is a very clean fuel according to the flame tests conducted above. As we have come to this point in our research we shall pose a question on why Ethanol hasn't replaced gasoline already. The reason is because most of the world's fuel infrastructure is based on a fossil fuel paradigm, therefore, changing it is extremely expensive. Furthermore, Ethanol is as costly to produce as Gasoline, therefore, there is no incentive to produce it as it poses no monetary advantage in the eyes of a businessman. Of course, this sounds all doom and gloom and is a perfectly legitimate argument against Ethanol. Although, it doesn't mean that converting to Ethanol is impossible. Brazil has been able to convert its fuel source from fossil fuels to ethanol. They have almost zero dependence on foreign oil because they passed comprehensive fuel reform that helped it go through this large transition. Another reason is because of the tremendous lobbying power that OPEC and large oil companies in America and throughout the world possess. This extensive lobbying has placed laws and reforms that are against the production of Ethanol. Another fact is that car manufacturers support the big oil lobby and have set performance modifications for different fuels in their vehicles which are also against Ethanol. Another issue with using Ethanol as the fuel is that it can't give off as much energy as gasoline when burnt in similar volumes. Therefore, the fuel economy with E85 may be lower than gasoline. This is a huge let off because if the fuel economy is lower then that means you have to fill up your car more which will eventually lead to higher costs for you as a customer. Therefore, in this political and economic climate using gasoline is more cost efficient but damaging to our environment. and threatening to our future generations. So, at this instant, we need to ask ourselves whether we prefer a more cost effective solution or should we take a path that ensures a reasonable environment for the future of humanity to live in? If a developing country like Brazil could bear the costs and enact meaningful legislation then we can do that as well. After all, it is for our future and our future generations. Are the costs related to coping with an increasingly volatile environment really going to be lower than switching to a more environment-friendly solution? As we try to take responsible decisions in our own lives to ensure a prosperous future, it is equally essential that we take responsible decisions for the future of humanity.

Extra Information

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HrJqQI9joI- Interactive video explaining the process of creating cellulosic ethanol