Alcohol fuel

The use of alcohol as a fuel for internal combustion engines, either alone or in combination with other fuels, has been given much attention mostly because of its possible environmental and long-term economical advantages over fossil fuel.

Related Topics:
Internal combustion engine - Fuel - Fossil fuel

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Both ethanol and methanol have been considered for this purpose. While both can be obtained from petroleum or natural gas, ethanol may be the most interesting because many believe it to be a renewable resource, easily obtained from sugar or starch in crops and other agricultural produce such as grain, sugarcane or even lactose. When alcohol fuel is mixed into gasoline, the result is known as gasohol. Other experiments involve butanol, which can also be produced by fermentation of plants.

Related Topics:
Ethanol - Methanol - Petroleum - Natural gas - Renewable resource - Sugarcane - Gasoline - Butanol

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Alcohol is also increasingly used as an oxygenate for gasoline, as a replacement for MTBE.

Related Topics:
Oxygenate - MTBE

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