ERASMUS PROJECT PLUGGING INTO NATURE WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIESLab protocol

1. Bioethanol
A brief presentation...

2. What is?
The principle fuel used as a petrol substitute for road transport
vehicles is bioethanol. Bioethanol fuel is mainly produced by the
sugar fermentation process, although it can also be manufactured
by the chemical process of reacting ethylene with steam.

3. What are the Benefits?
In comparison to fossil fuels
● It comes from a renewable resource, such as crops
● It reduces the greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these emissions will be reduced as
the fuel crops absorb the CO2 they emit through growing.
● It is biodegradable and far less toxic that fossil fuels. In addition, using bioethanol in older
engines can help to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide produced by the vehicle thus
improving air quality.
● it can be easily integrated into the existing road transport fuel system. In quantities up to
5%, bioethanol can be blended with conventional fuel without the need of engine
modifications.
● It is produced using familiar methods, such as fermentation, and it can be distributed
using the same petrol forecourts and transportation systems as before.

4. What are the disadvantages?
● Biodiversity – A large amount of arable land is required to grow crops. This could bring
about the distruction of some natural habitats including rainforests.
● The food V fuel debate – There is concern that, due to the lucrative prices of bioethanol,
some farmers may sacrifice food crops for biofuel production; this could cause anl
increase of food prices around the world.
● Carbon dioxide emissions – There is debate on the neutrality of bioethanol when all
elements are taken into consideration including the cost of changing the land use of an
area, transportation and the burning of the crop. During the production process of
bioethanol a huge amount of carbon dioxide is released which makes its ecological
effectiveness close to zero. The production of ethanol fills the air with greenhouse gases
(GHG) in the amounts comparable to the emissions of internal-combustion engines
● Efficency - The energy content of the petrol is much higher than the one of bioethanol.
Burning 1 liter of ethanol gives 34% less energy than burning the same amount of petrol.
In other words, Bioethanol is not as efficient as petrol. Its energy content is 70% of that of
petrol.

5. What cars use bioethanol?
Bioethanol can be handled in a similar manner to petrol and is often used
at a low percentage blend to save on fuel costs – E10 is 10% ethanol
and 90% petrol.
However, bioethanol can be suitable in much larger quantities and can
produce excellent high-performance results – it is already used in motor
racing. Yet it is generally necessary to adjust the car to accept these
larger quantities , e.g. the fitting of a larger fuel tank and an adjustment of
the ignition timing. Pure ethanol is also difficult to vaporise, this can make
starting a car in cold weather difficult and that is why most fuels retain at
least a small amount of petrol – such as E85 cars with 85% ethanol and
15% petroleum.
Bioethanol is on the increase as a fuelling alternative. Already Ford, Saab
and Volvo produce Fuel-Flex Vehicles (FFVs) that can run on an ethanol
blend up to E85.

6. Bioethanol
Production