Ethanol for All

                                                                      

Ethanol is the systematic name defined by the IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry for a molecule with two carbon atoms (prefix "eth-"), having a single bond between them (suffix "-ane"), and an attached -OH group (suffix "-ol")  

The term 'ethyl' is the Anglicised version of the German word äthyl, which was coined in 1838 by Liebig. It was modeled after the related term 'methyl' both terms originate from Greek, and share the segment 'yl', which is equivalent to 'hyle' meaning stuff. However, the preceding segment differs - 'eth', is equivalent to 'aither', meaning ether. Thus the word 'ethyl' is a contraction of 'aither hyle'.^[7] Liebig used the term 'ethyl alcohol' to distinguish between ethanol and other alcohols.

The term "alcohol" now refers to a wider class of substances in chemistry nomenclature, but in common parlance it remains the name of ethanol. Ultimately a medieval loan from Arabic al-kuḥl,^[8] use of alcohol in this sense is modern, introduced in the mid 18th century. Before that time, Middle Latin alcohol referred to "powdered ore of antimony; powdered cosmetic", by the later 17th century "any sublimated substance; distilled spirit" use for "the spirit of wine" (shortened from a full expression alcohol of wine) recorded 1753. The systematic use in chemistry dates to 1850. (Wikipedia)

The need of the hour is to get  environmentally friendly and sustainable renewable energy products that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. Green Fuel will not only increase energy security but will also lessen dependence on foreign, imported oil and fossil fuel.

What is ethanol? Ethanol is a high quality, high octane, renewable fuel produced by the fermentation of plant sugars. In the transportation industry, ethanol is either used as a vehicle fuel by itself, blended with petrol, or as a petrol octane enhancer and oxygenate.

How long has ethanol been in use? Ethanol has been used by humans since pre-historic times, mainly as the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol was first prepared synthetically in 1826. It has been used as lamp fuel in the United States as early as 1840. From 1908 onward, Ford Model T automobiles were adapted to run on alcohol. With the advent of prohibition in 1920, ethanol fuel sellers were accused of being allied with moonshiners, and ethanol fuel fell into disuse until the late 20th century. Oil price hikes, and the fact that oil is a non-sustainable energy source, with oil stocks rapidly depleting, has given momentum to the use of ethanol as fuel over the past ten years.

Are there different types of ethanol? Ethanol fuel can be hydrous (wet) or anhydrous (dry). Hydrous ethanol is the most concentrated grade of ethanol that can be produced by simple distillation without the further dehydration step necessary to produce anhydrous ethanol. Hydrous ethanol contains 4% water and 96% ethanol.Anhydrous ethanol is an ethyl alcohol that is free of water, has a purity of at least 99.6%, and is produced using the latest distillation technology. Anhydrous ethanol is the highest quality ethanol available for fuel, with excellent performance benefits. The ‘fuel grade’ ethanol used in Europe is anhydrous and is usually blended with lower percentages of petrol, as it mixes better than hydrous ethanol.

What are ethanol blends? Ethanol blends are the amount of ethanol, or Green Fuel, as a percentage mixed with petrol. For example, E10 is 10% ethanol (Green Fuel) blended with 90% petrol. The most common blends are E10, E20, E50 and E50. The ‘E’ indicates that the fuel contains ethanol or Green Fuel.

What is E85? E85 is fuel that contains 85% ethanol (Green Fuel) and 15% petrol. E85 offers superior performance characteristics and burns cleaner than petrol, together with being competitively priced. 85% ethanol is the most popular blend of ethanol fuel used in the USA, Brazil and Sweden.