What is Ethanol?

Ethanol is an alcohol that is used in gasoline resulting in a cleaner-burning fuel with higher octane. Ethanol is currently blended into more than 50 percent of the nation's fuel supply.

Ethanol has been blended in gasoline for decades, and billions of miles have been driven on ethanol-blended fuels.

Corn is the primary feedstock for ethanol production. About 20 percent of the nation's corn supply went into ethanol in 2007 (some 3.0 billion bushels). Ethanol can also be made from other grains such as sorghum as well as from "biomass" sources such as corn cobs, cornstalks, wheat straw, switchgrass, vegetable and forestry waste and other organic matter.

Ethanol offers a number of benefits to our cars, our environment, our economy and our national security. Some of those benefits include: added oxygen to gasoline - helping it combust more completely and reducing the level of toxic exhaust emission, reducing our nation's dangerous and expensive dependence on imported oil, creating ethanol industry jobs and investment across the nation (especially in rural areas), increasing America's fuel supply - helping keep gas prices down and added value to America's corn harvest which helps reduce the cost of federal farm programs.

Ethanol And Your Car

Every automaker in the world approves the use of E-10 Unleaded (10 percent ethanol/90 percent ordinary unleaded gasoline) under warranty. Ethanol adds two to three points of octane to gasoline, helping improve engine performance. It also helps keep fuel injectors clean - and it lowers the levels of toxic exhaust emissions.

To find gas stations offering E85, you can visit www.e85refueling.com, which has a map that gives E85 pump locations by state. The number of stations offering E85 is increasing at a rapid pace.

How does ethanol performance compare to gasoline?

One gallon of pure ethanol contains about 66 percent as much energy as a gallon of gasoline. A gallon of E85, a common blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, contains about 71 percent as much energy as a gallon of unblended gasoline.

Drivers who use E85 pure ethanol can expect about 15 percent less fuel economy than they would with gasoline. Other performance factors such as power, acceleration, and cruising speed are essentially equivalent in vehicles burning E85 and conventional fuels

E85: More Ethanol, More Benefits

This blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent ordinary unleaded gasoline is rapidly becoming a major player in the alternative fuel marketplace. Several automakers produce flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) that can run on any blend of gasoline and ethanol up to E85. There are some 7 million vehicles in the U.S. that can run on E85 and the number of E85 fueling stations across the nation is growing dramatically - more than 1,600!

Owning a flexible fuel vehicle does not mean you have to fill up with E85 every time. A computer in the fuel system automatically adjusts for the amount of ethanol in the fuel. You can fill up with E85 one time, E-10 Unleaded another and ordinary unleaded gasoline a third time (That's why they're called flexible!)

Environment: Improving Our Air

One of the many benefits of ethanol blended fuels is reduced toxic emissions from vehicles into our air. Gasoline is a complex mixture of dozens of chemicals, many of them toxic. Ethanol adds oxygen to gasoline - improving combustion and reducing toxic exhaust emissions. Adding ethanol to gasoline also dilutes the potency of these toxic chemicals and greenhouse gas emissions. Studies have shown that ethanol reduces tailpipe carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 30 percent! It also reduces exhaust volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions by 12 percent, cuts toxic emissions by 30 percent and eliminates more than 25 percent of particulate matter (PM) emissions.

Research by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratories shows that ethanol has the ability to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to Argonne, the productions and use of 4.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006 reduced carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions by about 8 million tons. That's like taking 1.2 millions cars off American roadways.

Production: The Industry Is Growing

Ethanol production has grown dramatically in the last few years as the demand for this clean-air fuel has escalated. Ethanol has become a legitimate industry that is rapidly changing the face of rural America - and helping the United States address serious environmental and energy challenges.

In 2007, 110 ethanol plants in more than 20 states produced a record 6.5 billion gallons of ethanol. Calgren has recently joined the ethanol movement on August 8, 2009 when we began continuously producing ethanol. With our groundbreaking design, the plant is one of the most efficient operations and lowest carbon footprint facilities in the country. The plant is powered by and ultra-low NOx gas turbine generator capable of producing 5,800 KW of electricity, the exhaust of which makes process steam. We are also investigating and evaluating alternative feed stocks, including wastes and cellulose. The cogeneration turbine is capable of operating on methane gas from local waste l