Ethanol

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 Ethanol is a kind of alcohol that can be burned in specially designed engines to provide power to cars. Ethanol can be made from sugarcane, corn, and other biomass. Cellulose ethanol is a special kind of ethanol.

Ethanol can be used to replace gasoline or it can be mixed with gasoline, creating gasohol. A common blend is E85, which is eighty-five percent ethanol and fifteen percent gasoline. "Flex" cars or flexible fuel cars have been designed which can run on either gasoline or ethanol. Ethanol emissions are more environmentally friendly than gasoline, and its use reduces dependence on foreign oil.

Ethanol is used worldwide, but its use is concentrated in the U.S. and Brazil. America uses corn-based ethanol, and there is a new government initiative to promote ethanol. Ethanol is an standard additive in American gasoline since it replaced the poisonous additive MTBE, and normal cars can burn up to E10, ten percent ethanol, without flex engines. Brazil, which has had an ethanol government initiative for many years, uses sugarcane-based ethanol, and about forty percent of its automotive fuel needs are met with ethanol.

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