Can Ethanol Replace Gasoline as the Primary Fuel for U.S. Automobiles?
For many years the marriage of the internal combustion engine and relatively cheap gasoline has resulted in an automotive propulsion system far superior in terms of cost and performance to alternatives once seen on American roads, such as steam and electric vehicles. But 100 years of a gasoline-powered transportation system have eaten into the pool of cheap petroleum, and an increasing concern that the use of fossil fuels contributes significantly to global pollution and global warming has focused attention on the development of alternative power systems, especially those that are renewable and cause less pollution. Biofuels extracted from plants are a primary type of alternative fuel, and the largest current source of biofuels is ethanol. Ethanol – a form of alcohol – is derived from the sugar or starch that exists in all plants. In the United States, ethanol is manufactured mainly from corn, by first converting the starch in corn kernels to sugar and then to ethanol. In Brazil, the s
