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Ethanol Nation: Brazil Finds Energy Freedom With Sugar-Based Fuel
Pull into any fuel station in Brazil and the question will be the same: "Álcool ou gasolina?" Ethanol or gasoline?

This South American nation is the first country in the world to adopt ethanol as a major fuel. Instead of relying on oil from the Middle East, Brazil looks to its fields of sugarcane to help power its cars and trucks. Most vehicles sold here are capable of running on either ethanol or gasoline, and the country is well on its way to creating the world's first ethanol-based economy.

Many see Brazil as a model for America's transition from an economy dependent on foreign oil to one based on several alternative fuels, including ethanol. But while Brazil is a laboratory for U.S. automakers and a case study for policymakers, its embrace of ethanol is the result of very different historic, political and agricultural realities.

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Ethanol Nation: Brazil Finds Energy Freedom With Sugar-Based Fuel



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Bmw8terBmw8ter - 8/23/2007 11:34:33 AM
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Something tells me that Brazil will be the next "Kuwait", in the not-so-distant future.

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Agent009Agent009 - 8/23/2007 11:53:10 AMView My AgentSpace
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Well if we decided to focus on Algae instead of Corn for ethanol we could be the leader. We have the climate and the coastline to make it work.


Bmw8terBmw8ter - 8/23/2007 2:41:39 PM
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You know the U.S. isn't going to give up producing ethanol from corn anytime soon....too many politicians getting rich off of it..."yellow" is the new "green".


EnnNorakEnnNorak - 8/23/2007 10:53:12 PM
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Cellulose Ethanol is definitely the way to go but in fairness to corn ethanol mongers, you should be aware that a good amount of animal feed is a byproduct of corn ethanol production. Also, corn itself can double in price for all I care as corn represents a very small fraction of what you pay at your supermarket for a box of corn-based cereal.


kurtismackurtismac - 8/23/2007 5:25:55 PM
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gregsfcgregsfc - 8/25/2007 7:50:56 AM
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Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup running E85 blend fuel: City fuel economy = 9 mpg, epa estimated; same vehicle running 100% gasoline = 14 mpg city, epa estimated.

Dodge Ram 1500 w/ a 4.2 V-6 Cummins diesel(coming 2010): estimated by Cummins to get 20 mpg, city. Estimated fuel economy loss through Cummins studies running 100% biodiesel = 5-7 percent which means that soon one can get 18.6 mpg without even using any amount of petroleum in the fuel tank.

Okay. Y'all tell me which is a better idea. Running E85 @ 9 mpg in the city or running B100 or getting 18.6 mpg. in the city with equal peformance of the two variant engines.

Diesels running biodiesel blends are a much more feasible solution to help reduce petroleum consumption and CO2. We use less petroleum and less overall fuel; whereas, with ethanol in gas-powered engines, we use less petroelum but much more overall fuel. Both renewable fuels offer similar reductions in harmful pollutants; biodiesel has twice the energy density of ethanol and has a higher energy balance; biodiesel can come from many more feedstocks and from many more climatic regions of our country and world; and biodiesel goes in a 30% more efficient engine without reducing the efficiency of that engine; whereas ethanol reduces efficiency by at least 25% in vehicles that are already 25% less efficient than diesels.

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TONYRICHTONYRICH - 8/25/2007 5:07:57 PM
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ETHANOL DOES NOT HAVE THE BTUS THAT GASOLINE HAS YOU CAN GET MOST OF THE MPG THAT ARE LOST GOING OVER TO ETHANOL BY RAISEING THE COMPRESSION RATIO TO 12 TO 1 BUT THEN IF YOU DO THAT THEN IT WILL NOT RUN WELL ON GASOLINE ALSO ETHANOL CAN BE MADE FROM ANYTHING WITH CELLULOSE IN IT INCLUDEING ORGANIC GARBAGE.

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motomoto - 8/27/2007 2:14:22 PM
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For those who have never visited Brazil, you may want to visit before you assume that they have a better solution. What is economical for them is NOT economical for other countries, due to different demands, different infrastructure, and different natural resources and climate.

Numerous studies have shown that America cannot economically fuel itself with ethanol now or in the foreseeable future. Transportation fuel demand in the USA is vastly greater than that in Brazil, but our climate and land area are not able to sustainably produce it. Brazilian sugarcane is far easier to distill into ethanol than our corn or cellulose or waste feedstocks. The USA and Canada need to diversify: natural gas, ethanol, renewable electricity, conservation, batteries, etc. will all be part of the infrastucture. However, federal subsidies for corporate farming (Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto, and the like) is a waste of taxpayer money.

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