An Overview of Ethanol Producing Countries Ethanol Producing Countries
In the past few months, there had been a tremendous increase in the prices of oil products since the cost per barrel in the international market had risen to an all-time high. The problem had been noticed worldwide and resulted in even more problems such as increase in prices of basic commodities which, in one way or another, primarily depend its production and transportation on fuel.
The scarcity of oil sources had paved the way for alternative sources of energy to be utilized to meet the need of the consumers. Electric cars had been invented and engine upgrades to LPG had been available. Car manufacturers had also been promoting their very own hybrid vehicles that are aimed to address the oil problems as well as the problems with pollution.
ETHANOL - A CLOSER LOOK
Ethanol fuel had been used as an alternative to gasoline to run the cars in some countries like Brazil. This renewable source of energy is being promoted since it can be produced in larger amount to suffice the needs of the consumers when it comes to their energy requirement especially now that the oil prices are very expensive.
Ethanol is produced from crops like grain, sugar cane, cassava, wheat and many other carbon-based feedstock. To produce ethanol, these crops simply undergo the processes of fermentation, distillation, dehydration and denaturing respectively. The ethanol produced can then be used in running cars as an ethanol fuel by blending it with gasoline as an extender or as an oxygenate or it can be used in vehicles that solely run with the combination of ethanol and gasoline.
ETHANOL PRODUCING COUNTRIES
The value of ethanol as an energy source had been much appreciated in many countries around the world. It had been an acceptable alternative to gasoline since its sources are very much available and that it helps in lessening the pollution problems brought by the poisonous emissions by vehicles that run solely on gasoline. Here are the major ethanol producing countries in the world:
1. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The United States is the major producer of ethanol in the world creating about 6.49 billion liquid gallons of ethanol in the year 2007. It is also the country that consumes most of the ethanol that is being produced. Majority of the vehicles in the country had been running with gasoline blended with about 10% ethanol and auto companies are manufacturing vehicles that could run in even higher amount of ethanol since this would provide more fuel efficiency as well as this would be more helpful to consumers especially that oil prices are increasing almost every week.
Some states in the US are even implementing a minimum of 10% ethanol to in fuel available in their local gas pumping stations. Major car companies are even creating flexible-fuel vehicles that are able to run from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol. Since ethanol is primarily made from crops such as corn, many of the 1,587 ethanol distributing stations are found in areas where corn is abundant.
Issues, however, arise because of the use of corn instead of sugarcane in producing ethanol. It is believed that using sugarcane is five to six times more efficient in producing ethanol than corn. Aside from this, the food crop is being used in producing the fuel instead of having it used for food purposes.
2. BRAZIL
Ethanol production in Brazil as an alternative to gasoline started all the way back from the mid-70s. Since Brazil is rich in crops, it had never been a problem in the country to find the raw materials in producing ethanol. Brazil was the primary producer of ethanol in 2004 creating about 3.99 billion liquid gallons of ethanol for that year.
Unlike in the United States where corn is the primary crop used in creating ethanol, sugar cane is mostly used in Brazil and the ethanol that the country produced accounts for 20% of fuel consumption for the road transport sector and 40% fuel consumption for the light vehicles. The abundant ethanol production in Brazil helped the country to become self-sufficient when it comes to their oil needs.
3. EUROPEAN UNION
Europe is the third largest manufacturer of ethanol in the world. It provides 570 million liquid gallons of ethanol in 2007. The top 5 producers of ethanol in Europe are Germany, France, Sweden, Italy and Spain making Europe to be 90% self-sufficient in their ethanol consumption.
Sweden has the most number of ethanol stations and in the said country, a law was even imposed for every gasoline station to provide an alternative fuel. However, majority of the European countries still does not sell E85 fuels (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) unlike in the United States.
4. CHINA
Being the fourth largest provider of ethanol with a gross production of 486 millions of liquid gallons in 2007, it is starting to embrace the idea of an ethanol blended fuel that would be utilized by cars in the country. China is just starting to utilize the said fuel and is conducting a preliminary implementation in its five cities that include Zhengzhou, Nanyang, Luoyang, Harbin and Zhaodong
5. AUSTRALIA AND THAILAND
Both Australia and Thailand uses E10 or 90% petrol and 10% ethanol. Majority of the oil companies in Australia are providing E10 fuel in their gas stations. In the year 2008, Thailand, however, started to sell E20 and E85 will then be available in the country on the third quarter of the year.
Other countries are also producing ethanol as an alternative to gasoline which include Canada, Colombia, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay. The reason behind the increasing popularity of ethanol is due to the increasing demand for fuel worldwide that cannot be met by the oil-producing countries.
Since ethanol can be easily produced considering that the raw materials are abundant around us, many other countries would surely start to manufacture the said biofuel. This would greatly help them economically since this fuel would help lessen their dependency on oil products especially that oil prices are greatly increasing in the international market.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuelhttp://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2005/Update49.htm
