Related topics: biofuel , gasoline , ethanol production
Ethanol
hideEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug, best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages and in modern thermometers. Ethanol is one of the oldest recreational drugs. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as alcohol or spirits.
Ethanol is a straight-chain alcohol, and its molecular formula is C2H5OH. Its empirical formula is C2H6O. An alternative notation is CH3-CH2-OH, which indicates that the carbon of a methyl group (CH3-) is attached to the carbon of a methylene group (-CH2-), which is attached to the oxygen of a hydroxyl group (-OH). It is a constitutional isomer of dimethyl ether. Ethanol is often abbreviated as EtOH, using the common organic chemistry notation of representing the ethyl group (C2H5) with Et.
The fermentation of sugar into ethanol is one of the earliest organic reactions employed by humanity. The intoxicating effects of ethanol consumption have been known since ancient times. In modern times, ethanol intended for industrial use is also produced from by-products of petroleum refining.
Ethanol has widespread use as a solvent of substances intended for human contact or consumption, including scents, flavorings, colorings, and medicines. In chemistry, it is both an essential solvent and a feedstock for the synthesis of other products. It has a long history as a fuel for heat and light and also as a fuel for internal combustion engines.
For more information about Ethanol, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with ethanol
Going green: Entire Swedish city switches to biofuels to become environmentally friendly
Mar 08, 2009 |
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Though a fraction of Chicago's size, this industrial city in southeast Sweden has plenty of similarities with it, including a long, snowy winter and a football team the town's crazy about.
New biomass technology dramatically increases ethanol yield from grasses and yard waste
Jul 28, 2008 |
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University of Georgia researchers have developed a new technology that promises to dramatically increase the yield of ethanol from readily available non-food crops, such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrass—and even ...
Researchers advance cellulosic ethanol production
Sep 08, 2008 |
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A team of researchers from Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering and Mascoma Corporation in Lebanon, N.H., have made a discovery that is important for producing large quantities of cellulosic ethanol, a leading candidate ...
Turning Waste Material into Ethanol
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 13, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Say the word “biofuels” and most people think of grain ethanol and biodiesel. But there’s another, older technology called gasification that’s getting a new look from researchers at the U.S. ...
Tiny super-plant can clean up animal waste, be used for ethanol production
Apr 07, 2009 |
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Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that a tiny aquatic plant can be used to clean up animal waste at industrial hog farms and potentially be part of the answer for the global energy ...
New hydrogen production method could reduce need for fossil fuels
Jan 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have created an entirely natural and renewable method for producing hydrogen to generate electricity which could drastically reduce the dependency on fossil fuels in the future.
Longer life linked to specific foods in Mediterranean diet
Jun 23, 2009 |
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Some food groups in the Mediterranean diet are more important than others in promoting health and longer life according to new research published on bmj.com today.
New technique makes corn ethanol process more efficient
Sep 04, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are proposing to borrow a process used in breweries and wastewater treatment facilities to make corn ethanol more energy efficient. They are ...
Research finds kava is safe and effective
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
May 11, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- UQ research has found a traditional extract of kava, a medicinal plant from the South Pacific, to be safe and effective in reducing anxiety.
Electricity more efficient than ethanol as energy pathway from biomass
May 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Electricity or ethanol, which is the better use of our nation's biomass crops when it comes to powering vehicles? Our government seems to have chosen ethanol, recently announcing nearly $800 ...
City buses turn to sewage for 'clean' fuel
Mar 22, 2009 |
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Can the key to "clean" energy be found down in the sewer? That's the idea in Oslo, where city officials soon plan to introduce buses that run on biofuels extracted from human waste.
Ethanol vs. Electricity: Biomass converted into electricity could be more efficient than ethanol (w/Video)
May 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Concerns over petroleum gas prices and long-term effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment have prompted scientists to look for alternative renewable energy sources for transportation ...
Digesting the termite digestome -- a way to make biofuels?
Biology /
Oct 22, 2008 |
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If the biofuel known as bioethanol is to make a major contribution to our fuel supplies, then we may well require the assistance of some tiny insect helpers, says Michael Scharf, an assistant professor of entomology at the ...
Researchers boost production of biofuel that could replace gasoline
Aug 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers at Ohio State University have found a way to double the production of the biofuel butanol, which might someday replace gasoline in automobiles.
Cars running on ethanol can pollute too: Brazil study
Sep 17, 2009 |
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Cars running on sugarcane ethanol can produce as many harmful pollutants as those using ordinary petrol (gasoline), according a study published by Brazil's environment ministry.
