Some Alcohol Fuels Facts
Some Alcohol Fuels Facts
Alcohol fuels are made from renewable resources such as locally grown crops and even waste products such as waste paper or grass and tree trimmings. Methanol and Ethanol are two types of alcohol fuels used in cars. Ethanol can be produced from a variety of renewable resources, most commonly corn and sugarcane. Methanol can be made from renewable resources also, but today, methanol is primarily made from natural gas.
Alcohol fuels burn cleaner than regular gasoline and produce less carbon monoxide and have high octane.
Local production of fuel, from Michigan-grown crops, supports agricultural jobs. Supporting local business keeps dollars in the state and contributes to a healthy state economy. Production of fuels in-state provides energy self-sufficiency.
Did you know?
* Methanol has been used as a racing fuel at the Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway (for reasons of safety and performance) for the past 20 years!
* Ethanol was the fuel preferred by Henry Ford back in the early days of the Model T.
* "Flexible fuel" alcohol vehicles have an on-board fuel sensor that monitors the percentage of alcohol present in the fuel mixture and automatically adjusts the engine.
* There are flexible-fueled vehicles capable of operating on 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, 100% gasoline, or any combination in between. The on-board fuel sensor determines the ethanol/gasoline mixture, sends the information to the engine’s computer, and the air-to-fuel ratio and timing are instantaneously adjusted. There’s even a digital readout on the dashboard that shows the driver what the alcohol fuel percentage is at that moment!
* Alcohol fueled vehicles are available for the same price as gasoline vehicles.
* Chrysler makes ethanol flexible-fueled Town & Country, Caravans, and Voyagers.
* Ford makes ethanol flexible-fueled Ranger trucks and Taurus sedans.
* Mazda makes ethanol flexible-fueled B3000 pickup trucks.
Biofuel push may backfire says official (The New Zealand Herald)
Success in growing algae for use as source of biofuel at a test facility in Hamilton has helped a company launch a $141 million effort to build a commercial algae-growing facility in Missouri.'Read more
Success in Hamilton helps algae-for-biodiesel project in funding effort (Ravalli Republic)
The rising cost of corn has caused the biofuel industry to look elsewhere for alternative energy sources.'Read more
Could Stinkweed Be The Next Biofuel? (KCTV 5 Kansas City)
ALBANY, N.Y. -- An Albany-based biodiesel company hopes cultivating stinkweed brings the sweet smell of success. Innovation Fuels has convinced a handful of upstate farmers to plant field pennycress -- also known as stinkweed -- under a pilot program being launched later this month.'Read more
Does Stinkweed Have Biofuel Potential? (Fox 12 Oregon)
An Albany-based biodiesel company hopes cultivating stinkweed brings the sweet smell of success. 'Read more
Biofuel researchers look for the good in stinkweed (Capital News 9)
CINCINNATI----There’s a new player fueling the alternative energy market and it’s picking up speed as fossil fuels continue to fall short. Camelina, an oilseed crop in the same family as mustard, is currently being grown throughout the United States and Canada and crushed to produce biodiesel by Great Plains – The Camelina Company.'Read more
Great Plains - The Camelina Company Makes Camelina Biodiesel a Reality (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
The request caught dairy farmer Brian Ziehm off guard: Would he devote an acre of his fields near the Vermont line this fall to grow stinkweed?'Read more
Biofuel researchers look for the good in stinkweed (AP via Yahoo! News)
ALBANY - The request caught dairy farmer Brian Ziehm off guard: Would he devote an acre of his fields near the Vermont border this fall to grow stinkweed?'Read more
Biofuel researchers look for the good in stinkweed (The Journal News)
There's a new player fueling the alternative energy market and it's picking up speed as fossil fuels continue to fall short.'Read more
Great Plains - The Camelina Company Makes Camelina Biodiesel a Reality (CattleNetwork.com)
The request caught dairy farmer Brian Ziehm off guard: Would he devote an acre of his fields near the Vermont line this fall to grow stinkweed? "It was like, 'What the heck? I've been trying to get rid of these things for 30 years. Now you want me to plant... 'Read more