Ethanol – Food vs Fuel
- admin003049
- Sep 25, 2020
- 2 min read
What is Ethanol?
Ethanol is a clear colourless liquid that can be made from many different sources including wheat, molasses a by-product of sugarcane production or any starch. It is also known as alcohol The boiling point of ethanol is 78 °C and the flashpoint is 11 °C. There are many ethanol products on the market in Australia that are not manufactured for drinking or human consumption. These include for the extraction of essential oils, disinfectants, sterilisation medical equipment, as a window cleaner, automotive fuel and octane booster and there are many more uses including indoor or outdoor ethanol heating.
Drinking grade ethanol or alcohol differs from commercial or industrial grades with no addition of denaturants, Bitrex, hydrocarbon or methanol. Denaturants are added the ethanol to stop people drinking the product. Whisky (#whiskeyneatnopeat), vodka, rum and brandy are all alcohols without denaturants so that they can be consumed.
Ethanol mixes well with water, and you will also find that ethanol is a common ingredient in cosmetics, cleaners and fuels. When using ethanol on the skin as rubbing alcohol it is recommended to dilute it down to about 70%. You can also add in a fragrance to mix with ethanol to make as a disinfectant to use around the home.
Looking for a source of ethanol : Labtech.com.au
Uses for ethanol
Ethanol is used in Printing Ink, Gel and Liquid Hand sanitizers, Scientific research, cleaning window, used in alcoholic beverages, Beauty, Heating, Petrol blends and even rocket engines.
Ethanol – Food vs Fuel
It is important to realise that not all ethanol is equal, especially when it comes to sustainability. There has been much debate around the use of biofuels taking resources away from food production. This debate mainly refers to the overseas production of ethanol and specifically the use of corn and grains to produce ethanol.
The sugar/molasses-based ethanol situation is different, sugar is a sweetener, not a food staple. Unlike corn and grain, sugar contains no protein, fat or vitamins.
Other benefits of sugar/molasses based ethanol include:
The molasses used to produce Ethanol is a by-product of sugar production and is not a “food”
Ethanol produced from Sugar has 4 times the C02 reduction of ethanol produced from grain.
60% of Australian sugarcane is now grown without irrigation.
Water management practices have been implemented by sugarcane farmers through a Rural Water Use Efficiency Project (RWUE). The RWUE project has lead to 91% changing the layout of their farm to improve the efficiency of irrigation and/or harvesting operations.
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