Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ethanol fuel
The use of ethanol as a fuel for internal combustion engines, either alone or in combination with other fuels, has been given much attention mostly because of its possible environmental and long-term economical advantages over fossil fuel. Ethanol fuel is an alternative to gasoline. It can be combined with gasoline in any concentration up to pure ethanol (E100). Anhydrous ethanol, that is, ethanol without water, can be blended with gasoline in varying quantities to reduce the consumption of petroleum fuels, as well as to reduce air pollution. In the US, tolerance of ethanol depends on the individual vehicle.
In Brazil, ethanol-powered and flexible-fuel vehicles are capable of running on hydrated ethanol, an azeotrope of ethanol and water. In addition, flexible-fuel vehicles can run on any mixture of hydrated ethanol and gasoline, as long as there is at least 20% ethanol. A few flexible-fuel systems, like the Hi-Flex, used by Renault and Fiat, can also run with pure gasoline.
Ethanol is increasingly used as an oxygenate additive for standard gasoline, as a replacement for methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE), the latter chemical being responsible for considerable groundwater and soil contamination. Ethanol can also be used to power fuel cells and to produce biodiesel.
Related Stories
1
2
Earth & Climate News
October 24, 2026
Oct. 23, 2026 Switzerland’s glaciers are disappearing at an alarming rate, losing more than 5% of their ice volume in 2026 alone. Some of the country’s most famous glaciers experienced their worst melting on record, while several smaller glaciers vanished ...
Oct. 22, 2026 Forty years after the Chornobyl disaster, tiny radioactive particles still linger in the soil, carrying a dangerous legacy. Using powerful X-rays, scientists discovered that some of these particles have remained surprisingly stable, trapping ...
Oct. 22, 2026 Honeybees are aggressively pushing wild pollinators away from flowers, with scientists documenting how they chase off rivals and dominate valuable food sources. New research warns that rising temperatures and increasing honeybee populations could ...
Oct. 21, 2026 Scientists have cracked a 178-year-old mystery surrounding a train delayed by a solar storm, revealing that the famous incident happened in 1848 rather than 1841. The discovery rewrites the early history of space weather and highlights a threat that ...
Oct. 20, 2026 A new study reveals that improved hurricane forecast graphics may help people identify threatened areas without making them more likely to recognize the danger or take protective action. Researchers also found that a widespread misunderstanding of ...
Oct. 19, 2026 A massive landslide in Alaska triggered the second-highest tsunami ever recorded, sending water and debris 1,580 feet up a mountainside just hours after tourists visited the area. Scientists discovered that the disaster was preceded by several ...
Oct. 19, 2026 Scientists have discovered evidence of two hidden magma sources beneath Nicaragua’s Masaya volcano, where satellite observations revealed mysterious ground movements suggesting magma is shifting deep underground. The findings could improve ...
Oct. 19, 2026 Scientists have discovered that severely bleached corals can make a remarkable comeback simply by touching healthy, genetically identical corals. In laboratory experiments, dying corals regained their color and fully recovered within seven weeks, ...
Oct. 18, 2026 A catastrophic volcanic eruption 7,300 years ago devastated Japan, but new research reveals that its impact on prehistoric populations was far more complex than previously believed. While some ...
Oct. 17, 2026 El Niño is fueling a dangerous cascade of wildfires across the tropics, with the Amazon rainforest now experiencing widespread burning and scientists warning that the worst may still be ahead. NASA researchers are uncovering dozens of previously ...
Oct. 17, 2026 Scientists have discovered that some forest soils are becoming surprisingly better at removing methane from the atmosphere as temperatures rise and rainfall declines. A study spanning up to 24 years found methane absorption increasing by an average ...
Oct. 16, 2026 Scientists have discovered a remarkable “Pac-Man enzyme” that helps bacteria devour certain types of plastic and may offer new hope in the fight against plastic pollution. Researchers found that ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
Oct. 23, 2026 Deep beneath Japan’s Kikai caldera, a massive magma reservoir is refilling 7,300 years after one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in Earth's recent geological history. Scientists used ...
Oct. 21, 2026 Scientists discovered a rock in Papua New Guinea that plunged more than 90 kilometers beneath Earth's surface, revealing a bizarre temperature pattern that challenges established theories of Earth's ...
Oct. 21, 2026 A decades-long mystery beneath the North Sea has finally been solved. Scientists have confirmed that the Silverpit Crater, buried 700 meters below ...
Oct. 16, 2026 As Hurricane Simon unleashed destructive winds and flooding along Mexico’s coast, NASA satellites captured an extraordinary sight: massive atmospheric waves rippling high above the storm. The rare ...
Oct. 15, 2026 Antarctic sea ice reached its third-lowest winter maximum in 2026, extending a remarkable decline that began after years of record-breaking growth. Scientists are investigating whether the dramatic ...
Oct. 15, 2026 Arctic sea ice is shrinking in both winter and summer, with satellite records revealing that the region's remaining ice is becoming thinner, younger, and more vulnerable to melting. Despite a recent ...
Oct. 15, 2026 Scientists have discovered a potential new weapon against a devastating fungus that threatens rice, wheat, and barley worldwide. By engineering a ...
Oct. 12, 2026 Europe's Sentinel-3C satellite has returned breathtaking images of Earth just two weeks after launch, revealing the snowy Alps, frozen Arctic ...
Oct. 12, 2026 Scientists may have solved a 2.3-billion-year-old mystery about how Earth maintained enough oxygen to support life. Ancient rocks reveal that ...
Oct. 12, 2026 Australia's normally dry, rust-colored outback has erupted into a spectacular carpet of wildflowers after unusually heavy rains, potentially producing its most impressive bloom in nearly 20 years. ...