We all want to breathe clean air.

Fueling the World with Ethanol

Ethanol is an agriculture success story. Countries across the globe are investing in ethanol with Brazil leading the world in ethanol production and consumption. All automotive fuel sold in Brazil contains ethanol and more than 3.5 million cars run on 100 percent ethanol fuel. The balance of the automotive fleet uses a 24- percent ethanol blend.

Since 1980, Sweden has cut its crude oil consumption in half as a result of ethanol production. India has begun several pilot projects to use a 5 percent ethanol blend in gasoline. In the United States, cornbased ethanol plays three major roles in our economy: it offers energy security by replacing $2 billion worth of imported fuel with a renewable, domestic fuel; it is good for the environment, reducing pollution and contributing to clearer air; and it’s good for the economy, creating new business opportunities for corn growers and communities.

Ethanol production is energy efficient, too, because it has a positive net energy balance, meaning it takes less energy to produce ethanol than the product ultimately created. Additionally, its byproduct, distillers dried grains with solubles, is a nutritious livestock feed.

Ethanol-blended fuels account for 18 percent of all automotive fuels in the United States. Ethanol has a 113-octane rating, making it the highest-performing fuel on the market. And because ethanol-blended fuels don’t leave gummy deposits, they keep automobile fuel systems clean and also help serve as gas-line antifreeze in winter.