ETHANOL INDUSTRY / EPIC

Ethanol is an alternative fuel that is better for the passenger car and the environment. Compared to regular unleaded gasoline, ethanol-enriched fuel burns cleaner and produces fewer harmful tailpipe emissions. It also has higher octane, which can help cars develop maximum horsepower. Since ethanol is made in the United States from crops produced by farmers, it plays a key role in efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on oil. Ethanol is distilled from fermented grain – usually corn – in production plants. Currently there are more than 92 ethanol production plants in the U.S., producing almost 4.2 billion gallons of ethanol each year. Today ethanol is blended with gasoline and sold across the nation. The most common blend is known as E-10 – ten percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. E-10 can be used in virtually any automobile built after 1980. E-10 accounts for the majority of ethanol sales in the U.S. today. A less common form of ethanol-enriched fuel that has received more attention recently is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent of gasoline. Beginning in 2006, ten per cent ethanol-enriched methanol will be powering all the Indy cars in the 14-race IRL IndyCar® Series. In 2007, all of Indy cars will race with 100 per cent ethanol fuel. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) are charged with promoting ethanol in the U.S.

http://www.drivingethanol.org