Gasohol...fuel for the future?

It is a simple truth that petrol or gasoline reserves are running out. Whether we like it or not, there will come a day in the not too distant future when our pumps run dry and all our vehicles and factories grind to a halt. The petrol and natural gas reserves of the earth that took millions of years to form are being used up at an alarming rate. So the question is what can we do as responsible consumers of fossil fuel to arrest the rate of consumption so as to ensure that our limited reserves last long enough for us to have developed viable alternatives? One promising answer could be gasohol. 

So what is gasohol? I am sure by now you have got the two words which make up this relatively new term in the world of energy. When we mix together some gasoline with some alcohol we concoct gasohol. Both gasoline and alcohol are combustible substances and have high calorific values, but up until recently the latter was not considered as a viable fuel source. Alcohol (more commonly ethanol) can be obtained by fermenting carbohydrates retreived from starchy plant matter. Strange though it may sound, some of our common food items are excellent sources of starch, such as maize and sugarcane. In some countries large farms have been earmarked for growing these crops for the sole purpose of producing ethanol, most notably in Brazil. The ethanol which is obtained is then processed and mixed with normal gasoline or petrol (usually in a 1:9 ratio) to produce an engine worthy fuel - gasohol. 

Such use of alcohol with traditional fuels like gasoline naturally reduces the direct demand on the fossil fuel and gives us more time before we run out of oil. If the growth pattern of these crops for ‘bio-ethanol’ can be made environment friendly and sustainable, then we would have created a cleaner and greener fuel source, one in which the CO2 produced after burning the fuel is theoretically trapped by the bio-ethanol crops, at least to in a small extent.

                                  At a petrol pump in California, USA, offering ethanol mixed fuel

For additional information on gasohol, you can check out the following link:

http://www.carsdirect.com/hybrid-cars/gasohol-facts-figures-and-common-blends

For information on industrial research, production and marketing of gasohol, you may check out the following site of a company in Thailand:

http://www.bangchak.co.th/en/Gasohol.aspx

onebluesphere welcomes anyone who has come across other such websites to share their thoughts and put up links so that other readers may further explore the world of gasohol and similar fuels.