Ethanol, also called Ethyl Alcohol (C2H5OH or C2H6O), is a clear, colourless liquid with a mild, agreeable smell, which evaporates easily and burns with a blue flame. In Nature, it is found wherever yeast lives, such as in overripe fruit, and is also produced by some plants during germination, especially when there isn’t much oxygen. It has been found in outer space, forming an icy layer around dust particles in large clouds between stars.
Once a mystical substance, ethanol’s journey to a well-understood chemical involved many cultures, alchemists, botanists, chemists and biologists over centuries. The discovery that linked biology to chemistry was Louis Pasteur’s demonstration that living yeast cells are responsible for the fermentation of sugar into alcohol in the absence of oxygen. Today, crops like beet, sugarcane and maize are the main sources of ethanol.
Many uses
Ethanol has multiple uses: as an antiseptic, in medical wipes and hand sanitisers; to dissolve many medicines that do not mix well with water; and in liquid pain medications, cough and cold medicines. It helps keep medicines mixed and stable and also acts as a preservative. It is also used in mouthwashes, perfumes, deodorants, paints, and markers.
As a fuel and fuel additive, it has a 200-year history. In 1826, American inventor Samuel Morey developed an engine that ran on ethanol and turpentine. In 1860, Nicholas Otto, a German engineer best known for developing the modern internal combustion engine, used ethanol as the fuel in one of his engines. In 1896, Henry Ford built his first automobile, the quadricycle, to run on pure ethanol. In 1908, he produced the flexible fuel Model T that could run on ethanol, gasoline, or a combination of both. Ethanol was also an important fuel for early rockets and is still used in some lightweight rocket-powered aircraft.
The demand for ethanol, which World War I drove, decreased with the arrival of cheap crude. In the 1970s, the ban on export of petroleum to countries that supported Israel during the Yom Kippur war by oil-producing Arab nations ensured ethanol a permanent place in the fuel mix. Brazil, the world leader, has at least 25% ethanol blended fuel, and special “flex-fuel” cars run on pure ethanol or a mix. In 2021, Ford launched the world’s first hybrid electric flex-fuel vehicle that can operate on a battery and E85 (fuel with 85% ethanol). In 2024, the first commercial ethanol-to-aviation fuel facility began operations in the U.S.
India, with its rich sugarcane production, started blending 5% ethanol in petrol in the early 2000s. Today, we are at 20%. While E20-ready vehicles are being rolled out, millions of older vehicles cannot handle this mix. The idea of growing your own fuel is tempting, even more so for a country like India. But we need to take into account the issue of engine technology and the reality of a water-intensive crop like sugarcane in a water-starved country.
