How Green is Ethanol?

Not all ethanol is the same
Ethanol is a simple chemical, whether ethanol is produced from sugar cane, wheat, corn, or even oil the actual substance is chemically identical. However, when looking at the environmental benefit of ethanol the type of feedstock and production process have great bearing on the actual environmental benefit.

Brazilian ethanol has strong environmental credentials due to the high yields of ethanol achieved per hectare and the use of the fibre from sugar cane (cane bagasse) to power production. This process results in significant reductions in terms of greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to fossil fuels. Ethanol produced from sugar cane achieves the greatest level of greenhouse gas reduction in comparison to other sources of ethanol on a full lifecycle analysis (''well-to-wheel'' basis), taking into account the energy consumed in the production process through to exhaust emissions.

Due to differences in the process of manufacturing ethanol from corn, some studies have indicated a net energy loss while others have found meaningful gains. In contrast, ethanol produced from sugar cane has been found to generate considerable greenhouse gas reductions with limited variation given the standardised process for the manufacture of ethanol and utilisation of surplus biomass to provide energy used in the manufacturing process. Studies show that ethanol produced under Brazilian conditions results in an energy output up to 10 times greater than the fossil energy input. The chart below compares the cane ethanol production output in terms of greenhouse gas emissions with those of other biofuels.

Brazil produces the world's cleanest and greenest biofuel.