Gasohol is a promising alternative to gasoline. It has a higher Octane than the real thing and cuts down on the consumption of oil. Conservationists are particularly excited about it,though its production is costly ; it is because,in the final analysis , it is solar energy that drives us through the organic raw materials of gasohol,such as corn or sugarcane. Gasohol is a blend of 10 percent ethyl alcohol(ethanol) and 90 per cent unleaded gasoline. Ethanol is produced by the process of fermentation of starches and sugars. By far the largest source for this is corn. Oats, barley,wheat,milo,sugar cane,sweet sorghum,and sugar beets also are possible sources. Potatoes and cassava ( a starchy plant) are possible sources, as is cellulose, which can be broken into Fermentable sugars. Just about any fuel can be used to power  the fermentation plant in which ethanol is made;coal, agricultural and industrial wastes,natural gas, solar or geothermal energy,and oil. The corn is ground and then cooked so that the starch can be processed further, we know. Enzymes are added to convert the starch to sugars, which in turn are converted to alcohol by reacting with yeast. Then the alcohol is distilled until it is 190 proof - that is ,95 per cent of the substance is alcohol. Finally, any Vestiges of water are removed  and then that the alcohol is totally dry - 200 proof. This ethyl alcohol is then blended with unleaded gasoline.
                                 To produce required raw material which is used in the production of ethyl alcohol, as is mentioned above, land had to be set aside. But the depletion of food supplies, nutrients and organic soil constituents remain a matter of concern. Since alcohol is an excellent solvent as it is universally accepted, it is essential that all equipment handling gasohol be clean.Mechanical problems have resulted from clogged filters during the process, in which gasohol loosens accumulated dirt. Though mileage improvement is questionable, engines that run on gasohol tend to foul less and to run cooler and cleaner. And , of course , in a time of dwindling oil imports and limited supplies, the fact that gasohol contain less oil than gasoline is certainly appealing.
In future it may become economical to produce gasohol from garbage. The cellulosic portion - paper and wood of municipal waste , although readily available, must be subjected to radical treatments before the yeasts can act upon it. First lignin,which forms a hard shell around the cellulose, must be cracked, either in pressure cookers, or by explosion from high- pressure jets into low- pressure areas, which causes the lignin to swell. Then the cellulose cells, containing thousands of units, must be broken down into single or double sugars by addition of water and treatment either by the sulfuric acid-this method is rapid but costly - or by enzyme action as process, which requires two days. When these processes are made less cumbersome and expensive, however ,we may be running our cars on old newspapers.


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