Ethanol: More than just the fuel for your next party - Hayden Tronnes

 

You may be familiar with ethanol as that ingredient hiding inside the bottle of Tequila in your parent's liquor cabinet. But ethanol is actually a multi-use super product that inhabits everything from the gas in your car to the mouthwash you rinse with every night!

What is Ethanol?

Ethanol is a naturally produced alcohol derived from many crops, including sorghum, barley, sugarcane, beetroot, and most commonly corn. Ethanol is produced via a four-step process, consisting of, Milling where the crop is ground and mixed with hot water to create a paste. Next comes Cooking and Liquefaction where the paste is heated to create a thick viscous mixture. This is followed by Saccharification which is the combining of the mixture with water molecules to convert the starch molecules into simple sugars called glucose. Finally, the Fermentation stage, where the glucose molecules are combined with yeast to form molecules of Ethanol. This process works to efficiently create over 28 billion gallons, or 105 billion litres of ethanol every year!

Where do we find Ethanol?

Ethanol is found in thousands of different products, used within your home and in large-scale industries. The primary use of ethanol is as an additive to gasoline to improve its efficiency, this cuts down the global use of gasoline significantly. Ethanol is classified as a biofuel, which means it is created using naturally occurring, renewable, living resources. This classification makes it a sustainable resource to power our cars, boats and industrial machines. Another primary use of ethanol is in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol is found in every consumable alcoholic beverage, including beer, wine, vodka, etc... It is the reason why people get intoxicated or drunk when consuming alcohol. The tiny ethanol molecules, enter your bloodstream and get spread around your body. The molecules that reach your brain interact and interfere with the neurotransmitters in your brain, which send the signals that control your bodily functions.

Should we be worried about Ethanol?

In moderation, absolutely not! Ethanol is a minimally toxic naturally derived product that improves our lives in many ways. However, the keyword to remember when looking at ethanol is 'moderation'. Ingesting too much ethanol can result in catastrophic liver failure or many other negative effects. Ethanol is also highly flammable in high concentrations, which means in large volumes, the effects can be potentially explosive. However, with careful consideration and awareness, ethanol is a product that will continue to benefit our global development!

Resources


Drinking and you. How does Alcohol make you drunk?


http://www.drinkingandyou.com/site/can/xdrunk.htm#:~:text=As%20you%20drink%2C%20the%20a 

lcohol,enable%20all%20the%20brain's%20activities.

 Biofuels explained: Ethanol. U.S Energy Information Administration.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biofuels/ethanol.php#:~:text=Ethanol%20is%20made%20fro

m%20biomass&text=Most%20of%20the%20fuel%20ethanol,to%20make%20fuel%20ethanol%20u

ndrinkable.

 

 





















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