To run on fuel which has a greater than 10% mix of ethanol however, vehicles need a flexi-fuel modified engine.

The USA grows mainly corn crop, which can be converted to ethanol. In Brazil sugar cane is grown, and in the UK rapeseed is used.

Brazil is at the forefront of biofuel use, using it as a fuel in automobiles which have the flex-fuel engines needed to be able to run on pure ethanol.

Environmentally friendly or not?

Despite the benefits of using biofuels, there is a drawback however, which is the amount of land required to grow the crops necessary for the biofuel in the first place. There are already concerns that vast tracts of tropical rainforest like the Amazon in Brazil, are being cleared to plant sugar cane and other crops for biofuel production. Another problem is the cost of corn, an essential ingredient for basic food is also escalating causing further problems as the cost of certain products become unaffordable to many. It would clearly be counter productive if such a situation were to develop where the CO2 absorbing tropical rainforests were being destroyed to plant crops to turn into environmentally friendly biofuels!

There is also a concern that as a by-product of growing the corn or other crop used for biofuel production environmental damage is caused by the fossil fuelled tractors, processes, fertilisers etc used in the growing process, meaning that they are not truly carbon neutral at all.

Recent research indicates that prairie grasses actually take out more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during their growth than they emit when being converted to biofuel, meaning that they may well be truly carbon neutral.

It would seem more research is needed into biofuel production and use, but if grown responsibly, i.e not on land cleared of rainforest, a benefit may well be had for the environment by their use.

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