Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, is a combustible, clear liquid that comes from fermented sugars found in corn, soybeans, sugarcane and other crops. The brilliant aspect of ethyl alcohol is that it works in a similar way to gasoline, which is why it has become a fuel substitute and additive. The letter “E” paired with a number is the symbol used to show the concentration of ethanol in a fuel. For example, E85, a common alcohol fuel concentration, is made of 85 percent alcohol mixed with 15 percent gasoline.

The ethyl alcohol must be distilled and dehydrated before it can be used as fuel. Most of the cars produced in the United States are made to run on only gasoline so this alcohol fuel is usually mixed with gasoline in certain ratios. Some people have taken it upon themselves to redesign their car engines to run only on alcohol fuel.

Alcohol fuel is becoming more and more popular thanks to the high price of oil. And ethanol is known to burn cleaner than gas. However, ethanol plants require tons of energy to convert pure ethyl alcohol to usable alcohol fuel, causing many people to criticize the use of alcohol fuel in modern cars.