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Producing and using renewable fuels for transportation is one approach for a sustainable energy future for the United States, as well as the rest of the world. Renewable fuels may also substantially reduce contributions to global climate change. In the transportation sector, ethanol produced from biomass shows promise as a future fuel for spark-ignited engines because of its high octane quality. Ethanol, however, is not a high-quality compression-ignition fuel. Ethanol can be easily converted through a dehydration process to produce diethyl ether (DEE), which is an excellent compression-ignition fuel with higher energy density than ethanol. DEE has long been known as a cold-start aid for engines, but little is known about using DEE as a significant component in a blend or as a complete replacement for diesel fuel.