Alternative Fuels: A Review About Anhydrous and Hydrous Ethanol Properties 2016-36-0409

Since 70′, ethanol has risen as an alternative and ecological fuel, it has also been pointed as a potential candidate for replacing partial, or even totally, oil derived fuel application on internal combustion engines, supporting automotive industry. Ethanol is obtained from renewable sources and contributes to pollutants emission reduction in the atmosphere. In Brazil, it is obtained from sugarcane, but it can be obtained from others vegetable growing, such as beet or corn, common in other countries. For Brazilian automotive applications two types of ethanol are commonly applied: anhydrous, that contains at most 0.4% water in volume and has been used in gasoline blends up to 27%; and hydrous, with a maximum water content of 4.9% in volume, used as a substitute to gasoline on flex fuels engines. Although the widely application of ethanol, there is still lack of data available in literature regarding the fuel properties. The purpose of this research work is to gather the information published until now regarding anhydrous and hydrous ethanol as well as its blends. Furthermore, the investigation is enhanced with new data obtained at laboratory for respective fuel properties.