Currently, fossil fuels and diesel dominate the market for road transport in vehicles throughout the world. Ethanol only makes up for around 7% of Europe’s fuel economy. Ethanol makes up for around 10% of fuel transport in the United States. This is mainly thanks to the fact that governments have stepped in giving grants to the ethanol distilleries for making more ethanol for the fuel economy. Grants help the distilleries in competing with the big oil companies so that they can grow and make an impact on the fuel market. These attempts to help the ethanol distilleries have proven helpful and shown to increase ethanol usage in the fuel market over the years.

Recycle Cellulose and Waste Products

Ethanol distilleries are also growing due to new technology used to create the ethanol. This new technology will allow cellulose and waste products from feedstock to create ethanol. Perfecting this technology would make a significant impact on the increase in production of ethanol. Ethanol can be a lead competitor to the oil companies if more of it is being produced. The problem with ethanol currently is it’s more expensive to produce than fossil fuels. New technology in producing ethanol could change the high cost and cause more ethanol distilleries to open up across the world.

Even though fossil fuels dominate the fuel market that doesn’t mean it’s perfect for the consumer market. Out of all the goods markets, the fuel market is seen as one of the worst performing markets for consumers. A higher production of ethanol might push oil companies to fix this issue since ethanol would be its main competitor. One of the reasons for this is due to the constant changing in price for gasoline. The use of ethanol might be able to curb this problem in the long run.

The Mixing of Ethanol and Gasoline

Almost all gas stations around the world contain pumps with pure gasoline and gasoline mixed with ethanol. The mixture of ethanol in gasoline is usually small with only a max of 10% being ethanol. The mix of ethanol and gasoline is cheaper than pure gasoline since ethanol is a cheaper product. Only a few gas stations around sell E85, which contains 85% ethanol. This higher concentration of ethanol can only be used by cars that were made to use it. This higher concentration of ethanol is significantly cheaper than pure gasoline, so it is favored by consumers who can use it in their vehicles.

Only a few gas stations sell E85 because not enough ethanol is made to meet demand in the consumer market. This is also the reason that not all cars are made to handle E85. If more ethanol was mass produced, then it might be more valuable to consumers and gas stations.