www.nebraskacorn.org/ After ethanol leaves the plant, it goes to a fuel refiner where it is stored and later mixed with regular gasoline when a fuel retailer -- your local gas station -- needs it. Ethanol fuel can also be shipped out of state to be blended with gasoline. We are lucky in that most Nebraskan's choose to use ethanol when they fill up. The most common way we use ethanol is E10, which contains 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent regular gas made from oil. It can be used by most vehicles on the road. Some people drive Flex Fuel Vehicles, also called FFVs, that can use higher amounts of ethanol, all the way up to E85 -- a blend of 85 percent ethanol and only 15 percent regular gas. Some gas stations even have what is known as blender pumps. These allow FFV drivers to choose different amounts of ethanol, such as E20, which is 20% ethanol and 80% regular gas, E30, which is 30% ethanol and 70% regular gas or E50 which is a blend of 50% ethanol and 50% regular gas. What's so great about ethanol?! For one, it is a cleaner burning fuel and emits fewer greenhouse gases than gasoline made from oil. It is also a very energy efficient. That means that for every unit of energy it takes to make, 1.8 units of energy are produced as ethanol. It's efficient because ethanol is made from corn, which uses sunshine to grow! Another great thing about ethanol is that it allows us to use a fuel made entirely in our own country and even in our own state! That means we don't have to import as much oil from other countries. And since it is home-grown, it provides more jobs in rural communities. Click on Chapter 8 to return to the distillation process.

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