If you can read German, then you might be interested to read a good summary of the bio-ethanol technology and availability on the ADAC website.  It covers the different types of bio-ethanol, their production, and discusses whether they are really CO2-neutral.

ADAC is Germany’s largest automobile club, with around 15 million members.

Of course, I guess you could use bio-ethanol in other areas where fossil fuels have been used until now.

Here is one example: a table-top bio-ethanol fire.  It is made of glass and uses 1/2 litre of bio-ethanol to burn for 6 hours.

It looks very interesting, but will it keep you warm on a cold winter night?

I have blogged before about how bio-ethanol does not have to be made from crops, as there are alternatives such as wood-chippings.

This video on YouTube underlines that point, showing how a company in Japan is using so-called “woody biomas” to produce bio-ethanol.

This week the environmental news is full of reports that bio-ethanol production uses more water than was previously thought.

Many of them say that the usage is about three times higher than was previously claimed, something that may not be welcome news in parts of the World where water is in short supply.

However, it is not all bad news.  Apparently Minnesota and Iowa, for whatever reason, use less water than other states in the production process.

I wonder if making it from wood chippings, as is often the case in Scandinavia, needs more or less?