Because biofuels are grown domestically, they reduce our dependence on foreign oil, help boost the U.S. economy, and help strengthen U.S. energy security. To accomplish this, the Program sponsors research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and collaborates with private industry and stakeholder groups to commercialize the technology. Bioethanol Ethanol is the most widely used biofuel today. More than 1.5 billion gallons are added to gasoline in the U.S. each year to improve vehicle performance and reduce air pollution. Ethanol is an alcohol, and most is made using a process similar to brewing beer where starch crops are converted into sugars, the sugars are fermented into ethanol, and then the ethanol is distilled into its final form.
Ethanol is used to increase octane and improve the emissions quality of gasoline.
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 mandated the sale of oxygenated fuels in areas of the country with unhealthy levels of carbon monoxide. Since that time, there has been strong demand for ethanol as an oxygenate blended with gasoline. Fuel ethanol blends are successfully used in all types of vehicles and engines that require gasoline. Approval of ethanol blends is found in the owners' manuals under references to refueling or gasoline. Biodiesel Unlike ethanol, which is an alcohol, biodiesel is composed of fatty acid alkyl esters.