Is it possible to control air pollution by Bio-ethanol?

Bioethanol is the most widely used renewable transportation fuel in the world, especially in the US and Brazil, and can be produced from corn, sugarcane, potato, sweet sorghum and cellulosic feedstocks. Besides the renewability, bioethanol has some advantages for use as a transportation fuel, e.g. energy independence from non-renewable crude oil, clean-burning in vehicles and less toxicity. Compared to the complicated emissions of burning gasoline in vehicle engines, bioethanol is a particulate-free burning fuel and its emissions are only carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water and aldehydes. 

Houston, the fourth biggest city in the U.S., is considered one of the most polluted cities in the US due to its heavy transportation and industrial emissions. The increasing emissions of VOCs andNOx from transportation vehicles are even affecting the air quality in Houston because VOCs and NOx are precursors for ground level ozone generation. Thus, the use of bioethanol will have a great impact on improving the air quality in Houston due to fewer emissions, especially much lower VOCs and NOx pollutants emitted from burning bioethanol in vehicles.

The second generation bioethanol can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass such as wood, straw, and grasses, however, the technical efficiency of the second generation bioethanol production is still low and the cost is relatively high. The third generation bioethanol made using non-arable land is under development. Read more................