What is an ethanol plant?

An ethanol plant is a gigantic alcohol distillery (moonshine) that produces 200% proof alcohol. People all over the world drink alcoholic beverages containing ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol) in beer, whiskey, vodka and wine. Ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, C2 H5OH, is a clear, colorless liquid, with a burning taste and characteristic, agreeable odor. Commercial ethanol contains 95 percent by volume of ethanol and 5 percent of water. Dehydrating agents remove the remaining water and produce absolute ethanol. Ethanol has been made since ancient times by the fermentation of sugars from starch from corn, wheat, potatoes and other grains. All beverage ethanol and industrial ethanol is still made by this process. No one will find pure alcohol in any alcoholic beverages. Drinking pure alcohol can be deadly because it only takes a few ounces of pure alcohol to quickly raise the blood alcohol level into the danger zone. Most industrial ethanol is denatured to prevent its use as a beverage. Denaturing involves mixing ethanol with small amounts of poisonous or unpleasant substances to make the ethanol undrinkable. Alcohol produced at an ethanol plant is the same alcohol we drink but it is denatured with at minimum 2% (denaturant) so it is unfit to drink and then is distributed as a fuel for cars and trucks as an oxygenate additive at 10%, an octane enhancer, to replace MTBE in gasoline. Ethanol is beneficial because it is environment-friendly, bio-degradable, non-toxic, water soluble, renewable. Ethanol does not harm drinking water resources.