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To be able to fully understand if there is a relationship between ethanol and biodiesel, it will probably be a good idea to learn about them individually, this will then help you get a proper understanding of these two biofuels. You will probably find that ethanol and biodiesel are quite similar in lots of ways, therefore, consideration should be given to both of them when thinking about alternatives to fossil fuel.

So what is ethanol?

Ethanol is a mildly toxic, flammable and colorless mixture of chemicals with a very noticeable perfume like smell, it is also the same type of alcohol that you will find in your nice cool beer, however, it is simply referred to as alcohol.

Ethanol has been used by humans as far back as when the dinosaurs were on the planet, and even though it has been used for more negative reasons, such as explosives because of its volatile nature, it has also been though of as positive when made into alcohol drinks and other products. Ethanol has also been used as an essence to help illness for many thousands of years, and so this is also recognized as being a positive use.

Another point to consider is, ethanol is the fuel which is at present being considered to replace fossil fuels, this is a very important topic, particularly when we consider that we are in a crazy war with Iraq and this is a country where we get most of our fuel from.

So what is biodiesel?

Biodiesel in being though off as a fuel that could replace diesel over the next few years, it is manufactured from farm crops, like sugar beet, corn, and oilseed rape, although it can also be made from cooking oil waste.

So that older vehicles can run on both ethanol and biodiesel, these biofuels are mixed with gas and diesel. That said some of the new cars being designed today can run on pure biofuel by making some simple modifications.

Although the thought of running your car on ethanol and biodiesel is becoming a more popular idea for many individuals in the US, there are still many people who are not convinced that this is the way to go in the alternative fuel debate.

The connection between ethanol and biodiesel:

There are many important things to question when pondering the relationship of ethanol and biodiesel, one thing for sure though is they seem to be the main two options when looking at creating a cleaner environment. Ethanol is seen as the better option my many people at this time. However, the biodiesel option should be looked at very carefully because it also as many benefits to offer the alternative fuel debate.

Biofuel production is benefiting the US farming community by putting millions of dollars into the industry, therefore this should be taken into account as well.