What is Ethanol?

Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, and is best known as the alcohol found alcoholic beverages. In common usage, it is often referred to simply as alcohol. It is a straight-chain alcohol and its molecular formula is variously represented as EtOH, CH₃CH₂OH, C₂H₅OH or as its empirical formula C₂H₆O (which it shares with dimethyl ether).
Ethanol has widespread use as a solvent for substances intended for human contact or consumption, including scents, flavorings, colorings, and medicines. In chemistry it is both an essential solvent and a feedstock for the synthesis of other products. Ethanol has a long history as a fuel, including as a fuel for internal combustion engines. At Cascade Grain, ethanol is produced for the purpose of fuel production.

Anhydrous ethanol (ethanol with less than 1% water) can be blended with gasoline, and most spark-ignited gasoline style engines will operate well with mixtures of 10% ethanol (E10). Most cars on the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and the use of 10% ethanol gasoline is mandated in some cities where harmful levels of auto emissions are possible.