Selling fuel ethanol
In Europe and the US, fuel ethanol is mainly sold in low-volume blends. The EU Biofuels Directive and the US Renewable Fuels Standard require oil companies to blend in a minimum amount of biofuels in the fuels they market, either as a directly blended fuel (for gasoline, this is done by direct blending of up to 10% ethanol with the gasoline) or in the form of ETBE, an oxygenate gasoline additive produced from 47% ethanol and isobutylene. Ethanol is also sold as E85, a mixture of 75-85% ethanol and 15-25% gasoline (the precise blend depending on the time of year). E85 ethanol is used in engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol. These flexible-fuel vehicles (FFV) are designed to run on any ethanol-gasoline mixture up to 85% ethanol. FFV technology is relatively cheap, and many car manufacturers offer FFV models at no additional cost.
In Europe and the US, the market share of FFVs is still very modest, although it is growing every year. By contrast, in Brazil more than 90% of all new cars sold are FFVs and the market share of high-blend ethanol-gasoline mixtures is very high. This year, ethanol sales surpassed gasoline sales at filling stations, which is a testament to Brazil's successes in combating both climate change and dependence on imported oil.
