In 2020, hydrous ethanol was 35% (by volume) of the total sales of fuels for otto cycle light-duty vehicles in Brazil. Gasoline C (E27) is a blend of 27% anhydrous ethanol and 73% gasoline. In total, hydrous and anhydrous ethanol was 52% of the national demand, by volume, in 2020 and about one third of it in energy.
Most automobiles in Brazil run either on hydrous alcohol (E100) or on gasohol (E25 blend), as the mixture of 25% anhydrous ethanol with gasoline is mandatory in the entire country. Since 2003, dual-fuel ethanol flex vehicles that run on any proportion of hydrous ethanol and gasoline have been gaining popularity.
While 2022 sales of FFVs – which were originally introduced in Brazil in 2004 – were only moderately higher year-on-year, the ethanol-fueled cars still managed to claim an overall market share of Brazil's total car sales of over 83%.
The Brazilian ethanol fuel program was started in 1976. Since 1979 they have cars that can run on 100% ethanol, or blends of around 25%. Why have no other countries successfully adopted biofuel on the scale that Brazil has?
Brazil's Biofuel production reached a historical record in 2023, with robust growth and diversification of the country's renewable energy sources. Ethanol and biodiesel production totaled almost 43 billion liters, reaching a historical record.
Flexible-Fuel Cars Taking Over the Streets of Brazil
What fuel source does Brazil use?
In 2021, Brazil's energy consumption comprised a mix of sources, with crude oil and other petroleum liquids making up 44.2%, followed by renewables (including hydro) at 37.5%, natural gas at 11.6%, coal at 5.5%, and nuclear at 1.3%.
Brazil's current standards require a 27% blend of ethanol in gasoline, and gradually require an increase in biodiesel blends: 8% in March of 2017, 9% in March of 2018, and 10% in March of 2019. These mandates do not include land-use considerations or other sustainability criteria.
The feedstock for Brazilian ethanol is sugarcane. In the U.S. the feedstock is corn. Below is a comparison of Brazil's sugarcane-ethanol industry and the U.S. corn-ethanol industry.
100% ethanol, unlike gasoline has a single boiling point for any particular atmospheric pressure, so that below that temperature flooding is likely and starting is difficult to impossible. Above that temperature, starting is also a problem due to rich vapor mixtures.
One of the primary disadvantages of ethanol is that it is not as energy-dense as gasoline. This means that it has a lower energy content and is less efficient than gasoline. As a result, vehicles that use ethanol as a fuel source may not get as many miles per gallon as those that use gasoline.
The United States is the world's largest producer of ethanol, having produced over 15 billion gallons in 2021 and 2022. Together, the United States and Brazil produce 80% of the world's ethanol.
Brazilian flex cars are capable of running on just hydrated ethanol (E100), or just on a blend of gasoline with 20 to 25%anhydrous ethanol, or on any arbitrary combination of both fuels. Pure gasoline is no longer sold in the country because these high ethanol blends are mandatory since 1993.
What is the difference between hydrous and anhydrous ethanol in Brazil?
Brazil has two ethanol grades: anhydrous ethanol (0.5% water), used in blending in Gasoline C and as an export grade; and hydrous ethanol (5% water), for use as E100 in Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs).
In Brazil pure gasoline is no longer sold, and a mandatory ethanol blend requirement of 27% (soon to be 30%) is present. This forced the adoption of flex fuel vehicles, cars that can switch between any gasoline-ethanol blend, from 100% gasoline to 100% ethanol.
Sugarcane has been the primary feedstock of Brazilian ethanol for over 35 years. Most of the biofuel in Brazil is then blended into gasoline, a dominant energy source for transportation, and the process eventually reduces the rate of petroleum consumption.
The result is that all methanol used in Brazil – nearly 1 million tons per year – is currently imported. From this total, approximately 500 million are applied in the production of biodiesel.
Brazil today is home to the world's largest fleet of cars that use ethanol derived from sugarcane as an alternative fuel to fossil fuel based petroleum. Twenty-seven million cars, 73% of the total, can use a mix of ethanol and gasoline.
How much of Brazil's sugarcane is used for ethanol?
Since only about half the sugarcane crop goes to ethanol, it can be said that Brazil has replaced more than half its gasoline needs with a little over 1% of its arable land.
Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions per person are higher than the global average, and Brazil is among the countries which emit a large amount of greenhouse gases.
the vast majority of passenger cars in Brazil are ``flex'', that is, they can run on both gas (gasolina) and ethanol (etanol) - or any combination thereof.
Brazil currently blends 27.5% anhydrous ethanol with gasoline sold at the pump, but is expected to raise the mandate to 30%. Additionally, it will increase the blend content of biodiesel in diesel to 20% by 2030.
