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Plausible Uses of Corn-Based Ethanol

Ethanol as an additive to fuel has been in use for a number of years. The idea was to reduce America's dependence on fossil fuels and to combat perceived man-made global warming. There are many problems with using ethanol for these purposes. One problem is that it takes more energy to convert corn to ethanol than the actual use of ethanol saves by being burned in cars. Another problem is the use of a food supply as a fuel. Worldwide corn prices have risen dramatically. There are other uses for ethanol that can be pursued outside of fuel for vehicles.

Rocket Fuel
- Ethanol is a main ingredient in rocket fuel. The lightweight, rocket-powered planes need a fuel with few impurities. Corn-based ethanol is just one of these types of fuel. The drawback is that ethanol exhaust from jet planes generates more than twice the amount of ozone as gasoline exhaust does.
Agricultural Uses
- Ethanol is a base ingredient in feeds and medications for cattle, pigs and other livestock animals.
Antiseptic
- Ethanol is used in sanitizer gel, medical wipes and other items used to kill germs. The ethanol destroys the proteins and dissolves the lipids of most bacteria, fungi and viruses. The only bacterial organism that ethanol cannot kill are the spores some bacteria use to reproduce.
Solvents
- Unlike petroleum products, ethanol is miscible with water. This means that water and ethanol can be mixed without the separation of the two liquids. Ethanol and water can be used as a solvent and blended with paint, markers, perfumes and deodorants.
Alcoholic Beverages
- The original purpose of ethanol from corn is to make liquor or spirits. The corn mash mix of corn, sugar and yeast yield a strong, alcohol-based drink. The result of distilling this mix is called moonshine. The amount of ethanol in a beverage is a large part of the "alcoholic proof" units. Eighty proof whiskey is 80 proof units of ethanol. Some of these ethanol-based beverages are made into vinegars or other ingredients for cooking. Vinegar made from distilled ethanol is called "distilled vinegar" and is used in food pickling.
Medical Uses
- Before modern medicine, ethanol was used as a truth drug, as a medicine to combat depression and as an anesthetic for early medical procedures. These days, ethanol is used to help treat poisoning by alcohols more toxic. The ethanol reduces the effect of the toxic alcohols of crystallizing in the kidneys. It is also considered a psychoactive drug, which means that it moves from the bloodstream into the brain and acts on the central nervous system, where it can change a person's mood, consciousness and behavior.

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