Reliable Determination of Copper, Phosphorus and Sulfur in Bioethanol Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry

The increased strain on existing fossil fuels has led to a rise in demand for alternative fuel production. Bioethanol is ethanol produced from the fermentation of sugar derived from plants such as sugar cane or beet, maize or cassava. The production of bioethanol for use as either a fuel substitute or a blending agent for gasoline has increased dramatically over the past few years. The USA produced an estimated 23.3 billion liters of bioethanol in 2007 compared with 16.2 billion liters in 2005.

Bioethanol production is not a new industry. Brazil has been producing it since the 1970s and has replaced 50% of its gasoline usage with bioethanol. In order for a car to run on pure ethanol, modification of the engine
is required. In the USA and Brazil, all new cars must have converted engines, known as fuel flex engines, which can run on 100% ethanol, 100% gasoline or any combination of the two.

The use of bioethanol as a fuel substitute for gasoline offers a number of important benefits. Bioethanol can be blended with gasoline to reduce cost and increase fuel supplies while decreasing demand on fossil fuel
supplies. Being an oxygenate additive, bioethanol improves the octane rating of fuels while also reducing green house gas emissions. A further benefit is that blends of 5% ethanol and 95% gasoline (E5) can be used in modern engines with no modification.