TECHNOLOGY
AS A FUEL source , ethanol has been lying in petroleum ’ s shadow for decades , arguably centuries .
Despite its modern use ( blending with gasoline ) becoming more widespread since the 1970s , amid rising oil prices and concerns around burning carbon , ethanol has still played second fiddle to its mainstream counterpart .
This is not to suggest it doesn ’ t carry any historical prestige , however , for great pioneers of industry have used ethanol to power their inventions . In the 1820s , Nicholas Otto , the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine , used it exclusively in his early designs . Henry Ford used it to fuel his Model T in 1908 , with blended ethanolgasoline becoming the go-to for high performance engines of the 1920s .
By contrast , petroleum had a much larger public relations machine in the form of multinational conglomerates like Texaco and Standard Oil . In the 1800 ’ s , oil and kerosene began replacing whalebased lamp oil , putting it in the homes of almost everyone , thus began the love affair with petroleum .
18 July 2017