A brief review about some aspects of alcohol vehicle fuel and quantitative analysis of chemical species in this energy matrix

Abstract

This review shows several issues and a brief discussion of the Brazilian energy matrix, developed as a source of automotive fuel based on the culture of sugar cane with subsequent process of fermentation for ethanol production. Although ethanol is also present as an additive to gasoline consumed in Brazil, we intend to deal only on the anhydrous ethanol, the genuinely Brazilian fuel. It is scope of this text to present the various chemical constituents present in this energy matrix as well as, listing the main analytical methods used for monitoring and quantification of organic substances, metals and some anions, commonly found in ethanol.