Bioethanol is an environmentally friendly fuel for vehicles that normally run on petrol. As a renewable source of energy, it reduces demand on fossils fuels while it burns more cleanly and with reduced emissions of CO2, a greenhouse gas.

Bioethanol is produced from starch-containing or sugar raw materials. Carbohydrates such as starch from cereal and other crops – which is enzymatically converted into simple sugars – and natural sugars from sugar beet, sugar cane and sweet sorghum crops are fermented using yeast to produce a mash containing ethanol, with additional purification taking place in rectification columns to produce an ethanol and water mixture. Dehydration is the step of removing the last of the water, taking the mixture beyond its azeotropic equilibrium to produce anhydrous ethanol, or bioethanol.

A significant advantage of bioethanol is that it can be blended with petrol as both an oxygenator and octane enhancer.

Additional revenue streams are available from the spent products that result from ethanol production. These are usually dried to produce DDGS (distiller's dried grains with solubles) marketed as a protein and nutrient rich animal feed for cattle, pigs and poultry. Alternatively, the biomass can be utilised as a renewable fuel source, producing electrical power and heat for the process, or for conversion into methane for use as a fuel. These energy conversion technologies enhance the overall production energy balance and enable further carbon credits to be earned.