Also known as ethyl alcohol or alcohol, (C₂H₅OH) is an oxygenated hydrocarbon that can be burned as a fuel, or blended into gasoline. Thought of as an alternative fuel and clean fuel, ethanol is a renewable energy source that is made from corn or other grains, for instance in Brazil from sugar cane. If blended into gasoline, ethanol helps with the combustion process and therefore less unburned hydrocarbons form. Ethanol blended fuels competed with methyltertbutylether (MTBE), but because of the cost and the fact MTBE can be shipped through existing pipelines, MTBE was chosen. MTBE is now being banned because of its ability to travel in ground water and the bad taste it imparts to drinking water. Because of this, ethanol is once again being put back into gasoline. The process of producing ethanol from grain requires energy. The question is: how much? Furthermore since ethanol is "less energy dense" than gasoline the same volume will produce less energy.