Ethanol

[greencat]

Most likely, you're using ethanol in your car without even knowing it. In many regions, small amounts of ethanol are blended with gasoline to reduce emissions. Mixtures as high as E10 (10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline) are safe for use in most vehicles.

Much of the news lately has been about fuel blends that have higher ethanol content. The most common is E85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline), which only can be used in vehicles that are designed for that fuel.

[greencat]

The Upside of Ethanol
Proponents of ethanol emphasize its environmental and energy security benefits.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel that comes from agricultural feedstocks, and thus can be produced domestically.

Using ethanol made from corn instead of gasoline would lead to a moderate 13 percent reduction in greenhouse emissions. Using cellulosic ethanol from feedstocks such as switchgrass, pictured above, could result in 88 percent less greenhouse gas emissions. (Photo: National Renewable Energy Lab.)
Using ethanol (particularly E85, a 85-percent blend of ethanol to gasoline) also results in less pollution, reducing smog-forming emissions by as much as 50 percent relative to gasoline. E85-powered vehicles also contribute to global warming, although experts disagree about just how much greenhouse gas is emitted when using ethanol.

One might expect that by using E85, net carbon dioxide emissions would be almost zero. The crops used to make the ethanol absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during their growth, and then this CO2 is put back into the atmosphere when the ethanol is burned in an automobile engine. In reality, this cycle is overly simplistic because it fails to recognize other greenhouse gas emissions that occur during the cultivation and production of ethanol. Modern farming, for example, relies heavily on diesel-powered equipment that emits greenhouse gases. Distilling ethanol is also an energy-intensive process that often uses electricity generated from coal, another source of greenhouse emissions.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley examined six major studies of ethanol production and concluded that using ethanol made from corn instead of gasoline would lead to a moderate 13 percent reduction in greenhouse emissions. However, the researchers note that more dramatic reductions are possible if technology advances make it economical to make ethanol from cellulosic materials such as switchgrass, a crop currently grown by some U.S. farmers to control erosion on idle fields. Using cellulosic ethanol, they project, could result in 88 percent less greenhouse gas emissions.

The UC Berkeley study also contradicts a common criticism of ethanol: that it takes more energy to produce it than it delivers as a motor fuel. The study concludes that ethanol made from corn does indeed have a positive "net energy balance," particularly if you consider that other valuable products, such as corn oil, are byproducts of the ethanol-making process.

The Downside
E85 may be better for the environment and the American farmer, but it has some drawbacks.

The first is price: ethanol prices fluctuate on a different cycle than gasoline, meaning that ethanol is sometimes cheaper but sometimes more expensive. Past trends have E85 selling in the Midwest (where much of the country's ethanol is produced) for nearly 30 cents less per gallon than conventional gasoline. During some of those times, filling up with ethanol on the West Coast or in the mid-Atlantic states cost a driver as much as 40 cents more per gallon.
The higher price of E85 in many areas is made worse by ethanol's second drawback: ethanol, regardless of the price you pay for it, contains less energy than gasoline. This means that your car won't go as far on a gallon of E85, and your fuel economy will decrease by 20-30 percent. This is bad news for consumers because even if the price of E85 at the pump is cheaper than gasoline, using ethanol may not be less expensive in the end.
Another other issue is that E85 is widely available only in the Midwest. The DOE lists several hundred E85 stations in the United States, but nearly half of those are in two states: Minnesota and Illinois. Other areas, even populous ones, have little E85 infrastructure. For example, New York, California, Texas and Florida have fewer than 100 E85 public stations combined.
To put things in perspective, there are more than 180,000 stations nationwide selling gasoline. While all of them may not need to offer E85, it is clear that wider distribution is needed before E85 can begin to displace gasoline sales.

[greencat]

Ethanol is also known as ethyl alcohol, the same kind of alcohol you shake with vermouth and serve with some olives. Used as a fuel, it is often added to gasoline (notated much the same as biodiesel: E10 means 10% ethanol; E85 means 85% ethanol, and so on). Most gasoline-burning car engines on the road today will operate on E10 biodiesel without modification, and most of the ethanol produced in the world today is "bio-ethanol," or ethanol derived from the starch or sugar in a wide variety of common crops, or feedstocks. Most commonly, ethanol is made by fermenting sugar with yeast (just as drinking alcohol is), distilling it to remove most or all of the water and then usually denaturing it (this steps isn't required to make fuel), altering it so that more than a swig will land you in the hospital. So don't drink it.

What is ethanol?
Compared with conventional unleaded gasoline, ethanol is a particulate-free burning fuel source that combusts cleanly with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water. Use of ethanol, produced from current methods, emits a similar net amount of carbon dioxide but less carbon monoxide than gasoline.

[greencat]

Ethanol was one of the first fuels used in automobile engines. It was used extensively in Germany during World War II and also in Brazil, the Philippines, and the United States. During the postwar period, as petroleum supplies became cheap and abundant, gasoline largely replaced ethanol as an automotive fuel. Not until the 1970s, when the supply of oil was restricted, did ethanol re-emerge as an alternative to or extender for petroleum-based liquid fuels (ethanol as an extender is added to these fuels to increase their volume). Today, 12 countries produce and use a significant amount of ethanol. In Brazil, for example, one third of that country's automobiles uses pure ethanol as fuel; the remaining two thirds use mixtures of gasoline and ethanol. France, the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guatemala, Costa Pica, Argentina, the Republic of South Africa, Kenya, Thailand, and Sudan are other countries with government or private ethanol fuel programs. The programs are designed to reduce a country's dependence on costly imported fuel and to assist in creating a new domestic fuel industry.

Pure ethanol can replace gasoline in modified spark-ignition engines, or it can be blended with gasoline at up to 20 percent concentration to fuel unmodified gasoline engines. Blending serves two purposes: (1) it extends gasoline supplies, and (2) as an octane enhancer, it replaces lead compounds in gasoline. Ethanol can also be used in modified diesel (compression ignition) engines; however, this is not common.

The production and use of fuel ethanol can indirectly serve a variety of needs. On a national level, ethanol can improve balance of payments by displacing imported petroleum with domestically produced fuel. This may also provide increased rural employment and alternative markets for agricultural commodities. On a community or individual level, ethanol fuel production is often viewed as a means to become independent of purchased fuels, to keep money within the local economy, and to provide an assured fuel supply in the event of shortages of petroleum fuels.

[greencat]

Methanol, butanol, and some types of vegetable oil are three alternatives to ethanol. Both methanol and butanol can be used to replace or extend gasoline or diesel fuel. Vegetable oils, however, are limited to replacing only diesel fuel until further research proves otherwise.

Methanol is the most important alternative. It is a liquid alcohol containing one carbon atom ([CH3]OH). Like ethanol, it is used to replace or be blended with gasoline. Methanol is produced by a chemical process that uses methane as the primary feedstock. Methanol can also be produced from coal or biomass. On a worldwide scale, the methanol production industry is relatively large, and it uses natural gas for feedstock. Methanol production requires high temperature, high pressure, and special catalysts.

This process is much more complex than ethanol production and is generally economical in only very large industrial plants.

Butanol is a four-carbon alcohol. It has two possible chemical structures, depending on the position of the hydroxyl: N butanol ([CH3] [CH2] [CH2][CH2]OH) and 2 butanol ([CH3] [OH1] [CH2] [CH3]). Fermentation produces N butanol. Unlike ethanol or methanol, butanol can substitute for or be blended with diesel fuel in compression ignition engines. It is produced by bacterial fermentation of starch- or sugar-containing feedstocks and purified by distillation. The bacteria produce ethanol and acetone in addition to the principal product, butanol.

The production of butanol has two disadvantages: (1) the fermentation of butanol is difficult compared with that of ethanol; and (2) butanol fermentation produces less-useful fuel per unit of feedstock than ethanol fermentation with yeast. Butanol has been produced commercially under wartime conditions. Today, however, butanol is no longer produced commercially for use as fuel.

[greencat]

Renewable energy emerging is a real solution in remapping the path away from dependence on petroleum. Ethanol is the leading candidate popularly deriving usable fuel through agricultural crops. While E85 flex fuel cars and trucks are beginning a path of acceptance for ethanol-enriched fuel, much of North America is currently plagued by a lack of fuel pumps ready for high ethanol content gasoline. Other concerns also point to limited domestic refinery capacities for ethanol which may lead to a further dependence on foreign supplies. Addressing the problem, technology packaged by E-Fuel Corporation intends on bringing the fuel refining process closer to the consumer.

Called the EFuel100 MicroFueler, this device is a combination ethanol fuel pump and small-scale refinery. Capable for use at homes and small businesses, this innovative new personal filling station can provide unprecedented fuel savings.

[edit] How Does it Work?
Differing from commercial ethanol produced with starches in corn, E-fuel's machine relies primarily on a mixed sugar/yeast feedstock as raw material. This feedstock, sold by E-Fuel in 50 pound bags, is mixed with water and breaks down into high grade ethanol. There is also an option to distill alcohol found in unwanted supplies of wine and beer as long as dirt and other contaminates aren't present.

Starting with loading a mix of sugar and yeast into a large fermentation tank. A precise amount of water is added as the mixture is then stirred. Unlike traditional ethanol production which uses heating a mixture to extract the ethanol fuel, the separation process through the MicroFueler incorporates a patented membrane to trap the ethanol while allowing water molecules to flow through. Relying on electricity, the process involves no hazardous byproducts thereby insuring a very green operation. That waste water can be drained freely into a sewer or septic tank. The final ethanol is treated through a set of heat exchangers and a thermoelectric cooler to recompile as a liquid, ready for use.

At start-up, the MicroFueler will require several days for fuel-quality ethanol to be in full operation. At peak performance, pure ethanol(E100) will flow at an approximate rate of 5 gallons per day with the sugar/yeast mixture.

Setting the MicroFueler up at home?
In recognition for the potential user, the design, while compact, is designed specifically for easy, safe operations. Power is supplied by 110 or 220 volts of electrical current allowing the MicroFueler be effectively hooked up from any household. Control of the unit has been patched into a simple LCD display on the machine's front side.

Before setting up the unit, operators in the United States will discover the production of ethanol is governed similarly to the production of alcohol. It is recommended that individual conduct research before purchasing a MicroFueler since there may be regional and state restrictions that may even prevent ethanol production. If there are no restrictions, obtain and submit a form 5110.74 for producing alcohol fuel from the US Department of Treasury. For amounts up to 10,000 gallons, the permit will be free.

Using the Microfueler-produced Ethanol Fuel
Providing E100 quality ethanol, the EFuel100 MicroFueler can also yield a supply for blended fuel. For flex fuel vehicles, it is easily possible to use MicroFueler-produced ethanol within the fuel tank with only a small concentration of gasoline. For non-flex fuel vehicles, beware using E100 or fuel containing more than 10% ethanol. The result could cause problems that would immobilize the vehicle, leading to expensive repairs.

Generally, it is assumed that ethanol-blended gasoline, such as E85, suffers from fuel economy losses. E-Fuel cites research from a 2007 report conducted by the American Coalition of Ethanol to suggest otherwise. Vehicles tested with 20% and 30% ethanol blends sometimes provided near equal or greater fuel mileage performance.

[edit] Cost of the EFuel100 MicroFueler
Filling the first orders for delivery into the last quarter of 2008, the EFuel100 MicroFueler will be priced at $9,995 US. This purchase price for MicroFueler terminals will be subsidized by a $1,000 IRS tax rebate for individual owners and 30% for small businesses within the United States.

A hefty upfront expense, the long-term of producing clean, green ethanol at home with the EFuel100 MicroFueler can quickly earn green savings. The price of the sugar/yeast mixes needed for the ethanol production is assured to be affordable enough to average $1 per gallon fuel through standard use.


It remains to be seen whether the Efuel100 MicroFueler will be accepted as a niche technology or perhaps a future first stop before a daily commute.

[lilypotter]

Fuels competing with ethanol, Ethanol as fuel,Ethanol- The good and bad--all three are educative. Thank you greencat

[greencat]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. ethanol industry group is pushing lawmakers to craft legislation requiring fuel companies to inform customers what country their fuel came from in hopes of increasing awareness about money spent on oil imported from overseas.

"Most Americans don't want their paychecks going to Venezuela and other regimes that don't agree with and support the U.S," said retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, who co-chairs Growth Energy, the industry group behind the push.

Clark said Growth had spoken with lawmakers such as Collin Peterson, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and others from fuel-producing states, urging them to craft legislation that would require such labeling.

The United States spends tens of billions of dollars a year on protecting shipping lanes for oil, said Clark.

Some of the money could be saved by increasing production of U.S. oil and developing alternative fuels like ethanol and fuel-sipping cars, he added.

U.S. oil production peaked in the 1970s which means the world's largest fuel consumer has to import most of its crude.

In 2008, Canada was the largest exporter of oil to the United States, sending nearly 2.5 million barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Saudi Arabia sent more than 1.5 million bpd, Mexico sent 1.3 million bpd, and Venezuela sent nearly 1.2 million bpd, according to the EIA.

Clark stopped short of saying the labeling would cut U.S. consumption of oil from countries whose governments are not friendly to Washington. But he said it would give consumers more choice on deciding what kind of fuel, or alternative fuel automobiles, they want to buy.

U.S. ethanol producers, pushing to boost the allowable level of ethanol in regular gasoline from 10 percent to 15 percent, could benefit if U.S. dependence on foreign oil fell.

Phil Flynn, an oil analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago, said Growth's strategy was a sign the ethanol industry, which has gone through several bankruptcies this year and last, was experiencing troubles during the recession.

"The industry is hurting right now and they want to get a boost by trying to get a little nationalism around a barrel of oil and push alternative fuels," he said.

Even if Growth persuaded lawmakers to craft a bill and it got passed, a labeling plan for fuels could be harder to implement than one for goods like shirts and autos because fuel from several sources can often get mixed by the time it comes out of the pump.

Clark said it would be up to the fuel industry to decide how to implement the labels.

It could also be difficult to make a dent in sales from foreign oil producers because of the global market, Flynn said.

"At the end of the day, if we end up not buying that oil, it's just going to be bought by someone else."

Growth Energy also launched a website called Home :: Label My Fuel which details its calculations on the cost of American dependence on foreign oil.

U.S. ethanol group wants origin labeling for oil - Yahoo! News

[greencat]

Higher ethanol content in gasoline pushed by group

LOBBYIST
Wesley Clark: He predicts that carmakers will become more cooperative.
By Wire Reports
Published: 9/2/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 9/2/2009 4:16 AM

U.S. automakers will accept a higher blend of ethanol in gasoline once they understand the safety of the product and biofuels' environmental benefits, according to a lobbying group for the biofuels industry.

"We believe the American automobile industry will become increasingly cooperative," said Wesley Clark, the former Army general who is a co-chairman of Growth Energy.

The group held a conference call Tuesday from Decatur, Ill., to announce a push for legislation that would require gasoline stations to label fuel by country of origin.

An industry request to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline from 10.2 percent to 15 percent has encountered resistance from General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. They have urged caution, saying greater biofuels content may hurt engine performance and increase corrosion.

"Our feeling is that to go higher," more testing is needed, GM spokesman Alan Adler told Bloomberg News in an interview.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has delayed a decision on raising the so-called blend wall until December.

Ethanol, made from corn grown in the U.S., is blended with gasoline to limit foreign-oil dependence.
Tulsa World: Higher ethanol content in gasoline pushed by group

[greencat]

Half-Built Ethanol Plant to be Auctioned off, Piece by Piece
A bankrupt company's half-built ethanol plant near Carleton, Neb. is expected to be auctioned off piece by piece in October, according to the Lincoln Journal Star in Lincoln, Neb.

Altra Nebraska LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August after the plant offered high hopes for farmer-investors in the region.

Maas Cos. Inc., of Minnesota estimated the assets can sell for between 30 percent to 40 percent of the cost, the Journal Star said.

The petition in bankruptcy court lists the value of the company's assets between $10 million and $50 million.

(Lincoln Journal Star, Aug. 29, 2009)

(The Lincoln Journal Star Online)

DTN: During the recent economic struggles of the ethanol industry, we've seen ethanol plants that have the very latest in technology, sell for amounts far below what they were built for. That's because many ethanol companies have had to get out of the business, essentially flooding the market with ethanol plants. As a result, many plants have sold for significant discounts. The 17 former VeraSun Energy Corp. plants, for example, sold for about $1 billion. Since corn-based ethanol plants cost between $1 and $1.50 per gallon of production capacity to build, building all 17 of those plants would have cost between $1.4 billion and $2.1 billion to complete.

DTN/The Progressive Farmer: Agriculture Markets, News and Weather