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A Case for Ethanol

Why ethanol is a great choice.


    Presidential executive order of August 12, 1999 - Triple Biomass Fuel Production during the next ten years.

  • Current production - 1.5b gallons X 3 = 4.5b gallons by 2010
  • Current capacity - no more than 2b gallons
  • Capacity that must be added = 2.5b gallons
  • 2.5b gallons divided by 15m - 40m (range of plant capacity) = 62 - 166 new plants

    • 62-166 new ethanol fuel plants need to be built in the US over the next ten years

  • Auto manufacturers see liquid fuel as the only real option, even for fuel cells, and are planning production accordingly
  • GM's spin off, Delphi, is focusing on liquid fuel technology, including offering their products to competitors for their cars.
  • Honda's zero emission hybrid car runs on existing fuel supplies
  • The future in the automotive industry is in fuel cells, which are designed to use ethanol and methanol
  • All major manufacturers already offer an extensive line of vehicles that run on pure ethanol - there are 4 million on the road in Brazil now.
  • Visit Ford’s site to see a full line up of E-85 ready cars and trucks.

    • Oxygenates are already in 10% to 15% of our Arizona fuel.

  • MTBE is on it's way out - it causes cancer and has been found in 20% of cities water supplies
  • ETBE (a derivative of ethanol) and Ethanol remain as the organic oxygenate of choice.
  • Ethanol is organic, therefore non-polluting, and it is effective as a motor fuel.
  • Tests and demonstrations have been done using Ethanol as fuel in 100%, 85%, 50% and 20% blends for urban service vehicles - buses, garbage trucks etc. The major shortcoming has been the price of the fuel - performance has been acceptable.

    •  Existing infrastructure

  • The delivery system for ethanol is in place - existing liquid fuel stations
  • A E85 ethanol pump can be added to an existing station for under $50k
  • Existing commercial fuel terminals are in place
  • Cars on the road will run on blends with little or no modification (cost to convert to CNG - $3,000 to $5,000, per vehicle, new or used)

    • New technology makes economical production possible

  • 90% of current production uses corn - a food crop, and is limited to production of about 100 gallons per care.
  • New strains of bacteria accelerate the conversion process for cellulosic Biomass
  • Years of experience by several builders of plants - Broin claims to be able to build it in less than a year and show a profit in the first month.

    • Using hemp or kenaf and the Fuel and Fiber Company Method, 300- 800 gallons of ethanol is a coproduct of the system, about 20-25 MGY. Click for more info.
     Put thousands of acres of farmland back into production

  • Kenaf and hemp are proposed as ideal dedicated energy crops.
  • Alternativley, new technology has made it possible to use crop residue and landscape waste as a feedstock.
  • Either way, one or more co-products are inevitable
  • Farmers can participate in the profits by owning the ethanol plant
  • Local energy production enhances local economies
  • More jobs on the farm
  • New jobs to build and operate the ethanol plant
  • Ethanol from biomass is more than a good idea, it's feasible!

 

All material on this website copyright as indicated and/or by Tim Castleman © 1999, 2000