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Posts in category Ethanol

E.coli turns seaweed sugars into ethanol

Jan24
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

Berkeley scientists have engineered a form of the E.coli bacterium that converts alginate, or sugars from seaweed, into ethanol.

The scientists claim the engineered E. coli yields “80 percent of the theoretical maximum amount of ethanol for a given amount of biomass”.

They calculate that a commercial plant could produce 19,000 liters per hectare annually, which is twice as productive as sugar cane-based ethanol and five times as productive as corn. This leads them to the perhaps-optimistic conclusion that “less than three percent of the world’s coastal waters can produce enough seaweed to replace some 60 billion gallons of fossil fuel”

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Posted in Biofuel

Gas prices may rise due to ethanol subsidy loss

Jan06
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

The end of ethanol subsidies will increase manufacturing costs, which in turn can marginally increase the price of gasoline.

The end of the subsidy portends an increase in manufacturing costs. Ethanol blenders get a 45-cents-a-gallon tax credit, according to USA Today. When the credit ends Sunday, those costs will most likely be transferred to the consumer at about 4.5 cents per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, which typically contains a 10% ethanol blend called E10.

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Congress ends ethanol subsidies

Dec29
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

The U.S. Congress did not renew the tax credit for US-made corn-based ethanol which had been in place since 1980.

Ending the ethanol tax breaks is projected to save about $2 billion over several years. Of that total, two-thirds is to be applied to cutting the national debt, although it represents just one-tenth of 1 percent of the total national debt of $14.3 trillion.

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Cellulosic ethanol to surge on 2013

Oct25
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

Commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol production is expected to start as of 2013.

Come 2013, Poet will start producing up to 25 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year at its site in Iowa. In addition, competitors British Petroleum and Abengoa plan to have their U.S.-based advanced biofuel facilities online by the end of 2013.

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1,000,000 Nascar miles on E15

Sep22
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

NASCAR has accumulated more than one million miles on E15 ethanol this season.

“Before NASCAR switched its fuel to Sunoco Green E15 at the start of the 2011 racing season, there was extensive analysis and deep consideration about the decision,” said Mike Lynch, managing director of Green Innovation for NASCAR. “Successfully transitioning to the new fuel and surpassing a million miles, all on America’s toughest proving ground, is a validation of Sunoco Green E15 as a high-performance racing fuel and is part of our overall effort to go green. NASCAR is proud to use this American-made product because it creates American jobs while also reducing harmful emissions.”

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Posted in Biofuel

Bacteria in ethanol can damage pipelines

Aug04
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

A study conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology has found that bacteria found in ethanol can cause cracks to pipelines.

“We have shown that ethanol fuel can increase the rate of fatigue crack growth in pipelines,” NIST postdoctoral researcher Jeffrey Sowards says. “Substantial increases in crack growth rates were caused by the microbes. These are important data for pipeline engineers who want to safely and reliably transport ethanol fuel in repurposed oil and gas pipelines.”

Ethanol, an alcohol that can be made from corn, is widely used as a gasoline additive due to its oxygen content and octane rating. Ethanol also can be used as fuel by itself in modified engines. The NIST tests focused on fuel-grade ethanol.

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E15 use voids car warranties

Jul11
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

While the EPA approved the use of E15 ethanol in vehicles built after 2001, unless your car is a flex-fuel vehicle, car companies may void your warranty.

In response to the release of the labels, nine automakers—including Chrysler, General Motors, and Toyota—wasted no time writing letters to Congress criticizing the proposal and noting that they will not honor warranties for older cars running on E15. The automakers say they are concerned about the effects of E15 on engines, fuel pumps, and other fuel-system components in cars that were not designed for it. (Learn more about ethanol: “The great ethanol debate.”)

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Renewable energy > nuclear energy

Jul09
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

A new study by the Energy Information Administration found that electricity generated by renewable energy sources surpassed that of nuclear energy.

During the first quarter of 2011, renewable energy sources (biomass/biofuels, geothermal, solar, water, wind) provided 2.245 quadrillion Btus of energy or 11.73 percent of U.S. energy production. More significantly, energy production from renewable energy sources in 2011 was 5.65 percent more than that from nuclear power, which provided 2.125 quadrillion Btus and has remained largely unchanged in recent years. Energy from renewable sources is now 77.15 percent of that from domestic crude oil production, with the gap closing rapidly.

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Posted in Biofuel, Biomass, Geothermal, Hydro, Solar, Wind

Senate votes to end ethanol subsidies

Jun17
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

The Senate voted to repeal the billion dollar ethanol subsidy on June 16th, a victim of bipartisan budget-cutting. The White House, however, is against full repeal and is threatening to veto the bill.

The Senate vote shows the odds are diminishing that the 45-cent-a-gallon subsidy the government gives refiners and the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol — both targeted in Thursday’s vote — will be extended at current rates beyond their scheduled expiration at the end of this year.

The Senate measure still faces a long road to becoming final. The White House issued a statement saying it was against a full repeal of ethanol subsidies, indicating it could use its veto power if the amendment continued to advance in Congress.

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Brazilian ethanol refiner may add sugar lines to plants

Jun03
2011 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

With the price of sugar increasing 47% since last year, Grendene SA investors are considering adding sugar lines to their ethanol plants to make a profit. Ethanol prices in Brazil currently cannot cover production costs.

Grendene and his partners are studying whether to add sugar lines to the refineries and doubling their processing capacity to about 4 million tons of cane within two years, he said in a telephone interview. That would be about the maximum size that a Brazilian mill could be expanded to.

Sugar, which trades freely, has increased 47 percent from a year ago. Ethanol prices, which are linked to the state-set cost of gasoline, sometimes can’t even cover production costs, Grendene said. In the past year, developers announced just two new ethanol projects, compared with 48 between 2007 and 2008, according to data compiled by London-based research company Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

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