ethanol_basics

Ethanol Basics

What Is Ethanol?
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol), according to the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is a "clear, colorless liquid with a characteristic, agreeable odour" -- and taste, some would add. This is the drinkable alcohol, the active ingredient in beer, wine and spirits. Methanol, (methyl alcohol, wood alcohol) is the poisonous one.
Ethanol is also a high-performance motor fuel that cuts poisonous exhaust emissions, and is better for the environment.

The very first cars ever made on an assembly line: the Ford Model T, were built to run on ethanol. Henry Ford designed the famed Model T Ford to run on alcohol -- he said it was "the fuel of the future. There are more stills in this country than filling stations," Henry Ford wisely pointed out, as early as 1908.
The oil companies thought otherwise, however -- but the oil crisis of the early 1970s gave ethanol fuel a new lease of life. The US now uses more than 15 billion gallons of cleaner, ethanol-blended petrol a year, totaling 12% of fuel sales in the US. Most of it is a 10% blend, but 85% and even 95% blends are now being tested. Ethanol blends are increasingly used in South Africa, while Brazil, the world leader, produces four billion gallons of ethanol a year: all Brazilian fuel contains ethanol, much of it 100% ethanol (engines can be designed to run on 100% ethanol). Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors all recommend ethanol fuels, and nearly every car manufacturer in the world approves ethanol blends in their warranty coverage. Over two trillion miles have been driven on ethanol-blended fuels since 1980. Speaking on 21 March 2000 at a news conference on the Clinton administration's support for ethanol, US Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman predicted a dramatic increase in the amount of ethanol used in America's transportation fuel. "The ethanol industry has grown from 100 million gallons in 1981 to almost 1.5 billion gallons in 1999," he said. "We can and will do better than that." Glickman said he had directed USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation to provide up to $100 million in 2000 and up to $150 million in 2001 and 2002 in incentive payments to ethanol and other bio-energy producers to expand production of bio-based fuels. Glickman also recommended reducing and phasing out MTBE as an additive and using ethanol instead.

How is ethanol made? Ethanol is made by fermenting and then distilling starch and sugar crops -- maize, sorghum, potatoes, wheat, sugar-cane, cornstalks, fruit and vegetable waste. Recently, since the mid 1980's, ethanol is now commercially and economically made from cellulose fiber sources.
New enzymes and production processes that convert cellulose to sugar can produce ethanol from almost any biomass, including agricultural wastes, straw, leaves, grass clippings, sawdust or old newspapers. The benefits Ethanol is a much cleaner fuel than gasoline:
It is a renewable fuel made from plants It is not a fossil-fuel: manufacturing it and burning it does not increase the greenhouse effect It provides high octane at low cost as an alternative to harmful fuel additives Ethanol blends can be used in all petrol engines without modifications Ethanol is biodegradable without harmful effects on the environment It significantly reduces harmful exhaust emissions Ethanol's high oxygen content reduces carbon monoxide levels more than any other oxygenate: by 25-30%, according to the US EPA

Ethanol reduces emissions and reduces CO2: Ethanol blends dramatically reduce emissions of hydrocarbons, a major contributor to the depletion of the ozone layer. High-level ethanol blends reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 20 Ethanol can reduce net carbon dioxide emissions by up to 100% on a full life-cycle basis High-level ethanol blends can reduce emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by 30% or more (VOCs are major sources of ground-level ozone formation). As an octane enhancer, ethanol can cut emissions of cancer-causing benzene and butadiene by more than 50%. Sulphur dioxide and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions are significantly decreased with ethanol. For an interesting bit of history about Henry Ford, Charles Kettering and ethanol, "Fuel of the Future", click here.

The 4 Myths about Alcohol Fuel
My basic philosophy when it comes to petroleum is, don't trust the oil companies! Now, I usually buy gas just like everyone else, but having had the freedom of being able to make my own fuel, and finding that I got great performance on it, I did a bit of digging to see what the truth was behind the myths that the oil industry was putting out.

The 4 basic myths propagated by the petrochemical industry are:

1. Ethanol doesn't have as much energy as gasoline. 86,000 BTU's vs. 126,000 BTU's.
Answer: Burning it in an open flame to boil water is not the same as burning it in an internal combustion engine. Ethanol burns slower which is better for transferring power to the piston. It is a well know fact that only 14 to 18% of the energy in gasoline is used effectively, as most of it is lost in heat, as well as some unburned emissions. I have been able to get the same mileage out of 180 proof as I did with unleaded. If you start using E-85, you will get about 10 to 15 % less mileage, but pay about 20% less per gallon of fuel. If you modify your engine to optimize it for this high octane 106-fuel, your mileage will be the same as on gasoline.

2. Ethanol takes more energy to make than you get out of it.
Not true. This is some very old propaganda. modern commericial distilleries making 40 gallons per year each are usually only using about one-third the BTU value of the final 200 proof Ethanol product they are selling. See my web page, "More or less energy."

3. Ethanol is highly corrosive.
This is nothing that can't be solved with a modern understanding of coatings, gasket materials, adhesives, and fuel additives In fact, VW, GM, Ford and many other companies have made ethanol fuel cars designed to run on alcohol. The other issue is that E85, which is 85% anhydrous alcohol and 15% gasoline has corrosion inhibitors to enable this fuel to be sold on the open market (about 15 states in the midwest sell this fuel).

4. Ethanol is high in emissions.
The reverse is true. See the Clean cities website. http://www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/epact/

For further reading:
Click here for Northwest Iowa Community College’s excellent website on ethanol fuel, including an overview of the economics of ethanol for fuel, as well as a guide to the use in modern engines.

Click here for a report on the net energy gains of ethanol fuel, as well as data on greenhouse gas reductions.

Click here for a 268-page official report to the Governor of California (1999) on Biomass to Ethanol conversion. This report provides accurate data on the fuel potential of various agricultural crops, reporting (page 171) that the cost of producing ethanol varies from $0.97 to $1.22 if various agricultural wastes are fermented. This report is particularly valuable if you are considering building a commercial ethanol production facility. A thorough description of using enzymes to convert various starch bearing plants into simple sugars for fuel production starts on page 210. Further reading is worthwhile, as this report is not merely an economic projection of academics, but provides real-world reports from industrial ethanol producers: what they do, how they do it, and how much it costs for them to produce fuel ethanol. One page 230 is a chart showing how fluctuating market prices for corn over the past 10 years has made the cost of producing ethanol from corn vary from $1.01 to $1.54/gallon.

Click here for a study comparing ethanol fuel and gasoline, in terms of performance and emissions of greenhouse gases

This still can be made in one weekend using off-the-shelf plumbing fittings.

Home Building your own still Legal and safety issues

Mashing and fermentation Converting your engine FAQ Order the plans

Make your own fuel