Aloclean –A Mix Of Ethanol & Gasoline

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The Process

Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol can be used

either asan alternative fuel or as anoctane-boosting,

pollution-reducing additive to gasoline.

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The U.S. ethanol industry produced more than 3.4

billiongallons in 2004, upfrom 2.8 billion gallons

in 2003 and2.1 billion gallonsin 2002.

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Although this number is small when compared with fossil fuel consumption for transportation,asindividual

states continue to ban the use of MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) and withthepossibility of a Federal

ban, ethanol consumption is due for a significant boost. Because of theincreased demand on ethanol as a

gasoline additive, efforts to increase supplies are necessary inorderto meet the increase in demand. As of

thestart of 2005, 81 ethanol plants in 20 states havethe capacity toproduce nearly 4.4 billion gallons

annuallyand an additional 16 plants are underconstruction to addanother750 million gallons of capacity

(RFA).

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Some Basic Concepts.

There is semantic confusion with regard to the term ethanol. Very often the term is used

as a synonymforalcoholic beverages. This is misleading, even though ethanol may be used

as a raw material for theproduction of spirits. In order to avoid misunderstandings, To

define ethanol as a clear, colorless,flammable oxygenated hydrocarbon, with the chemical

formula C₂H₅ OH. Even though thedefinition is fairly straightforward, there are various

categories for describing a particular type of ethylalcohol which are not mutually exclusive:

• By feedstock

• By composition

• By end use

The feedstocks and therefore the processes by which ethanol can be produced are diverse. Synthetic alcohol

may be derived from crude oil or gas and coal. Agricultural alcohol may be distilled from grains, molasses,

fruit, sugar cane juice, cellulose and numerous other sources. Both products, fermentation and synthetic

alcohol are chemically identical.

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Sources for Ethanol Production

.Synthetic alcohol is concentrated in the hands of a

couple of mostly multi-national companies such as

Sasolwith operations in South Africa and Germany,

SADAF of Saudi Arabia, a 50:50 joint venture between

Shellof the UK and Netherlands and the Saudi

Arabian Basic Industries Corporation, and BP

of the UKas well asEquistar in the US.

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Corn and other starches and sugars are only a small fraction of biomass that can be used to make ethanol.

Advanced Bioethanol Technology allows fuel ethanol to be made from cellulosic (plant fiber) biomass, such

asagricultural forestry residues, industrial waste, material in municipal solid waste, trees, and grasses.

Celluloseand hemicellulose, the two main components of plants-and the ones that give plants their

structure-are alsomade of sugars, but those sugars are tied together in long chains. Advanced bioethanol

technology can breakthose chains down into their component sugars and then ferment them to make

ethanol. This technology turnsordinary low-value plant materials such as corn stalks, sawdust, or waste

paper into fuel ethanol. Not quite leadinto gold, but maybe more valuable for the U.S. economy, for cutting

air pollution, and for reducing dependenceon foreign oil. To help improve this technology and ready it for

commercial operation, the DOE researchers andtheir industrial partners use the DOE Bioethanol Pilot

Planta fully integrated biomass-to-ethanol production facility that canturn as much as one ton per day of

cornstalks orother plant material into transportation fuels. (US DOE)

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High Quality Livestock and Poultry Feed

In just over two decades, U.S. ethanol production capacity has risen from virtually zero to over 3 billion

gallons ayear. Dry mill processing plants produce approximately 55% of the nation’s ethanol today; the rest

is processedin wet mill facilities.

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Another Distinction

Another distinction which is of importance in the field

ofethanol is the one between anhydrous and hydrous

alcohol.Anhydrous Alcohol is free of water and at

least99% pure.This ethanol may be used in fuel

blends.

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Hydrous alcohol on the other hand contains some

water and usually has a purity of 96%. In Brazil, thisethanol is being used as a 100% gasoline substitute

in cars with dedicated engines. The distinction betweenanhydrous and hydrous alcohol is of relevance

not only in the fuel sector but may be regarded as the basicquality distinction in the ethanol market.

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Increased demand has led to several major expansions of existing ethanol production facilities in the last

fewyears. Growth in America’s ethanol industry has also been as a result of many farmer-owned

organizationsbuilding ethanol plants. Since all of the new plants are dry mill facilities, the volume of

distillers grains, a co-product of ethanol production, is also increasing.

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Political Support

Critics often ask why biofuels must be supported by the state. If fuel ethanol is such a great product, so

they say, then it surely will gainmarket share without any government help. This argument is very

much dependent on the assumption that the energy markets that welook at work perfectly. In the

energy market, and in fact, in almost any market, these conditions are insufficiently met and, therefore,

anactive policy approach may be justified.

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There is growing consensus that fuel ethanol may serve a multitude of goals that are socially desirable. At

the same time, as a fuel, it isinvariably more expensive to produce than for example gasoline. Or looked at it

from another angle, ethanol faces an unfavorableopportunity cost structure. The opportunity costs for

ethanol production from, for example sugar crops like cane or beet, is the returnotherwise achievable if

these feedstocks were used to produce sugar. So, if policy makers decide that ethanol is a desirable good

theyhave to find ways to bridge the gap between the cost of ethanol and that of gasoline and they have to

make ethanol production moreattractive as compared to the manufacture of, say, sugar.