Ethanol fuel in the United States

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Main articles: Biofuel in the United States and Ethanol fuel
Information on pump, California.
Information on pump, California.

Current interest in ethanol fuel in the United States mainly lies in bio-ethanol, produced from corn, but there has been considerable debate about how useful bio-ethanol will be in replacing fossil fuels in vehicles. Concerns relate to the large amount of arable land required for crops,[1] as well as the energy and pollution balance of the whole cycle of ethanol production.[2][3] Recent developments with cellulosic ethanol production and commercialization may allay some of these concerns.[4]

Ethanol currently constitutes only a small fraction of the United States' fuel supply, but domestic production capacity has more than doubled since 2001, to over 4.5 billion gallons per year. Most cars on the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and motor vehicle manufacturers already produce vehicles designed to run on much higher ethanol blends. Portland, Oregon, recently became the first city in the United States to require all gasoline sold within city limits to contain at least 10% ethanol.[5] “Flexible-fuel” cars, trucks, and minivans can use gasoline and ethanol blends ranging from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). By mid-2006, there were approximately six million E85-compatible vehicles on U.S. roads.[6]

The Renewable Fuels Association counts 113 U.S. ethanol distilleries in operation and another 78 under construction. Ethanol production is likely to soar over the next several years, since the Energy Policy Act of 2005 set a renewable fuels standard mandating 7.5 billion gallons of annual domestic renewable-fuel production by 2012. President Bush eventually seeks to generate a western-hemisphere dominated industry that can produce as much as 35 billion gallons (130 billion liters) a year, equal to the entire world's production as of 2007.[7]

Expanding ethanol industries provide jobs in plant construction, operations, and maintenance, mostly in rural communities.[8]

Contents

[edit] History of Ethanol in the US

New energy corporation's 102 mmgy ethanol plant in South Bend, Indiana.
New energy corporation's 102 mmgy ethanol plant in South Bend, Indiana.

In 1826, Samuel Morey, experimented with a prototypical internal combustion engine that used ethanol (combined with turpentine and ambient air then vaporized) as fuel. At the time, his discovery was overlooked mostly due to the success of steam power. And while ethanol was known of for decades, it received little attention as a fuel until 1860 when Nicholas Otto began experimenting with internal combustion engines.

In 1859, oil was found in Pennsylvania which provided a new supply of fuel for the United States. A popular fuel in the U.S. before petroleum was a blend of alcohol and turpentine called "camphene", also known as "burning fluid." With the discovery of a ready supply of oil, kerosene's popularity grew.

Gasoline containing up to 10% ethanol has been in increasing use in the United States since the late 1970s. In 2006, about 50 percent of the gasoline used in the U.S. and more than 85 percent of Hawaii’s gasoline contains ethanol [9]

[edit] Current trends

U.S. fuel ethanol
production and imports
(2001-2007)[10]
(Millions of U.S. liquid gallons)
Year Production Imports Demand
2001 1,770 n/a n/a
2002 2,130 46 2,085
2003 2,800 61 2,900
2004 3,400 161 3,530
2005 3,904 135 4,049
2006 4,855 653 5,377
2007 6,500 450 n/a
Note: Demand figures includes stocks change
and small exports in 2005

The world's top ethanol producers in 2006 were the United States with 4.855 billion U.S. liquid gallons and Brazil with 4.49 bg.[10] The United States, together with Brazil accounted for 70 percent of all ethanol production, with total world production of 13.5 billion gallons (40 million tonnes). When accounting just for fuel ethanol production in 2007, the U.S. and Brazil are responsible for 88% of the 13.1 billion gallons total world production.

By 2007, the U.S. ethanol production industry consisted of 115 plants operating in nineteen states. The nearly 7 billion gallons production of these plants was a 38% increase over the previous year, and surpassed Brazil as the worlds largest ethanol producer in 2005.[11] Dozens more plants are under development and due to come on line in 2008 and 2009, increasing U.S. production capacity to nearly 12 billion gallons.[12]

Most cars on the road today in the U.S. can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and motor vehicle manufacturers already produce vehicles designed to run on much higher ethanol blends. In 2007, Portland, Oregon, recently became the first city in the United States to require all gasoline sold within city limits to contain at least 10% ethanol.[13][14] As of January 2008, three states - Missouri, Minnesota, and Hawaii - require ethanol to be blended with gasoline motor fuel. Many cities are also required to use an ethanol blend due to non-attainment of federal air quality goals.[15]

Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and GM are among the automobile companies that sell “flexible-fuel” cars, trucks, and minivans that can use gasoline and ethanol blends ranging from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). By mid-2006, there were approximately six million E85-compatible vehicles on U.S. roads.[16]

The Renewable Fuels Association counts 113 U.S. ethanol distilleries in operation and another 78 under construction, with capacity to produce 11.8 billion gallons within the next few years. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts in its Annual Energy Outlook 2007 that ethanol consumption will reach 11.2 billion gallons by 2012, outstripping the 7.5 billion gallons required in the Renewable Fuel Standard that was enacted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.[17]

Flag of the United States United States fuel ethanol
imports by country (2002-2007)[10]
(Millions of U.S. liquid gallons)
Country 2007* 2006 2005 2004 2003
Flag of Brazil Brazil 188.8 433.7 31.2 90.3 0
Flag of Jamaica Jamaica 75.2 66.8 36.3 36.6 39.3
Flag of El Salvador El Salvador 73.3 38.5 23.7 5.7 6.9
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 42.7 24.8 10.0 0 0
Flag of Costa Rica Costa Rica 39.3 35.9 33.4 25.4 14.7
*Note: 2007 figures through November only.

Expanding ethanol (and biodiesel) industries provide jobs in plant construction, operations, and maintenance, mostly in rural communities. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the ethanol industry created almost 154,000 U.S. jobs in 2005 alone, boosting household income by $5.7 billion. It also contributed about $3.5 billion in tax revenues at the local, state, and federal levels.[18]

[edit] Reduced petroleum imports and costs

One rationale given for extensive ethanol production in the U.S. is its benefit to energy security, by shifting the need for some foreign-produced oil to domestically-produced energy sources.[19] Production of ethanol requires significant energy, but current U.S. production derives most of that energy from coal, natural gas and other sources, rather than oil.[20] Because 66% of oil consumed in the U.S. is imported, compared to a net surplus of coal and just 16% of natural gas (2006 figures),[21] the displacement of oil-based fuels to ethanol produces a net shift from foreign to domestic U.S. energy sources.

According to a 2008 analysis by Iowa State University, the growth in US ethanol production has caused retail gasoline prices to be US $0.29 to US $0.40 per gallon lower than would otherwise have been the case.[22]

[edit] Cellulosic ethanol

In his State of the Union Address on January 31, 2006, President George W. Bush stated, “We'll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks or switchgrass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years.” The U.S. Department of Energy released a report on July 7, 2006 with an ambitious new research agenda for the development of cellulosic ethanol as an alternative to gasoline. The 200-page scientific roadmap cites recent advances in biotechnology that have made cost-effective production of ethanol from cellulose, or inedible plant fiber, an attainable goal, with federal loan guarantees for new cellulosic biorefineries. The report outlines a detailed research plan for developing new technologies to transform cellulosic ethanol - a renewable, cleaner-burning, and carbon-neutral alternative to gasoline - into an economically viable transportation fuel. The Department of Energy has invested in research on enzymatic, thermochemical, acid hydrolysis, hybrid hydrolysis/enzymatic, and a variety of other approaches toward achieving success in discovering an efficient and low cost method of converting cellulose to ethanol.

President Bush's 2007 budget earmarked $150 million for the research effort - more than double the 2006 budget in favor of the cellulosic lobby. Taxpayers and consumers are already shouldering part of the cost: each gallon of ethanol sold is subsidized by a 51-cent/gallon federal tax credit paid to U.S. producers.[23] These subsidies, along with state incentive programs, cost the nation over $2 billion a year, leading legislators to pledge to invest in cellulosic ethanol. Another dampening factor is the short term loss of income to American refiners of crude oil. The U.S. market is especially lucrative, sometimes earning its refiners $30 or more on every barrel of crude oil they refine. Exxon Mobil Corp. earned $1.3 billion in its refining arm in the second quarter, up 11% from a year before. The expectation, over the long run, is that the U.S. economy would more than earn its share back if our primary source of energy were manufactured and processed in the United States, but individual companies could be adversely affected.

[edit] Sugar beet ethanol

Technologically, the process of producing ethanol from sugar is simpler than converting corn into ethanol. Converting corn into ethanol requires additional cooking and the application of enzymes, whereas the conversion of sugar requires only a yeast fermentation process. The energy requirement for converting sugar into ethanol is about half that for corn. A 2006 USDA report found that at the current market prices for ethanol, converting sugarcane, sugar beets and molasses to ethanol would be profitable.[24]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Deforestation diesel – the madness of biofuel
  2. ^ Youngquist, W. Geodestinies, National Book company, Portland, OR, 499p.
  3. ^ The dirty truth about biofuels
  4. ^ Biofuels look to the next generation
  5. ^ Introduction: The Clean Tech Opportunity p. 3.
  6. ^ Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006)
  7. ^ Financial Times. "Bush Signs Green Fuel Development with Brazil; " March 10-11, 2007
  8. ^ Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006). American energy: The renewable path to energy security
  9. ^ New-Fuel.com - Hawaii's Transition to Ethanol-Blended Fuel
  10. ^ a b c Industry Statistics: Annual World Ethanol Production by Country. Renewable Fuels Association. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
  11. ^ RFA - The Industry - Industry Statistics
  12. ^ Ethanol Fact Book
  13. ^ Portland requires stations to sell biofuels, giving farmers a boost | Post Carbon Cities
  14. ^ Introduction: The Clean Tech Opportunity p. 3.
  15. ^ 3 states, many cities: [1]
  16. ^ Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006). American energy: The renewable path to energy security
  17. ^ Industrial Biotechnology Is Revolutionizing the Production of Ethanol Transportation Fuel
  18. ^ Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006). American energy: The renewable path to energy security
  19. ^ http://ethanol.org Energy Security
  20. ^ http://www.ethanol.org Ethanol Can Contribute to Energy and Environmental Goals
  21. ^ http://www.eia.doe.gov Energy INFOcard
  22. ^ Ethanol Lowers Gas Prices 29-40 Cents Per Gallon
  23. ^ Financial Times. "Bush Signs Green Fuel Development with Brazil; " March 10-11, 2007, p.3.
  24. ^ “The Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production from Sugar in the United States” 2006 United States Department of Agriculture http://www.usda.gov/oce/EthanolSugarFeasibilityReport3.pdf.

[edit] External links

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