E85 Retail Business Case: When and Why to Sell E85
12/1/2007
Adding E85 to the product line of a fueling station has the potential to increase customers, differentiate the station, and it can be a profitable investment. The document identifies seven variables that make E85 profitable and weighs their influence using a model NREL created based on a discounted cash flow analysis. Since fuel throughput was identified as the most important project variable, guidance is offered to help the station owner assess potential E85 throughput.
Authors: Johnson, C; Melendez, M
Life-Cycle Assessment of Corn-Based Butanol as a Potential Transportation Fuel
11/1/2007
Butanol produced from bio-sources (such as corn) could have attractive properties as a transportation fuel. Production of butanol through a fermentation process called acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) has been the focus of increasing research and development efforts. The purpose of this study is to estimate the potential life-cycle energy and emission effects associated with using bio-butanol as a transportation fuel. The study employs a well-to-wheels analysis tool named the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model developed by Argonne National Laboratory and the Aspen Plus model developed by AspenTech. The study describes the butanol production from corn, including grain processing, fermentation, gas stripping, distillation, and adsorption for products separation. Our study shows that, while the use of corn-based butanol achieves energy benefits and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, the results are affected by the methods used to treat the acetone that is co-produced in butanol plants.
Authors: Wu, M.; Wang, M.; Liu, J.; Huo, H.
Biofuels: An Important Part of a Low-Carbon Diet
11/1/2007
New rules are being developed that will require fuel providers to account for and reduce the heat-trapping emissions associated with the production and use of transportation fuels. The purpose of this report is to ensure that we "count carbs" accurately, by explaining why we need a comprehensive accounting system for carbon emissions--one that measures global warming emissions over a transportation fuel's entire life cycle. We also need to "make carbs count" by creating performance-based policies that will reward low-carbon transportation fuels for their performance.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - October 2007
10/1/2007
The October 2007 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between Oct. 2 and Oct 20, 2007, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 1 illustrates that the nationwide average price for regular gasoline has dropped 27 cents to $2.76 per gallon; CNG has dropped 32 cents to $1.77; and ethanol (E85) has dropped 23 cents to $2.40 per gallon.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
E85 and Biodiesel Deployment
9/18/2007
Oil consumption is growing rapidly while oil production is declining. We cannot "conserve" our way out of this dilemma. The transportation sector currently consumes 68% of global oil every year. We must develop new sources of transportation fuel for the U.S. and the world -- and we need to start now. Presentation discusses federal incentives for E85 and biodiesel; the Clean Cities Program; and the National Renewable Energy Lab's role in deployment of alternative fuels.
Authors: Harrow, G.
Water Usage for Current and Future Ethanol Production
8/23/2007
Moving and treating water consumes energy, and producing energy nearly always consumes water: the two are tightly linked. The good news is that conservation of one results in savings of the other as well. By understanding how much water is required to produce various kinds of energy, we can move toward more water-efficient energy production. In turn, recognizing how much energy is needed for various components of our water systems will help us identify opportunities for greater efficiency. This issue's articles look at both sides.
Authors: Aden, A.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, July 2007
7/1/2007
The July 2007 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between July 3, 2007 and July 13, 2007, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 1 illustrates that all fuel prices except propane and biodiesel have risen but the price increases are well below the increase in the price of regular gasoline. CNG is almost a dollar less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels: Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries
6/30/2007
To articulate the essential role of chemistry, chemical catalysis, thermal processing, and engineering in the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into green gasoline, green diesel and green jet fuel, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy convened a workshop entitled "Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels" on June 25-26, 2007, in Washington, D.C., ancillary to the 2007 ACS Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference. Over 70 participants from 24 academic institutions, 20 petroleum, chemical and biofuel companies, and 7 national laboratories contributed expertise in chemical catalysis, chemistry, petroleum refining, nanotechnology, quantum chemistry, and engineering. This document is the result of that workshop.This roadmap to "Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries" outlines a number of novel process pathways for biofuels production based on sound scientific and engineering proofs of concept demonstrated in laboratories around the world.
Authors: Huber, George W.
Coalition Cooperation Defines Roadmap for E85 and Biodiesel
6/1/2007
The Colorado Biofuels Coalition was formed in late 2005 and has a goal to expand the number of E85 stations in Colorado from 10 to 50 by the end of 2007. This coalition is an example of cooperation between the state executive office, the state office of health and environment, state and local fleets, fuel producers and distributors, Clean Cities Coalitions, and OEMs. The organization, members, and strategies for effecting this change are detailed as well as techniques for dealing with specific issues including funding.
Biofuels: DOE Lacks a Strategic Approach to Coordinate Increasing Production with Infrastructure Development and Vehicle Needs
6/1/2007
Combined ethanol and biodiesel production increased rapidly between 2004 and 2006 but composed only 3 percent of 2006 U.S. transportation fuel use. Existing biofuel distribution infrastructure has limited capacity to transport the fuels and deliver them to consumers. In 2006, an estimated 4.5 million flexible fuel vehicles capable of operating on E85 were in use--an estimated 1.8 percent of the nearly 244 million U.S. vehicles.
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has found that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has not yet developed a comprehensive approach to coordinate its strategy for expanding biofuels production with the development of biofuel infrastructure and the production of vehicles. Such an approach could assist in determining which biofuel blend would most effectively and efficiently increase the use of the fuel and what infrastructure development or vehicle production is needed to support that blend level.
Summary of the Study of E85 Fuel in the USA, Winter 2006/2007
5/31/2007
This report summarizes the results of a study of E85 fuel use in the United States during the winter of 2006-07 to determine the properties of winter fuels. Samples were purchased at retail outlets and shipped to SGS Germany GmbH for analysis. A complete report ("Fuel Study of E85 in the USA, Winter 2006/2007"), which contains individual sample data as well as results on many other properties not contained in this summary, is available for purchase at www.us.sgs.com.
Notes: A complete report ("Fuel Study of E85 in the USA, Winter 2006/2007"), which contains individual sample data as well as results on many other properties not contained in this summary, is available for purchase at www.us.sgs.com.
Thermochemical Ethanol via Indirect Gasification and Mixed Alcohol Synthese of Lignocellulosic Biomass
4/30/2007
This work addresses a policy initiative by the Federal Administration to apply United States Department of Energy (DOE) research to broadening the country?s domestic production of economic, flexible, and secure sources of energy fuels. President Bush stated in his 2006 State of the Union Address: ?America is addicted to oil.? To reduce the Nation?s future demand for oil, the President has proposed the Advanced Energy Initiative which outlines significant newinvestments and policies to change the way we fuel our vehicles and change the way we power our homes and businesses. The specific goal for biomass in the Advanced Energy Initiative is to foster the breakthrough technologies needed to make cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive with corn-based ethanol by 2012.
Authors: Phillips, Steve;Aden, Andy;Jechura, John;Dayton, David (NREL);Eggeman, Tim (Neoterics, International, Inc.)
Fact Sheet: Sequestering Greenhouse Gases from Landfills, Animal Waste, Sewage, and Other Sources Via Biomethane Production
3/21/2007
Biogas, a mixture of methane and other gases produced from the decomposition of organic materials, is produced naturally in landfills and from processing of animal waste, sewage, crop waste, and cellulosic and non-cellulosic crops. If biomethane made from recovered biogas were used in vehicles, it is estimated that it would reduce greenhouse gases by 500 million metric tons of CO2 per year, or the emissions equivalent of removing 90 million light-duty gasoline vehicles from the roads.
Research Advances Cellulosic Ethanol - NREL Leads the Way
3/1/2007
The National Renewable Energy Lab is investigating more inexpensive pretreatment methods for cellulose that break down hemicellulose and lignin. Other areas of research include enzymatic hydrolysis, improved fermentation, process integration, and thermochemical conversion.