Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, March 2007
3/1/2007
The March 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 February 21, 2007 and March 2, 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 alternative fuel prices relative to conventional fuels vary, with some (propane and biodiesel) higher and some (E85 and CNG) lower. CNG is about 36 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 20 cents less per gallon than gasoline.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
Survey of E85 Fuel Dispensing Operations in the U.S.
2/1/2007
E85 fuel, consisting of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, is currently being dispensed at public and private fueling stations using the same type of equipment approved for gasoline. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has not listed dispensing equipment for use with E85 fuel blends. Current dispensing equipment listed by UL is limited to fuels with a maximum of 15% alcohol. It is understood that high concentrations of ethanol are significantly more corrosive than conventional 15% ethanol blends. This may result in E85 chemically degrading the materials used in fuel dispenser components, and may ultimately affect the dispenser's ability to contain the fuel. UL is currently reviewing research to gather information needed to develop revised certification requirements covering high alcohol concentration blends.
Life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission impacts of different corn ethanol plant types
1/1/2007
Virtually all of the ethanol used for transportation has been produced from corn. During the period of fuel ethanol growth, corn farming productivity has increased dramatically, and energy use in ethanol production plants has been reduced by almost half. The majority of corn ethanol plants are powered by natural gas. In this paper, we examine nine corn ethanol plant types--categorized according to the type of process fuels employed, use of combined heat and power, and production of wet distiller grains and solubles. We found that these ethanol plant types can have distinctly different energy and greenhouse gas emission effects on a full fuel-cycle basis. Our results show that in order to achieve energy and greenhouse gas emission benefits, researchers need to closely examine and differentiate among the types of production plants used to produce corn ethanol.
Authors: Wang, M.; Wu, M.; Huo, Hong
Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.: Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions from Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 2030
1/1/2007
Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies have the potential to provide most, if not all, of the U.S. carbon emissions reductions that will be needed to help limit the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide to 450 to 500 ppm. The document includes a section on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. This section focuses on plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology, which adds additional battery capacity and charging capability to current hybrid electric vehicle technology. Plug-in vehicles thereby make possible substantial vehicle operation on energy derived from the electrical grid rather than from gasoline.
Authors: Kutscher, C., Editor; Lilienthal,P.; Brown, H.
Fuel Permeation from Automotive Systems: E0, E6, E10, E20 and E85
12/1/2006
An earlier CRC report (CRC Project E-65) investigated the effects of three different fuels on the permeation rates of the fuel systems from 10 different California vehicles, covering model years from 1978 to 2001. As a result of that study, four issues were identified for further study in the present report: (1) investigate permeation characteristics of "near zero" evaporative emission control systems scheduled for California in MY 2004 and later; (2) determine if changes in ethanol content affect permeation levels; (3) establish the permeation effects of E85 in a flexible fuel vehicle; (4) determine if permeation rates are sensitive to changes in aromatics content of the fuel.
Authors: Haskew, H.M.; Libery, T.F.; McClement, D.
The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors: A Preliminary Assessment
11/1/2006
The ongoing growth of corn-based ethanol production raises some fundamental questions about the impact of continued growth on U.S. and world agricultural markets. Estimates of the long-run potential for ethanol production can be made by calculating the corn price at which the incentive to expand ethanol production disappears. Under current ethanol tax policy, if the prices of crude oil, natural gas, and distillers grains stay at current levels, then the break-even corn price is $4.05 per bushel.At this price, corn-based ethanol production would reach 31.5 billion gallons per year, or about 20% of projected U.S. fuel consumption in 2015. Supporting this level of production would require 95.6 million acres of corn to be planted. Total corn production would be approximately 15.6 billion bushels, compared to 11.0 billion bushels today. Most of the additional corn acres come from reduced soybean acreage. Corn exports and production of pork and poultry would all be reduced in response to higher corn prices and increased utilization of corn by ethanol plants. These results are not to be viewed as a prediction of what will eventually happen. Rather, they indicate a logical end point to the current incentives to invest in corn-based ethanol plants.
Authors: Elobeid, A.; Tokgoz, S.; Hayes, D.J.; Babcock, B.A.; Hart, C.E.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2006
10/1/2006
The October 2006 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 in September and October 2006, 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 alternative fuel prices relative to conventional fuels vary, with some (propane and biodiesel) higher and some (E85 and CNG) lower. CNG is about 45 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 11 cents less per gallon than gasoline.
Authors: Laughlin, M.D.
Gasification Research Center
9/30/2006
Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is leading an effort to integrate and evaluate syngas cleanup and treatment technologies for syngas from biomass gasification processes. Researchers will screen and evaluate gas cleanup and processing technologies and process monitoring instrumentation for potential implementation in integrated biorefineries based on the thermochemical production of syngas.
Authors: U.S. DOE Biomass Program
A Guide for Evaluating the Requirements of Ethanol Plants
6/20/2006
During the past decade, interest in the production of biofuels from renewable resources has continued to grow throughout the U.S. Major grain producing states have placed special emphasis on the production of ethanol. The currrent demand for ethanol and the projected increase in the use of these fuels under a national renewable fuels standard continues to stimulate interest in the prospects for the development of new ethanol plants. This publication is designed to assist interested parties during the initial stages of evaluating the potential for the development of a processing facility. Interested parties can consider the requirements and potential impact of an ethanol production facility in a community or region of the state. The value-added aspects of producing a high value product from lower cost raw materials has considerable appeal in agricultural states and areas where reliable supplies of biomass feedstocks exist.
Breaking the Biological Barriers to Cellulosic Ethanol: A Joint Research Agenda
6/1/2006
A robust fusion of the agricultural, industrial biotechnology, and energy industries can create a new strategic national capability for energy independence and climate protection. The Biomass to Biofuels Workshop, held Dec. 7-9, 2005, developed a research roadmap to attempt to break the biological barriers to cellulosic ethanol. The core barrier is cellulosic-biomass recalcitrance to processing to ethanol. Biomass is composed of nature's most ready energy source, sugars, but they are locked in a complex polymer composite exquisitely created to resist biological and chemical degradation. Key to energizing a new biofuel industry based on conversion of cellulose (and hemicelluloses) to ethanol is to understand plant cell-wall chemical and physical structures--how they are synthesized and can be deconstructed.
Notes: Download either a high resolution version (48.7 MB) or a low res version (6.0 MB)directly from the web address provided: http://genomicsgtl.energy.gov/biofuels/b2bworkshop.shtml
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, June 2006
6/1/2006
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report designed to keep you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels and conventional fuels in the U.S. Prices were collected during May and June of 2006.
Estimated Use of Gasohol - 2004
4/1/2006
This one-page table provides estimated use of the total amount of ethanol used in gasohol in the 50 states in 2004. The total was 3.6 billon gallons of ethanol used in gasohol blends.