Virginia Biodiesel Environmental Compliance Primer
1/1/2008
Biodiesel fuel production, like other industrial processes, is subject to laws and regulations for protecting air, water, and land resources, assuring safe handling of hazardous materials, and proper disposal of wastes. Some of these requirements apply to small scale producers as well as to large commercial operations. This primer aims to acquaint the reader with the environmental regulatory obligations concerning biodiesel fuel production.
Worldwide Biomass Potential: Technology Characterizations
12/30/2007
A joint EERE-PI project was completed to estimate the worldwide potential to produce and transport ethanol and other biofuels, with an emphasis on the 5 year and 10 year potential for biofuels supply to the United States. The project included four specific tasks: 1) identify the range of countries to be included in the study, 2) assess the resource potential for production of ethanol from sugar and starch-based feedstocks, and biodiesel, 3) assess the resource potential for production of other biofuels, including lignocellulosic ethanol, pyrolysis oil, and renewable diesel, and 4) integrate results into the MARKAL energy policy model. The project team included DOE (Policy and International and the Office of the Biomass Program), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (feedstock supply curves), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (conversion technology characterizations), and Brookhaven National Laboratory (MARKAL analysis).
The NREL portion of this study was primarily concerned with estimating the plant gate price (PGP) of liquid biofuels (corn and wheat dry mill ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, and pyrolytic fuel oil) from selected biomass feedstocks for countries included in the study using representative existing and developing technologies. A methodology for comparing costs between countries was developed. Plant sizes studies ranged from 25 MM GPY to 100 MM GPY. The results of the technology characterizations (capital costs, operating costs, plant gate prices) are presented in 2005 U.S. dollars and include estimates of comparative costs in each country.
Authors: Bain, Richard L.
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
12/19/2007
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 put into law many of the provisions of Executive Order 13423. The goal of the EISA law is to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government.
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
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.
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.
Algae as a Biodiesel Feedstock: A Feasibility Assessment
10/16/2007
Mass cultivation of micro-algae in Alabama, using less than 3% of the state's land area, could produce 3 billion gallons of biodiesel for transportation. The report analyzed three phases of algaculture in Alabama. One phase would involve digesting poultry litter and cattle manure in an anaerobic digester which would produce methane and carbon dioxide to power a diesel generator. The second phase would integrate algae ponds with catfish ponds to remove catfish litter. The third, and longer term, phase of algae farming would require capturing carbon dioxide from fixed and vehicle point sources in the state. The carbon dioxide from Alabama Power's fossil-fuel fired power plants would provide 50% of the state's transportation fuels via algae-to-biodiesel.
Authors: Putt, R.
Lighting the Way Toward a Sustainable Energy Future
10/1/2007
Making the transition to a sustainable energy future is one of the central challenges humankind faces in this century. Achieving sustainability objectives will require changes not only in the way energy is supplied, but in the way it is used. We must also change the world's energy supply mix which is currently dominated by fossil fuels. Because markets will not produce desired outcomes unless the right incentives and price signals are in place, governments have a vital role to play in creating the conditions necessary to promote optimal results and support long-term investments in new energy infrastructure, energy research and development, and high-risk/high-payoff technologies. Therefore, aggressive changes in policy are needed to accelerate the deployment of superior technologies. Recommendations include (1) placing priority on achieving much greater access of the world's poor to clean, affordable, high-quality fuels and electricity;(2) formulating policies at all levels, from global to village scale; (3) promoting enhanced dissemination of technology improvement and innovation between industrialized and developing countries; (4) aligning economic incentives, especially for durable capital investments, with long-run sustainability objectives; (5) adopting policies aimed at accelerating the worldwide rate of decline in the carbon intensity of the global economy; (6) accelerating the development and deployment of advanced coal technologies; (7)pursuing efforts to commercialize carbon capture and storage; (8) exploring potential retrofit technologies for post-combustion carbon capture suitable for large and growing populations; (9)introducing policies and regulations that promote reduced energy consumption in the transport sector; (10) developing alternatives to petroleum to meet needs of transport sector; and (11) implementing policies to ensure that the development of petroleum alternatives is pursued in a manner compatible with other sustainabilility objectives
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.
Validation of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle and Infrastructure Technology
10/1/2007
Hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles could play a central role in future transportation system. They produce only electricity, heat, and water at point of use. They could also use predominantly domestic--potentially renewable--energy supplies instead of imported oil for transportation.
Through a 2003 competitive solicitation, DOE selected four automobile manufacturer/energy company teams to participate in the project--Chevron/Hyundai-Kia, DaimlerChrysler/BP, Ford/BP, and GM/Shell. DOE is cost-share fundung those teams to build small fleets of fuel-cell vehicles plus fueling stations to demonstrate their use in five regions of the United States.
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.
Historical Perspective of Clean Cities and Alternative Fuels Data Center Trends
9/1/2007
This report uses the vast amount of information contained in the AFDC databases to assess and describe historical trends in the alternative fuels industry. The objectives of this report are to document the development of the alternative fuels industry as reflected in AFDC data; and analyze the information and trends that may prove valuable in understanding past perspectives that could help advance the current and newly emerging technology market. The report analyzes information from the OEM vehicle offerings database; alternative fuel vehicle refueling stations; laws and incentives; hotline caller requests; and Clean Cities Coalition data.
Authors: O'Connor, J.K.
Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Summary of Experiences and Current Status
9/1/2007
This report reviews past and present fuel cell bus technology development and implementation, specifically focusing on experiences and progress in the United States. Table 1 is an overview of many of the fuel cell transit bus development projects in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and elsewhere, from early development activities to current demonstration efforts focused on bringing the technology toward commercialization.
Authors: Eudy, L.; Chandler, K.; Gikakis, C.