|
Higher Mixed Alcohol Fuel
|
Ethanol
|
Feedstocks
|
All types of gaseous, solid or liquid carbonaceous materials (garbage, trash, biomass, sludges, old tires, etc.) |
Cultivated (food) crops |
| Cost of production |
Under $1 per gallon, profitable without subsidies due to reliance on abundant waste/fossil carbons |
Over $1 per gallon, questionable profitability due to end of subsidy, cost of corn due to drought |
| Quantity for production |
Unlimited volumes using diverse feedstocks |
Determined by agri-produced feedstock sources |
| Time for production |
24×7 continuous thermal technology processes |
4 to 7 day batch fermentation utilizing acidic enzymes, genetically-engineered biobugs or yeasts |
| Transport considerations |
Uses existing oil and fueling infrastructure including pipelines where higher mixed alcohols can be mixed with crude oil or refined derivatives |
Separate tanker shipments between distillery, refinery or blending ports |
| Blending characteristics |
Midrange 4.61 RVP, closer to gasoline which is 7.8 to 9.4 RVP |
Lower 2.0 RVP |
| BTU value |
92,000-96,000 BTU per gallon depending on catalyst/fuel blend |
75,500 BTU per gallon |
| Octane value |
109-138* Depending on catalyst/fuel blend |
107 |
| Oxygen content |
34% |
33% |
| Biodegradable |
yes |
yes |
| Emissions/CO |
37-69% reductions |
13-33% reductions |
| Emissions/VOC |
18% reduction |
5% reduction |
| Global applications |
yes |
specific to agricultural regions |
| Commercial scalability |
yes – unlimited |
limited by feedstock availability |
Process byproducts
|
Co-generated electricity, distilled water, inert slags when solids are gasified |
CO2 fermentative emissions, Distillers grains sold as animal feed |
| Miles per gallon when blended with gasoline |
Increases mileage and engine torque because of increased combustion efficiencies |
Typically slightly reduced mileage |
| Considerations when blending with diesel |
Blends into diesel from 5% to 10% by volume. Eliminates black sooty exhaust. Can provide 20%+ greater fuel economy in non-adjusted diesel engines. No phase separation in cold conditions. |
Ethanol not utilized for blending with petroleum-derived diesel fuel. Ethanol has lower RVP and BTU values and may phase separate in cold conditions. |
| Considerations in cold weather |
Stays blended into petroleum fuels without phase separation. As a neat fuel, higher mixed alcohols integrates about 5% gasoline volume for increased vapor pressure for cold starts. |
As a neat fuel, ethanol has cold start problems with only 2.0 RVP of vapor pressure. Ethanol/gasoline blends work better with fuel injection systems versus carburetors. |
