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<br /> take another look at formerlyignored alternative automo• EthanO1~E85 ~ ~h ~ ~ ~4~.
<br /> ,
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<br /> . tiveTuels.~Et~ianol is gettirig'the most attention-but inter- Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, often referred to as grain alto- ~ 3 F ~ 1 1
<br /> ~f
<br /> I ~ est is growing in methanol and even leftover french fry hot; E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent ti
<br /> ' ' oil for use in diesel engines. In addition to these biofuels, ;gasoline. Most ethanol is made from grain, just asmoon- " I' ~
<br /> j research continues into electriaty and natural gas as vehicle shine is, though there is also research into making ethanol
<br /> ~ Tom McGurr, a
<br /> power sources. Department of Energy (DOE) policy calls for in commercial quantities from cellulosic plants-a complex New Jersey con-
<br /> I eventually making atransition to ahydrogen-based econo- ~ process that uses plant matter such as switch rass as a k~ ~ ~ '~ik`
<br /> g ~ ~ ~ tractor, has found
<br /> my. And President Bush has recently stated that he wants ;base feedstock. A gallon of E85 has an energy content of anew way to
<br /> hydrogen-powered cars on the market by 2020. i about 80,000 BTU, compared to gasoline's 124,800 BTU. beat the high
<br /> Ethanol, king of the challengers to petroleum, is already So about 1.56 gal. of E85 takes you as far as 1 gal. of gas. , ~ - cost ofdiesel-
<br /> ~ found blended with gasoline at pumps across the country, Case For: Ethanol is an excellent, clean-burning fuel, ~ ~ ~ by scrounging
<br /> ' used ve
<br /> ~ getable
<br /> and production is continuing to ramp up. Ethanol is prob- potentially providing more horsepower than gasoline. In 4 oft from fast-
<br /> ~ ably the main fuel President Bush had in mind both inFeb- ;fact, ethanol has a higher octane rating (over 100) and '.,y, ~ food restaurants,
<br /> ruary, when he announced the Advanced Energy Initiative, ;burns cooler than gasoline. However, pure alcohol isn't vol- which are usually happy to give it
<br /> ` ' and last summer, when he signed new energy rules into ;stile enough to get an engine started on cold days, hence away. But McGurr doesn't just pour
<br /> law. That legislation established arenewable-fuels stan- : E85. Much smaller quantities of ethanol are also added fry oil into his tank. Using a kit from
<br /> ~ dard that will require the use of 7.5 billion gal. of etha- to around 30 percent of the gasoline sold in the States to Missouri-based Gressel Conversions,
<br /> McGurr #ilters the cooking oil into
<br /> j
<br /> not and biodiesel annually by 2012-a nearly 90 percent ;meet EPA requirements for oxygenated fuels in metropoli- a tank in the truck bed. Water from
<br /> increase over today's usage-and extended tax benefits ;tan areas with the country's worst ozone air pollution. the engine's cooling system then
<br /> ~ that favor both fuels. According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition heats the viscous oil before it's
<br /> 1n the lab man olive alternatives look ood. Out on ~ pumped into the engine. "I've put
<br /> i ~ Y g~ g (NEVC), E85 currently is available in 36 states. The Envi- ~ about 4000 miles on the conversion,
<br /> the road, automotive engineers have a lot of work to do, ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists 34 models of flex- and the truck runs great; McGurr
<br /> and energy companies have new infrastructure to build, ;fuel vehicles (FF~-cars and trucks that can burn pure says. "My commute is about 35 miles
<br /> before very many people can drive off into apetroleum- i gasoline, E85 or any ratio of gas/ethanol in between- each way, and after only a few miles
<br /> free future. And, there's the issue of money. Too often, dis- ~ available in the 2006 model year. The NEVC estimates that ~ . I can switch from regular
<br />diesel to
<br /> cessions of alternative energy take place in an alternative ~ 6 million FFVs have been sold in the States to date. the heated veggie oil; even on cold
<br /> days"A few miles from the. end of the
<br /> universe where prices do not matter. ~ The performance of E85 vehicles is potentially higher day's driving,~McGurr switches back
<br /> ` For this special report, PM crunched the numbers on ;than that of gasoline vehicles because E85's high octane
<br /> to diesel to flush out the lines so oil
<br /> 3 , the actual rnsts and performance of each major alternative ;rating allows a much higher compression ratio, which doesn't congeal in the fuel-injection
<br /> fuel. Before we can debate national energy policy-or even ;translates into higher thermodynamic efficiency. How- system. Charlie Anderson, owner of
<br /> deade which petroleum substitutes might make sense for ;ever, FFVs that retain the capaary to run on gasoline alone Gressel Cor?siersions, has sold over
<br /> our personal vehicles-we need to know how these things ;can't really take advantage of this octane boost since they 4500 of the kits to date; they cost
<br /> ' $800 and up.greasel.com j
<br /> stack up in the real world. i also need to beable torun onpump-grade gasoline. ' ~ R
<br /> ~ ~ ~ ~
<br /> 1 1 Cooling water Cynics claim that it takes more energy to grow corn and ~ ticides, fertilizer, heavy equipment and transport. When
<br /> ~ ; ; ~.e ~x~ ~ ~ } r ~r~ ~ . ~ ~ distill it into alcohol than ou can et out of the alcohol. considering the viability of ethanol,
<br />the rotal im act of all
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<br /> din to the D
<br /> ~ . a ~ < ;r - ~ , g OE, the growmg, fermenting :that activity needs to be taken into account.
<br /> z' ~ ~F . ~
<br /> ~ and distillation chain actually results'in a surplus of energy ; Outlook: Hopeful-to a point. According totheRenew-
<br />
<br /> ' F ~ ,f~ ~ Fa ~ ~
<br /> ~ ~(~i<~ ~ (t~ that ranges from 34 to 66 percent. Moreover, the carbon ~ able Fuels Association 5 e
<br /> 9 thanol refineries produced
<br /> Y ~ e~xttd~h(I;t~, GtB,~tf ~ ~ ' dioxide (C0~ that an engine produces started out as atmo- ;more than 4.3 billion gal. of ethanol in 2005. Anaddition-
<br /> ~ ~
<br /> t ~ t
<br /> R : k~ cr~~~e~~ spheric COZ that the cornstalk captured during growth, ;x140 new or ande
<br /> ~~~1~'~ ~ d refineries sl
<br /> <;
<br /> . L _ . , r ~ ~ ~P ated to come online
<br /> < ,L : ~ making ethanol greenhouse gas neutral. Recent DOE stud- in the next 18 months will increase that to 6.3 billion gal.
<br /> 4~ t. di~lt~'~~'
<br /> at N ies note that using ethanol in blends lowers carbon monox- :That sounds like slot-and it is-but it represents just over
<br /> . , ' ~ ; r1~?0~, ~ r ~ D ide (CO) and C02 emissions substantially. In 2005, burning 3 percent ofrour annual consumption of more
<br />than 200
<br /> r' ~ ~ ~ ~E vitd~01" : , ~ ~ s - , ~ ~ o such blends had the same effect on greenhouse gas emis- ;billion gal. of gasoline and diesel.
<br /> ~ ~ (tBr~l~ . t , , ~ ~t~F ~ m sions as removing 1 million cars from American roads. One acre of corn can roduce 300 al. of ethanol
<br />per
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<br /> r tlt~ t ~ ~ ~ ~~rid A - < P g
<br /> ~~~~n~ ~ . ~ t ~x = ~ ~ ~t~~ . ; ~ Case Against: Alcohol is a corrosive solvent. Anything ~ growing season. So in order to replace hat
<br />200 billion al
<br /> J a >~i~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ftasrer sc~d~ ~ g .
<br /> ti r ~ > ,-x ; ~ z exposed to ethanol must be made of corrosion-resistant of petroleum products, American farmers would need to
<br /> i'k`°, ttlefeed 7 ~ ~ (and expensive) stainless steel or plastic-from fuel- ~ dedicate675millionaaes or 7l Percentofthenation's938
<br /> ~a , . } ~ x ,
<br /> * Y ~ injection components to the tanks, pumps and hoses that ;million acres of farmland to growing feedstock. Clean
<br /> ~ 1~?ater a0d ertzyrnes • ~ ~ Wastewater o dispense E85, as well as the tankers that deliver it. ;ethanol alonewon'tkickourfossilfueldependence--unless
<br /> ~dfdgd to tha c~rrr ~ ; ~ ~ ~(~ohot cQt~~htttlg - - x Growing corn is an intensive process that requires pes- we want to replace our oil imports
<br />with food im orts.
<br /> fr~n #ernrenfdr=~'u~st is ' , ~ " ~ ~ P
<br /> ` added later' . " eer , is pttrnp~cltntb :Runoff cooling water:
<br /> x 1Joiler..ar~d hewed
<br /> ` PHOTOGRAPH BY CHAD HUNT '
<br /> POPULARMECHANICS.COM • MAY 2006 TI
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