Presentation of an oil refinery

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (www.wikipedia.com)

View of the Tosco (ex Valero, originally Shell) Martinez oil refinery

Definition
An oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and
refined into useful petroleum products.
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Operation
Products of oil refinery
Safety and environmental concerns
Common process units found in a refinery
Specialized end product units
Co-plant siting
History
See also
External links

1. Operation
Raw oil or unprocessed ("crude") oil is not very useful in the form it comes in out
of the ground. It needs to be broken down into parts and refined before use in a
solid material such as plastics and foams, or as petroleum fossil fuels as in the
case of automobile and airplane engines.
Oil can be used in so many various ways because it contains hydrocarbons of
varying molecular masses and lengths such as paraffins, aromatics, naphthenes
(or cycloalkanes), alkenes, dienes, and alkynes.

Crude oil is separated into fractions by fractional distillation. The heavier

fractions that merge from the bottom of the fractionating column are often
broken up (cracked) to make more useful products.
Hydrocarbons are molecules of varying length and complexity made of hydrogen
and carbon. Their various structures give them their differing properties and
thereby uses. The trick in the oil refinement process is separating and purifying
these. All these different hydrocarbons have a different boiling point, which
means they can be separated by distillation.
Once separated and any contaminants and impurities have been removed, the oil
can be either sold without any further processing, or smaller molecules such as
isobutane and propylene or butylenes can be recombined to meet specific octane
requirements by processes such as alkylation or less commonly, dimerization.
Octane can also be improved by catalytic reforming, which strips hydrogen out of
hydrocarbons to produce aromatics, which have much higher octane ratings.
Intermediate products such as gasoils can even be reprocessed to break heavy,
long-chained oil into lighter short-chained oil, by various forms of cracking such
as Fluid Catalytic Cracking, Thermal Cracking, and Hydrocracking. The final step
in gasoline production is the blending of fuels with different octane ratings, vapor
pressures and other properties to meet product specifications.
2. Products of oil refinery

Asphalt
Diesel fuel
Fuel oils
Gasoline
Kerosene
Liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
Lubricating oils
Paraffin wax
Tar

3. Safety and environmental concerns

Oil refineries can become very large

and sprawling complexes with vast
numbers of pipes running throughout
the facility. The refining process can
cause many different chemicals to be
released into the atmosphere consequently a notable odor may
accompany the presence of a refinery.
Environmental groups have lobbied
many
governments
to
increase
restrictions on how much material
refineries can release, and many
refineries have installed equipment
and changed practices to lessen the
environmental impact. In the United States, there is strong pressure to prevent
the development of new refineries, and none have been built in the country for
more than three decades. Many existing refineries have been expanded during
that time however.
Environmental and safety concerns mean that oil refineries are usually located a
safe distance away from major urban areas. Nevertheless, there are potentially
dangerous exceptions to this rule, a particularly notable one being the Santa Cruz
refinery 1 (Tenerife, Spain), which is sited in a densely-populated city center and
next to the only two major evacuation routes in and out of the city.
4. Common process units found in a refinery

Atmospheric Distillation Unit: distills crude oil into fractions;

Vacuum Distillation Unit: further distills residual bottoms after atmospheric
distillation;
Naphtha Hydrotreater Unit: desulfurizes naphtha from atmospheric
distillation;
Catalytic Reformer Unit: uses hydrogen to break long chain hydrocarbons
into lighter elements that are added to the distiller feedstock;
Distillate Hydrotreater Unit: desulfurizes distillate (diesel) after
atmospheric distillation;
Fluid Catalytic Converter Unit
Dimerization Unit
Isomerization Unit
Gas storage units for propane and similar gaseous fuels at pressure
sufficient to maintain in liquid form - these are usually spherical
Storage tanks for crude oil and finished products, usually cylindrical, with
some sort of vapor enclosure and surrounded by an earth berm to contain
spills

5. Specialized end product units

These units will blend various feedstocks, mix appropriate additives, provide
short term storage, and prepare for bulk loading to trucks, barges, product ships,
and railcars.

Gaseous fuels such as propane are stored and shipped in liquid form under
pressure in specialized railcars to distributors.

Liquid fuels blending (producing automotive and aviation grades of

gasoline, kerosene, various aviation turbine fuels, and diesel fuels, adding
dyes, detergents, antiknock additives, oxygenates, and anti-fungal
compounds as required). Shipped by barge, rail, and tanker ship. May be
shipped regionally in dedicated pipelines to point consumers, particularly
aviation jet fuel to major airports, or piped to distributors in multi-product
pipelines using product separators called "pigs".
Lubricants (produces light machine oils, motor oils, and greases, adding
viscosity stabilizers as required), usually shipped in bulk to an offsite
packaging plant.
Wax, used in the packaging of frozen foods, among others. May be shipped
in bulk to a site to prepare as packaged blocks.
Sulfuric acid finishing and shipping. This is a useful industrial material,
usually prepared as oleum, a byproduct of sulfur removal from fuels.
Bulk tar shipping for offsite unit packaging for use in tar-and-gravel roofing.
Asphalt unit. Prepares bulk asphalt for shipment.
Asphalt concrete unit. Mixes asphalt with aggregate on demand to truck
hot for local road surfacing use.

6. Co-plant siting
Frequently a chemical plant will be sited adjacent to a refinery, utilizing
intermediate products as feedstocks for the production of specialized materials
such as plastics and various toxic materials used in agribusiness
7. History
The world's first oil refinery opened at Ploieti, Romania in 1856. Several other
refineries were built at that location with investment from United States
companies before being taken over by Nazi Germany during World War II. Most of
these refineries were bombarded by the US Air Force in Operation Tidal Wave,
August 1, 1943.
Another early example is Oljen preserved as a museum at the UNESCO world
heritage site Engelsberg. It started operation in 1875 and is part of the
Ecomuseum Bergslagen.
The largest oil refinery in the world is in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, owned by
Saudi Aramco. The city was originally built as a sea port, but actually developed
because of the huge refinery area. For most of the 20th century the largest
refinery of the world was that of Abadan in Iran.

Cracking (chemistry)
In petroleum geology and chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex
organic molecules (e.g. kerogens or heavy hydrocarbons) are converted to
simpler molecules (e.g. light hydrocarbons) by the breaking of carbon-carbon
bonds in the precursors. The rate of cracking and the end products are strongly
dependent on the temperature and presence of any catalysts.
Contents
1. Applications
1.1. Fluid Catalytic Cracking
1.2. Hydrocracking
1.3. Steam Cracking
2. Chemistry
2.1. Catalytic Cracking
2.2. Thermal Cracking
3. History
1. Applications
In an oil refinery cracking processes allow the production of "light" products (such
as LPG and gasoline) from heavier crude oil distillation fractions (such as gas oils)
and residues. Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC for short) produces a high yield of
gasoline and LPG while hydrocracking is a major source of jet fuel, gasoline
components and LPG. Thermal cracking is currently used to "upgrade" very heavy
fractions ("upgrading", "visbreaking"), or to produce light fractions or distillates,
burner fuel and/or petroleum coke. Two extremes of the thermal cracking in terms
of product range are represented by the high-temperature process called steam
cracking or pyrolysis (ca. 750 to 900 C or more) which produces valuable
ethylene and other feeds for the petrochemical industry, and the mildertemperature delayed coking (ca. 500 C) which can produce, under the right
conditions, valuable needle coke, a highly crystalline petroleum coke used in the
production of electrodes for the steel and aluminum industries.
1.1. Fluid Catalytic Cracking
Fluid catalytic cracking is a commonly used process and a modern oil refinery will
typically include a cat cracker, particularly refineries in the USA due to the high
demand for gasoline. The process was first used in around 1942, and employs a
powdered catalyst. Initial process implementations were based on a low activity
alumina catalyst and a reactor where the catalyst particles were suspended in a
rising flow of feed hydrocarbons in a fluidized bed.
In newer designs, cracking takes place using a very active zeolite-based catalyst
in a short-contact time vertical or upward sloped pipe called the "riser". Preheated feed is sprayed into the base of the riser via feed nozzles where it
contacts extremely hot fluidized catalyst at 1230 to 1400 F (665 to 760 C). The
hot catalyst vaporizes the feed and catalyzes the cracking reactions that break
down the high molecular weight oil into lighter components including LPG,
gasoline, and diesel. The catalyst-hydrocarbon mixture flows upward through the
riser for just a few seconds and then the mixture is separated via cyclones. The
catalyst-free hydrocarbons are routed to a main fractionator for separation into
fuel gas, LPG, gasoline, light cycle oils used in diesel and jet fuel, and heavy fuel
oil.

During the trip up the riser, the cracking catalyst is "spent" by reactions which
deposit coke on the catalyst and greatly reduce activity and selectivity. The
"spent" catalyst is disengaged from the cracked hydrocarbon vapors and sent to
a stripper where it is contacted with steam to remove hydrocarbons remaining in
the catalyst pores. The "spent" catalyst then flows into a fluidized-bed
regenerator where air (or in some cases air plus oxygen) is used to burn off the
coke to restore catalyst activity and also provide the necessary heat for the next
reaction cycle, cracking being an endothermic reaction. The "regenerated"
catalyst then flows to the base of the riser, repeating the cycle.
The gasoline produced in the FCC unit has an elevated octane rating but is less
chemically stable compared to other gasoline components due to its olefinic
profile. Olefins in gasoline are responsible for the formation of polymeric deposits
in storage tanks, fuel ducts and injectors. The FCC LPG is an important source of
C3-C4 olefins and isobutane that are essential feeds for the alkylation process.
1.2. Hydrocracking
Hydrocracking is a catalytic cracking process assisted by the presence of an
elevated partial pressure of hydrogen. The products resulted are saturated
hydrocarbons; depending on the process severity (temperature, pressure,
catalyst activity) these products range from ethane, LPG to heavier hydrocarbons
comprising mostly of isoparaffins. Hydrocracking is normally facilitated by a
bifunctional catalyst that is capable of rearranging and breaking hydrocarbon
chains as well as adding hydrogen to aromatics and olefins to produce
naphthenes and alkanes.
Major products from hydrocracking are jet fuel, relatively high octane rating
gasoline fractions and LPG. All these products have a very low content of sulfur
and contaminants.
1.3. Steam Cracking
Steam cracking is a petrochemical process in which saturated hydrocarbons are
broken down into smaller, often unsaturated, hydrocarbons. It is the principal
industrial method for producing the lighter alkenes (or commonly olefins),
including ethene (or ethylene) and propene (or propylene).
In steam cracking, a gaseous or liquid hydrocarbon feed is diluted with steam and
then briefly heated in a furnace. Typically, the reaction temperature is very hot
over 900Cbut the reaction is only allowed to proceed for a few tenths of a
second before being quenched by contact with a colder fluid.
The products produced in the reaction depend on the composition of the feed,
the hydrocarbon to steam ratio and on the cracking temperature & furnace
residence time. Light hydrocarbon feeds (such as ethane, LPGs or light naphthas)
give product streams rich in the lighter alkenes, including ethylene, propylene,
and butadiene. Heavier hydrocarbon (full range & heavy naphthas as well as
other refinery products) feeds give some of these, but also give products rich in
aromatic hydrocarbons and hydrocarbons suitable for inclusion in gasoline or fuel
oil. The higher cracking temperature (also referred to as severity) favours the
production of ethene and benzene, whereas lower severity produces relatively
higher amomunts of propene, C4-hydrocarbons and liquid products.
The process also results in the slow deposition of coke, a form of carbon, on the
reactor walls. This degrades the effectiveness of the reactor, so reaction
conditions are designed to minimize this. Nonetheless, a steam cracking furnace
can usually only run for a few months at a time between de-cokings.

2. Chemistry
"Cracking" breaks larger molecules into smaller ones. This can be done with a
thermic or catalytic method. The thermal cracking process follows a homolytic
mechanism, that is, bonds break symmetrically and thus pairs of free radicals are
formed. The catalytic cracking process involves the presence of acid catalysts
(usually solid acids such as silica-alumina and zeolites) which promote a
heterolytic (asymmetric) breakage of bonds yielding pairs of ions of opposite
charges, usually a carbocation and the very unstable hydride anion. Carbonlocalized free radicals and cations are both highly unstable and undergo
processes of chain rearrangement, C-C scission in position beta (i.e., cracking)
and intra- and intermolecular hydrogen transfer or hydride transfer. In both types
of processes, the corresponding reactive intermediates (radicals, ions) are
permanently regenerated, and thus they proceed by a self-propagating chain
mechanism. The chain of reactions is eventually terminated by radical or ion
recombination.
2.1. Catalytic Cracking
Catalytic cracking uses a catalyst to aid the process of breaking down large
hydrocarbon molecules into smaller ones. During this process, less reactive and
therefore more stable and longer lived intermediate cations accumulate on the
catalysts' active sites generating deposits of carbonaceous products generally
(and in many cases inappropriately) known as coke. Such deposits need to be
removed (usually by controlled burning) in order to restore catalyst activity.
2.2. Thermal Cracking
In thermal cracking elevated temperatures are used. An overall process of
disproportionation can be observed, where "light", hydrogen-rich products are
formed at the expense of heavier molecules which condense and are depleted of
hydrogen.
A large number of chemical reactions take place during steam cracking, most of
them based on free radicals. Computer simulations aimed at modeling what takes
place during steam cracking have included hundreds or even thousands of
reactions in their models. The major sorts of reactions that take place, with
examples, include:

Initiation reactions, where a single molecule breaks apart into two free
radicals. Only a small fraction of the feed molecules actually undergo
initiation, but these reactions are necessary to produce the free radicals
that drive the rest of the reactions. In steam cracking, initiation usually
involves breaking a chemical bond between two carbon atoms, rather than
the bond between a carbon and a hydrogen atom.
CH3CH3 2 CH3
Hydrogen abstraction, where a free radical removes a hydrogen atom from
another molecule, turning the second molecule into a free radical.
CH3 + CH3CH3 CH4 + CH3CH2

Radical decomposition, where a free radical breaks apart into two

molecules, one an alkene, the other a free radical. This is the process that
results in the alkene products of steam cracking.
CH3CH2 CH2=CH2 + H
Radical addition, the reverse of radical decomposition, in which a radical
reacts with an alkene to form a single, larger free radical. These processes
are involved in forming the aromatic products that result when heavier
feedstocks are used.
CH3CH2 + CH2=CH2 CH3CH2CH2CH2
Termination reactions, which happen when two free radicals react with
each other to produce products that are not free radicals. Two common
forms of termination are recombination, where the two radicals combine to
form one larger molecule, and disproportionation, where one radical
transfers a hydrogen atom to the other, giving an alkene and an alkane.
CH3 + CH3CH2 CH3CH2CH3
CH3CH2 + CH3CH2 CH2=CH2 + CH3CH3

3. History
The first thermal cracking method, the Burton process, was invented by William
M. Burton; the oil industry first using it to produce gasoline in 1913.
Catalytic cracking, based upon a process developed by Dr. Alex Golden Oblad at
Standard Oil of Indiana has been used from around 1936. Typical catalysts
include alumina, silica, zeolites, and various types of clay.

Gasoline
Petrol (petroleum spirit) redirects here. For the seabird, see petrel, spelled with an
'e'.
Gasoline, as it is known in North America, or petrol (abbreviated from petroleum
spirit), in many Commonwealth countries (sometimes also called motor spirit) is a
petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as
fuel in internal combustion engines. The term gasoline is commonly used within
the oil industry, even within companies that are not American. The word
"gasoline" is commonly shortened in colloquial usage to "gas" (see other
meanings). The term mogas, short for motor gasoline, for use in cars is used to
distinguish it from avgas, aviation gasoline used in (light) aircraft. This should be
distinguished in usage from genuinely gaseous fuels used in internal combustion
engines such as LPG.
Contents
1. Chemical analysis and production
1.1. Volatility
1.2. Octane rating
2. Dangers
3. Energy content
4. Additives
4.1. Lead
4.2. MMT
4.3. Oxygenate blending
5. History
5.1. Pharmaceutical
5.2. Etymology
5.3. World War II and octane
6. Current use
1. Chemical analysis and production
Gasoline is produced in oil refineries. These days, material that is simply
separated from crude oil via distillation, called natural gasoline, will not meet the
required specifications (in particular octane rating; see below) for modern
engines, but these streams will form part of the blend.
The bulk of a typical gasoline consists of hydrocarbons with between 5 and 12
carbon atoms per molecule.
The various refinery streams that are blended together to make gasoline all have
different characteristics. Some important streams are:
Reformate, produced in a catalytic reformer with a high octane and high
aromatics content, and very low olefins (alkenes).

Cat Cracked Gasoline or Cat Cracked Naphtha, produced from a catalytic

cracker, with a moderate octane, high olefins (alkene) content, and
moderate aromatics level. Here, "cat" is short for "catalyst".
Hydrocrackate (Heavy, Mid, and Light), produced from a hydrocracker, with
medium to low octane and moderate aromatic levels.
Natural Gasoline (has very many names), directly from crude oil with low
octane, low aromatics (depending on the crude oil), some naphthenes
(cycloalkanes) and zero olefins (alkenes).
Alkylate, produced in an alkylation unit, with a high octane and which is
pure paraffin (alkane), mainly branched chains.
Isomerate (various names) which is made by isomerising Natural Gasoline
to increase its octane rating and is very low in aromatics and benzene
content.

Note: The terms used here are not always the correct chemical terms. Typically
they are old fashioned, but they are the terms normally used in the oil industry.
The exact terminology for these streams varies by oil company and by country.
Overall a typical gasoline is predominantly a mixture of paraffins (alkanes),
naphthenes (cycloalkanes), aromatics and olefins (alkenes). The exact ratios can
depend on:
the oil refinery that makes the gasoline, as not all refineries have the same
set of processing units.
the crude oil used by the refinery on a particular day.
the grade of gasoline, in particular the octane.
These days, gasoline in many countries has tight limits on aromatics in general,
benzene in particular, and olefins (alkene) content. This is increasing the demand
for high octane pure paraffin (alkane) components, such as alkylate, and is
forcing refineries to add processing units to reduce the benzene content.
Gasoline can also contain some other organic compounds: such as organic
ethers, (deliberately added) plus small levels of contaminants, in particular sulfur
compounds such as disulfides and thiophenes. Some contaminants, in particular
mercaptans and hydrogen sulfide must be removed because they cause corrosion
in engines.
1.1. Volatility
Gasoline is more volatile than diesel or kerosene, not only because of the base
constituents, but because of the additives that are put into it. The final control of
volatility is often via blending of butane. The desired volatility depends on the
ambient temperature: In hotter climates, gasoline components of higher
molecular weight and thus lower volatility are used. In Australia the volatility limit
changes every month and differs for each main distribution center, but most
countries simply have a summer, winter and perhaps intermediate limit.
The maximum volatility of gasoline in many countries has been reduced in recent
years to reduce the fugitive emissions during refueling.
Volatility standards may be relaxed (allowing more gasoline components into the
atmosphere) during emergency anticipated gasoline shortages. For example, on
31 August 2005 in response to Hurricane Katrina, the United States activated an
early switch to "winter gasoline" which has a volatility limit exceeding the usual
summertime standard. As mandated by EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson,

this "fuel waiver" was made effective through 15 September 2005. Though
relaxed volatility standards negatively impact ozone and other air quality criteria,
higher volatility gasoline (which contains less additives than gasoline whose
volatility has been artificially lowered) essentially increases a nation's gasoline
supply.
1.2. Octane rating
The most important characteristic of gasoline is its octane rating, which is a
measure of how resistant gasoline is to premature detonation (knocking). It is
measured relative to a mixture of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (an isomer of octane)
and n-heptane. An 87-octane gasoline has the same knock resistance as a
mixture of 87% isooctane and 13% n-heptane. The octane rating system was
developed by the chemist Russell Marker.
2. Dangers
Many of the non-aliphatic hydrocarbons naturally present in gasoline (especially
aromatic ones like benzene), as well as many anti-knocking additives, are
carcinogenic. Because of this, any large-scale or ongoing leaks of gasoline pose a
threat to the public's health and the environment, should the gasoline reach a
public supply of drinking water. The chief risks of such leaks come not from
vehicles, but from gasoline delivery truck accidents and leaks from storage tanks.
Because of this risk, most (underground) storage tanks now have extensive
measures in place to detect and prevent any such leaks, such as sacrificial
anodes. Gasoline is rather volatile (meaning it readily evaporates), requiring that
storage tanks on land and in vehicles be properly sealed. But the high volatility
also means that it will easily ignite in cold weather conditions, unlike diesel for
example. However, certain measures must be in place to allow appropriate
venting to ensure the level of pressure is similar on the inside and outside.
Gasoline also reacts dangerously with certain common chemicals; for example,
gasoline and crystal Drno (sodium hydroxide) react together in a spontaneous
combustion.
Gasoline is also one of the sources of pollutant gases. Even gasoline which does
not contain lead or sulfur compounds produces carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides,
and carbon monoxide in the exhaust of the engine which is running on it.
Through misuse as an inhalant, gasoline also contributes to damage to health.
"Petrol sniffing" is a common way of obtaining a high for many people and has
become epidemic in many poorer communities such as with Indigenous
Australians. In response, Opal fuel has been developed by the BP Kwinana
Refinery in Australia, and contains only 5% aromatics (unlike the usual 25%)
which inhibits the effects of inhalation.
3. Energy content
Gasoline contains about 45 megajoules per kilogram (MJ/kg)
Volumetric energy density of some fuels compared to gasoline:
fuel type
gasoline
LPG
ethanol
methanol

MJ/L

BTU/imp gal

BTU/US
gal

29.0
22.16
19.59
14.57

150,000
114,660
101,360
75,420

125,000
95,475
84,400
62,800

Research
octane
number (RON)
9198
115
129
123

gasohol (10% ethanol + 90%

gasoline)
diesel

28.06

145,200

120,900

93/94

40.9

176,000

147,000

N/A (see
cetane)

A high octane fuel such as LPG has a lower energy content than lower octane
gasoline, resulting in an overall lower power output at the regular compression
ratio an engine ran at on gasoline. However, with an engine tuned to the use of
LPG (ie. via higher compression ratios such as 12:1 instead of 8:1), this lower
power output can be overcome. This is because higher-octane fuels allow for a
higher compression ratio - this means less space in a cylinder on its combustion
stroke, hence a higher cylinder temperature, less wasted hydrocarbons (therefore
less pollution and wasted energy), and therefore higher power levels coupled with
less pollution overall because of the greater efficiency.
Note that the main reason for the lower energy content (per litre) of LPG in
comparison to gasoline is that is has a lower density. Energy content per kilogram
is higher than for gasoline (higher hydrogen to carbon ratio). In lay terms, we
burn mass, not volume!
As an interesting side note different countries have some variation in what RON is
standard for gasoline, or petrol. In the UK, ordinary premium unleaded petrol is
always 95 RON whereas super unleaded is usually 97-98 RON. In the US, octane
ratings in fuels can vary between 87 AKI (92 RON) for regular, through 90 (95) for
mid-grade (European Premium), up to 93/94 for premium unleaded or E10 (Super
in Europe)
4. Additives
4.1. Lead
The mixture known as gasoline when used in high compression internal
combustion engines, has a tendency to explode early ( pre-ignition predetonation) causing a disturbing "engine knocking" (also called "pinging") noise.
Early research into this effect was led by A.H. Gibson and Harry Ricardo in
England and Thomas Midgley and Thomas Boyd in the United States. The
discovery that lead additives modified this behavior led to the widespread
adoption of the practice in the 1920s and hence more powerful higher
compression engines. The most popular additive was tetra-ethyl lead. However,
with the recognition of the environmental damage caused by the lead, and the
incompatibility of lead with catalytic converters, this practice began to wane in
the 1980s. Most countries are phasing out leaded fuel; different additives have
replaced the lead compounds. The most popular additives include aromatic
hydrocarbons, ethers and alcohol (usually ethanol or methanol).
In the U.S., where lead has been blended with gasoline, primarily to boost octane
levels, since the early 1920s, standards to phase out leaded gasoline were first
implemented in 1973. In 1995, leaded fuel accounted for only 0.6 % of total
gasoline sales and less than 2,000 tons of lead per year. Effective January 1,
1996, the Clean Air Act banned the sale of the small amount of leaded fuel that
was still available in some parts of the country for use in on-road vehicles. (Fuel
containing lead may continue to be sold for off-road uses, including aircraft,
racing cars, farm equipment, and marine engines.) The ban on leaded gasoline
was presumed to lower levels of lead in people's bloodstream and led to
thousands of tons of lead being removed from the air.

A side effect of the lead additives was protection of the valve seats from erosion.
Many classic car's engines have needed modification to use lead-free fuels since
leaded fuels became unavailable.
Gasoline, as delivered at the pump, also contains additives to reduce internal
engine carbon buildups, improve combustion, and to allow easier starting in cold
climates.
4.2. MMT
Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) has been used for many
years in Canada and recently in Australia to boost octane. It also helps old cars
designed for leaded fuel run on unleaded fuel without need for additives to
prevent valve problems.
There are currently ongoing debates as to whether or not MMT is harmful to the
environment and toxic to humans.
4.3. Oxygenate blending
Oxygenate blending adds oxygen to the fuel in oxygen-bearing compounds such
as MTBE, ethanol and ETBE, and so reduces the amount of carbon monoxide and
unburned fuel in the exhaust gas, thus reducing smog. In many areas throughout
the US oxygenate blending is mandatory. For example, in Southern California, fuel
must contain 2% oxygen by weight. The resulting fuel is often known as
reformulated gasoline (RFG) or oxygenated gasoline.
MTBE use is being phased out due to issues with contamination of ground water.
In some places it is already banned. Ethanol and to a lesser extent the ethanol
derived ETBE are a common replacements. Especially ethanol derived from
biomatter such as corn, sugar cane or grain is frequent, this will often be referred
to as bio-ethanol. An ethanol-gasoline mix of 10% ethanol mixed with gasoline is
called gasohol. An ethanol-gasoline mix of 85% ethanol mixed with gasoline is
called E85. The most extensive use of ethanol takes place in Brazil, where the
ethanol is derived from sugarcane. Over 3,400 million US gallons (13,000,000 m)
of ethanol mostly produced from corn was produced in the United States in 2004
for fuel use, and E85 is fast becoming available in many of the United States. The
use of bioethanol, either directly or indirectly by conversion of such ethanol to
bio-ETBE, is encouraged by the European Union Biofuels Directive.
5. History

Long-term U.S. gasoline prices, 1990-2005 (adjusted for inflation using the U.S. CPI).

5.1. Pharmaceutical
Before internal combustion engines were invented in the mid-1800s, gasoline was
sold in small bottles as a treatment against lice and their eggs. In those early
times, the word "Petrol" was a trade name. This treatment method is no longer
common, due to the inherent fire hazard and risk of dermatitis and that gasoline
is a carcinogen where continued contact might develop cancerous growths.
The word petrol may be derived from Old French ptrole, meaning petroleum: see
Etymology.
Petrol is also abused as a psychoactive inhalant.
5.2. Etymology
The word "gasolene" was coined in 1865 from the word gas and the chemical
suffix -ine/-ene. The modern spelling was first used in 1871. The shortened form
"gas" was first recorded in American English in 1905. Although, Gasoline
originally referred to any liquid offered for sale, sold or used as the fuel for a
gasoline-powered engine, but does not include diesel fuel or liquefied gas.
Methanol racing fuel would have been classed as a type of gasoline.
The word "petrol" was first used in reference to the refined substance as early as
1892 (it previously referred to unrefined petroleum), and was registered as a
trade name by English wholesaler Carless, Capel & Leonard.
Bertha Benz got petrol for her famous drive from Mannheim to Pforzheim and
back from chemists' shops. In Germany petrol is called Benzin but this is not
related to her name but to the chemical Benzine.

Recent U.S. gasoline prices, 2003-2005 (not adjusted for inflation).

5.3. World War II and octane

One interesting historical issue involving octane rating took place during WWII.
Germany received nearly all its oil from Romania, and set up huge distilling plants
in Germany to produce gasoline from coal. In the US the oil was not "as good"
and the oil industry had to invest heavily in various expensive boosting systems.
This turned out to have benefits. The US industry started delivering fuels of everincreasing octane ratings by adding more of the boosting agents and the
infrastructure was in place for post war octane agents additive industry. Good
crude oil was no longer a factor during wartime and by war's end, American
aviation fuel was commonly 130 to 150 octane. This high octane could easily be
used in existing engines to deliver much more power by increasing the

compression delivered by the superchargers. The Germans, relying entirely on

"good" gasoline, had no such industry, and instead had to rely on ever-larger
engines to deliver more power.
However, German aviation engines were of the direct fuel injection type and
could use methanol-water injection and nitrous oxide injection, which gave 50%
more engine power for five minutes of dogfight. This could be done only five
times or after 40 hours run-time and then the engine would have to be rebuilt.
Most German aero engines used 87 octane fuel (called B4), while some highpowered engines used 100 octane (C2/C3) fuel.
This historical "issue" is based on a very common misapprehension about
wartime fuel octane numbers. There are two octane numbers for each fuel, one
for lean mix and one for rich mix, rich being always greater. So, for example, a
common British aviation fuel of the later part of the war was 100/125. The
misapprehension that German fuels have a lower octane number (and thus a
poorer quality) arises because the Germans quoted the lean mix octane number
for their fuels while the Allies quoted the rich mix number for their fuels.
Standard German high-grade aviation fuel used in the later part of the war (given
the designation C3) had lean/rich octane numbers of 100/130. The Germans
would list this as a 100 octane fuel while the Allies would list it as 130 octane.
After the war the US Navy sent a Technical Mission to Germany to interview
German petrochemists and examine German fuel quality. Their report entitled
"Technical Report 145-45 Manufacture of Aviation Gasoline in Germany"
chemically analyzed the different fuels and concluded that "Toward the end of the
war the quality of fuel being used by the German fighter planes was quite similar
to that being used by the Allies".
6. Current use
The United States uses 360 million US liquid gallons (1.36 billion litres) of
gasoline each day. Western countries have among the highest usage rates per
head, while eastern developing nations as China typically have the highest usage
per square mile/kilometer. Some countries, e.g. in Europe, impose heavy fuel
taxes on fuels such as gasoline, leading to greater efficiency and economy in car
design.

Diesel
This article is about the fuel. For other uses see diesel (disambiguation)
Diesel or Diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum)
that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel.
The term typically refers to fuel that has been processed from petroleum, but
increasingly, alternatives such as biodiesel or biomass to liquid (BTL) or gas to
liquid (GTL) diesel that are not derived from petroleum are being developed.
Contents
1. Petroleum diesel
1.1. Chemical composition
2. Synthetic diesel
3. Biodiesel
4. Uses
1. Petroleum diesel

A vintage diesel station in a factory's yard

Diesel is produced from petroleum, and is sometimes called petrodiesel (or, less
seriously, dinodiesel) when there is a need to distinguish it from diesel obtained
from other sources. As a hydrocarbon mixture, it is obtained in the fractional
distillation of crude oil between 250 C and 350 C at atmospheric pressure.
Petrodiesel is considered to be a fuel oil and is about 18% heavier than gasoline.
Diesel typically weighs about 7.1 pounds (lb) per US gallon (gal.) (850 grams per
liter (g/l)), whereas gasoline weighs about 6.0 lb per US gal. (720 g/l), or about
15% less. When burnt diesel typically releases about 147,000 British thermal
units (BTU) per US gal. (40.9 megajoules (MJ) per liter), whereas gasoline releases
125,000 BTUs per US gal. (34.8 MJ/l), also about 15% less.
Diesel is generally simpler to refine than gasoline and often costs less (although
price fluctuations often mean that the inverse is true; for example, the cost of
diesel traditionally rises during colder months as demand for heating oil, which is
refined much the same way, rises).

Diesel fuel, however, often contains higher quantities of sulfur. In Europe,

emission standards and preferential taxation have both forced oil refineries to
dramatically reduce the level of sulfur in diesel fuels. In contrast, the United
States has long had "dirtier" diesel, although more stringent emission standards
have been adopted with the transition to ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) occurring
in 2006 (see also diesel exhaust). US diesel fuel typically also has a lower cetane
number (a measure of ignition quality) than European diesel, resulting in worse
cold weather performance and some increase in emissions.
High levels of sulfur in diesel are harmful for the environment. It prevents the use
of catalytic diesel particulate filters to control diesel particulate emissions, as well
as more advanced technologies, such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) adsorbers (still
under development), to reduce emissions. However, lowering sulfur also reduces
the lubricity of the fuel, meaning that additives must be put into the fuel to help
lubricate engines. Biodiesel is an effective lubricity additive.
Diesel contains approximately 18% more energy per unit of volume than
gasoline, which, along with the greater efficiency of diesel engines, contributes to
fuel economy (distance traveled per volume of fuel consumed).
In the maritime field various grades of diesel fuel are used.
1.1. Chemical composition
Petroleum derived diesel is composed of about 75% saturated hydrocarbons
(primarily paraffins including n, iso, and cycloparaffins), and 25% aromatic
hydrocarbons (including naphthalenes and alkylbenzenes).
2. Synthetic diesel
Wood, straw, corn, garbage, and sewage-sludge may be dried and gasified. After
purification the so called Fischer Tropsch process is used to produce synthetic
diesel. Other attempts use enzymatic processes and are also economic in case of
high oil prices. Synthetic diesel may also be produced out of natural gas in the
GTL process. Such synthetic diesel has 30% less particulate emissions than
conventional diesel (US- California).
3. Biodiesel
Biodiesel can be obtained from vegetable oil and animal fats (bio-lipids, using
transesterification). Biodiesel is a non-fossil fuel alternative to petrodiesel. It can
also be mixed with petrodiesel in any amount in modern engines, though it is a
strong solvent and can cause problems in some cases. There have been reports
that a diesel-biodiesel mix results in lower emissions than either can achieve
alone. A small percentage of biodiesel can be used as an additive in low-sulfur
formulations of diesel to increase the lubricating ability that is lost when the
sulfur is removed.
Chemically, biodiesel consists of alkyl (usually methyl) esters instead of the
alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons of petroleum derived diesel. However,
biodiesel has combustion properties very similar to regular diesel, including
combustion energy and cetane ratings.

4. Uses
Diesel fuel is very similar to heating oil which used in central heating. In both
Europe and the United States, taxes on diesel fuel are higher than on heating oil,
and in those areas, heating oil is marked with dye and trace chemicals to prevent
and detect tax fraud. Similarly, "untaxed" diesel is available in the United States,
which is available for use primarily in agricultural applications such as for tractor
fuel. This untaxed diesel is also dyed red for identification purposes, and should a
person be found to be using this untaxed diesel fuel for a typically taxed purpose
(such as "over-the-road", or driving use), the user can be fined $10,000 USD on
the spot. Also, in the United Kingdom and Ireland it is known as red diesel, and is
also used by agricultural vehicles. The term DERV (short for "diesel engined road
vehicle") is also used in the UK as a synonym for diesel fuel.
Diesel is used in diesel engines, a type of internal combustion engine. Rudolf
Diesel originally designed the diesel engine to use coal dust as a fuel, but oil
proved more effective. Diesel engines are used in cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats
and locomotives.
Packard diesel motors were used in aircraft as early as 1927, and Charles
Lindbergh flew a Stinson SM1B with a Packard Diesel in 1928. A Packard diesel
motor designed by L.M. Woolson was fitted to a Stinson X7654, and in 1929 it
was flown 1000 km non-stop from Detroit to Langley, VA. In 1931, Walter Lees
and Fredrick Brossy set the nonstop flight record flying a Bellanca powered by a
Packard Diesel for 84h 32m.
The very first diesel-engine automobile trip was completed on January 6, 1930.
The trip was from Indianapolis to New York City - a distance of nearly 800 miles
(1300 km). This feat helped to prove the usefulness of the internal combustion
engine. The following year Dave Evans drove his Cummins Diesel Special to a
nonstop finish in the Indianapolis 500, the first time a car had completed the race
without a pit stop. That car and a later Cummins Diesel Special are on display at
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
Westport claims to have invented a process called Westport-Cycle with
comparable efficiency using natural gas and petrodiesel.

Fischer-Tropsch process
The Fischer-Tropsch process is a catalyzed chemical reaction in which carbon
monoxide and hydrogen are converted into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms.
Typical catalysts used are based on iron and cobalt. The principal purpose of this
process is to produce a synthetic petroleum substitute.
Contents:
1. Original process
2. History
3. Utilization
1. Original process
The original Fischer-Tropsch process is described by the following chemical
equation:

The mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is called synthesis gas or syngas.
The resulting hydrocarbon products are refined to produce the desired synthetic
fuel.
The carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is generated by partial oxidation of coal
and wood-based fuels. The utility of the process is primarily in its role in
producing fluid hydrocarbons or hydrogen from a solid feedstock, such as coal or
solid carbon-containing wastes of various types. Non-oxidative pyrolysis of the
solid material produces syngas which can be used directly as a fuel without being
taken through Fischer-Tropsch transformations. If liquid petroleum-like fuel,
lubricant, or wax is required, the Fischer-Tropsch process can be applied. Finally, if
hydrogen production is to be maximized, the water gas shift reaction can be
performed, generating only carbon dioxide and hydrogen and leaving no
hydrocarbons in the product stream. Fortunately shifts from liquid to gaseous
fuels are relatively easy to make.
2. History
Since the invention of the original process by the German researchers Franz
Fischer and Hans Tropsch, working at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in the 1920s,
many refinements and adjustments have been made, and the term "FischerTropsch" now applies to a wide variety of similar processes (Fischer-Tropsch
synthesis or Fischer-Tropsch chemistry)
The process was invented in petroleum-poor but coal-rich Germany in the 1920s,
to produce liquid fuels. It was used by Germany and Japan during World War II to
produce alternative fuels. Germany's yearly synthetic oil production reached
more than 90 million tons in 1944. After the war captured German scientists
continued to work on synthetic fuels in the United States in Operation Paperclip.

3. Utilization
Currently, two companies have commercialised their FT technology. Shell in
Bintulu, Malaysia, uses natural gas as a feedstock, and produces primarily lowsulfur diesel fuels. Sasol in South Africa uses coal as a feedstock, and produces a
variety of synthetic petroleum products. The process is today used in South Africa
to produce most of the country's diesel fuel from coal by the company Sasol. The
process was used in South Africa to meet its energy needs during its isolation
under Apartheid. This process has received renewed attention in the quest to
produce low sulfur diesel fuel in order to minimize the environmental impact from
the use of diesel engines.
The FT process is an established technology and already applied on a large scale,
although its popularity is hampered by high capital costs, high operation and
maintenance costs, and the relatively low price of crude oil. In particular, the use
of natural gas as a feedstock only becomes practical when using "stranded gas",
i.e. sources of natural gas far from major cities which are impractical to exploit
with conventional gas pipelines and LNG technology; otherwise, the direct sale of
natural gas to consumers would become much more profitable. There are several
companies developing the process to enable practical exploitation of so-called
stranded gas reserves. It is expected by geologists that supplies of natural gas
will peak 5-15 years after oil does.
There are large coal reserves which may increasingly be used as a fuel source
during oil depletion. Since there are large coal reserves in the world, this
technology could be used as an interim transportation fuel if conventional oil
were to become more expensive. Combination of biomass gasification (BG) and
Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis is a very promising route to produce renewable or
green transportation fuels.
In Sept. 2005, Pennsylvania governor Edward Rendell announced a venture with
Waste Management and Processors Inc. -- using technology licensed from Shell
and Sasol -- to build an FT plant that will convert so-called waste coal (leftovers
from the mining process) into low-sulfur diesel fuel at a site outside of Mahanoy
City, northwest of Philadelphia. The state of Pennsylvania has committed to buy a
significant percentage of the plant's output and, together with the U.S. Dept. of
Energy, has offered over $140 million in tax incentives. Other coal-producing
states are exploring similar plans. Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana has
proposed developing a plant that would use the FT process to turn his state's coal
reserves into fuel in order to help alleviate the United States' dependence on
foreign oil.
One issue that has yet to be addressed in the emerging discussion about largescale development of synthetic fuels is the enormous increase in primary energy
use and carbon emissions inherent in conversion of gaseous and solid carbon
sources to a usable liquid form. Recent work by the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory indicates that full fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions for coal-based
synfuels are nearly twice as high as their petroleum-based equivalent. Emissions
of other pollutants are vastly increased as well, although many of these
emissions can be captured during production. Carbon sequestration has been
suggested as a mitigation strategy for greenhouse gas emissions. However, while
sequestration is already in limited use, the science and economics around largescale sequestration strategies are, as yet, unconvincing.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel sample

Biodiesel is fuel made from renewable resources such as vegetable oils or animal
fats. It is biodegradable and non-toxic, and has significantly fewer emissions than
petroleum-based diesel (petro-diesel) when burned. Biodiesel functions in current
diesel engines, and is a possible candidate to replace fossil fuels as the world's
primary transport energy source.
With a flash point of 150 C, Biodiesel is classified as a non-flammable liquid by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This property makes a vehicle
fueled by pure biodiesel far safer in an accident than one powered by petroleum
diesel or the explosively combustible gasoline. Precautions should be taken in
very cold climates, where biodiesel may gel at higher temperatures than
petroleum diesel.
Biodiesel can be distributed using today's infrastructure, and its use and
production is increasing rapidly (especially in Europe, the United States, and
Asia). Fuel stations are beginning to make biodiesel available to consumers, and
a growing number of transport fleets use it as an additive in their fuel. Biodiesel
is generally more expensive to produce than petroleum diesel, although this
differential may diminish due to economies of scale and the rising cost of
petroleum.
Contents:
1. History
2. Fuel quality, standards and properties
3. Production
3.1. Base oils
3.2. Efficiency and economic arguments
4. Availability
4.1. Brazil
4.2. Canada
4.3. Germany
4.4. United States

1. History
Transesterification of a vegetable oil was conducted as early as 1853, by
scientists E. Duffy and J. Patrick, many years before the first diesel engine
became functional. Rudolf Diesel's prime model, a single 10 ft (3 m) iron cylinder
with a flywheel at its base, ran on its own power for the first time in Augsburg,
Germany on August 10, 1893. In remembrance of this event, August 10 has been
declared International Biodiesel Day. Diesel later demonstrated his engine and
received the "Grand Prix" (highest prize) at the World Fair in Paris, France in 1900.
This engine stood as an example of Diesel's vision because it was powered by
peanut oila biofuel, though not strictly biodiesel, since it was not
transesterified. He believed that the utilization of a biomass fuel was the real
future of his engine. In a 1912 speech, Rudolf Diesel said, "the use of vegetable
oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in
the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the
present time."
During the 1920s, diesel engine manufacturers altered their engines to utilize the
lower viscosity of the fossil fuel (petrodiesel) rather than vegetable oil, a biomass
fuel. The petroleum industries were able to make inroads in fuel markets because
their fuel was much cheaper to produce than the biomass alternatives. The result
was, for many years, a near elimination of the biomass fuel production
infrastructure. Only recently have environmental impact concerns and a
decreasing cost differential made biomass fuels such as biodiesel a growing
alternative.
In the 1990s, France launched the local production of biodiesel fuel (known locally
as diester) obtained by the transesterification of rapeseed oil. It is mixed to the
proportion of 5% into regular diesel fuel, and to the proportion of 30% into the
diesel fuel used by some captive fleets (public transportation). Renault, Peugeot,
and other manufacturers have certified truck engines for use with up to this
partial biodiesel. Experiments with 50% biodiesel are underway.
From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory
experimented with using algae as a biodiesel source in the "Aquatic Species
Program". A recent paper from Michael Briggs at the UNH Biodiesel Group, offers
estimates for the realistic replacement of all vehicular fuel with biodiesel by
utilizing algae that has a greater than 50% natural oil content.
2. Fuel quality, standards and properties
Biodiesel is a clear amber-yellow liquid with a viscosity similar to petrodiesel, the
industry term for diesel produced from petroleum. It can be used as an additive in
formulations of diesel to increase the lubricity of pure ultra-low sulfur petrodiesel
(ULSD) fuel. Much of the world uses a system known as the "BD factor" to state
the amount of biodiesel in any fuel mix, in contrast to the "BA" system used for
bioalcohol mixes. For example, 20% biodiesel is labeled BD20. Pure biodiesel,
100%, is referred to as BD100. If the "D" is dropped (B100, B20, B5, etc.), it
becomes difficult to differentiate the label from that of bioalcohol fuel.
The common international standard for biodiesel is EN 14214.
There are additional national specifications. The standard ASTM D 6751, which is
the most common standard referenced in the United States. In Germany, the

requirements for biodiesels are fixed in a DIN standard. There are standards for
three different varieties of biodiesel, which are made of different oils:
RME (rapeseed methyl ester, according to DIN E 51606)
PME (vegetable methyl ester, purely vegetable products, according to DIN
E 51606)
FME (fat methyl ester, vegetable and animal products, according to DIN V
51606)
The standards ensure that the following important factors in the fuel production
process are satisfied:
Complete reaction.
Removal of glycerin.
Removal of catalyst.
Removal of alcohol.
Absence of free fatty acids.
Basic industrial tests to determine whether the products conform to the
standards typically include gas chromatography, a test that verifies only the
more important of the variables above. More complete testings are more
expensive. Fuel meeting the quality standards is very non-toxic, with a toxicity
rating (LD50) of greater than 50 ml/kg. This toxicity rating would mean that an
average 60 kg person would need to consume more than 3 liters to cause death
50% of the time, making biodiesel ten times less toxic than table salt.
Biodiesel can be mixed with petroleum diesel at any concentration in most
modern engines, although it has the disadvantage of degrading rubber gaskets
and hoses in vehicles manufactured before 1992. Biodiesel is a better solvent
than petrodiesel and has been known to break down deposits of residue in the
fuel lines of vehicles that have previously been run on petroleum. Fuel filters may
become clogged with particulates if a quick transition to pure biodiesel is made,
but biodiesel cleans the engine in the process.
In a study at a U.S. military base, a biodiesel blend was used as a replacement for
heating oil at housing on the base. Due to the solvent power of biodiesel,
residues that had been present in fuel tanks for decades were dissolved. The
particulate component of the residues caused repeated clogging of fuel strainers,
requiring repeated replacement, cleaning, and in some cases installation of
higher capacity filters. Due to the relatively smaller surface area and service life
of fuel tanks in motor vehicles and mobile equipment, filter clogging is less
prevalent but still a factor to be considered.
Environmental benefits in comparison to petroleum based fuels include:
Biodiesel reduces emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) by approximately
50% and carbon dioxide by 78.45% on a net lifecycle basis because the
carbon in biodiesel emissions is recycled from carbon that was already in
the atmosphere, rather than being new carbon from petroleum that was
sequestered in the earth's crust. (Sheehan, 1998)
Biodiesel contains fewer aromatic hydrocarbons: benzofluoranthene: 56%
reduction; Benzopyrenes: 71% reduction.
It also eliminates sulfur emissions (SO2), because biodiesel does not
include sulfur.
Biodiesel reduces by as much as 65% the emission of particulates, small
particles of solid combustion products.

Biodiesel does produce more NOx emissions than petrodiesel, but these
emissions can be reduced through the use of catalytic converters. The
increase in NOx emmisions may also be due to the higher cetane rating of
biodiesel. Properly designed and tuned engines may eliminate this
increase.
Biodiesel has a higher cetane rating than petrodiesel, and therefore ignites
more rapidly when injected into the engine.

Pure biodiesel (BD100 or B100) can be used in any petroleum diesel engine,
though it is more commonly used in lower concentrations. Some areas have
mandated ultra-low sulfur petrodiesel, which reduces the natural viscosity and
lubricity of the fuel due to the removal of sulfur and certain other materials.
Additives are required to make ULSD properly flow in engines, making biodiesel
one popular alternative. Ranges as low as 2% (BD2 or B2) have been shown to
restore lubricity. Many municipalities have started using 5% biodiesel (BD5 or B5)
in snow-removal equipment and other systems.
Since biodiesel is more often used in a blend with petroleum diesel, there are
fewer formal studies about the effects on pure biodiesel in unmodified engines
and vehicles in day-to-day use. Fuel meeting the standards and engine parts that
can withstand the greater solvent properties of biodiesel is expected to--and in
reported cases does--run without any additional problems than the use of
petroleum diesel.
The flash point of biodiesel (150C) is significantly higher than that of petroleum
diesel (64C) or gasoline (45 C). The gel point of biodiesel varies depending on
the proportion of different types of esters contained. However, most biodiesel,
including that made from soybean oil, has a somewhat higher gel and cloud point
than petroleum diesel. In practice this often requires the heating of storage tanks,
especially in cooler climates.
3. Production
Chemically, biodiesel comprises a mix of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty
acids. The most common form uses methanol to produce methyl esters, though
ethanol can be used to produce an ethyl ester biodiesel. A byproduct of the
transesterification process is the production of glycerol. A lipid transesterification
production process is used to convert the base oil to the desired esters and
remove free fatty acids. After this processing, unlike straight vegetable oil,
biodiesel has combustion properties very similar to those of petroleum diesel,
and can replace it in most current uses.

3.1. Base oils

Soybeans are used as a source of biodiesel

A variety of biolipids can be used to produce biodiesel. These include:

Virgin oil feedstock; rapeseed and soybean oils are most commonly used,
though other crops such as mustard, palm oil, hemp and even algae show
promise;
Waste vegetable oil (WVO);
Animal fats including tallow, lard, yellow grease and as a byproduct from
the production of Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil.
Worldwide production of vegetable oil and animal fat is not yet sufficient to
replace liquid fossil fuel use. Furthermore, some environmental groups (notably
the Natural Resources Defense Council), object to the vast amount of farming and
the resulting over-fertilization, pesticide use, and land use conversion that would
be needed to produce the additional vegetable oil.
Many advocates suggest that waste vegetable oil is the best source of oil to
produce biodiesel. However, the available supply is drastically less than the
amount of petroleum-based fuel that is burned for transportation and home
heating in the world. According to the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), restaurants in the US produce about 300 million US gallons
(1,000,000 m) of waste cooking oil annually. Although it is economically
profitable to use WVO to produce biodiesel, it is even more profitable to convert
WVO into other products such as soap. Hence, most WVO that is not dumped into
landfills is used for these other purposes. Animal fats are similarly limited in
supply, and it would not be efficient to raise animals simply for their fat.
However, producing biodiesel with animal fat that would have otherwise been
discarded could replace a small percentage of petroleum diesel usage.
The estimated transportation fuel and home heating oil use in the United States
is about 230,000 million US gallons (0.87 km) (Briggs, 2004). Waste vegetable oil
and animal fats would not be enough to meet this demand. In the United States,
estimated production of vegetable oil for all uses is about 23,600 million pounds
(12,000,000 t) or 3,000 million US gallons (11,000,000 m)), and estimated
production of animal fat is 11,638 million pounds (5,000,000 t). (Van Gerpen,
2004)

For a truly renewable source of oil, crops or other similar cultivatable sources
would have to be considered. Plants utilize photosynthesis to convert solar
energy into chemical energy. It is this chemical energy that biodiesel stores and is
released when it is burned. Therefore plants can offer a sustainable oil source for
biodiesel production. Different plants produce usable oil at different rates. Some
studies have shown the following annual production:
Soybean: 40 to 50 US gal/acre (40 to 50 m/km)
Rapeseed: 110 to 145 US gal/acre (100 to 140 m/km)
Mustard: 140 US gal/acre (130 m/km)
Jatropha: 175 US gal/acre (160 m/km)
Palm oil: 650 US gal/acre (610 m/km)
Algae: 10,000 to 20,000 US gal/acre (10,000 to 20,000 m/km)
There is ongoing research into finding more suitable crops and improving oil
yield. Using the current yields, vast amounts of land and fresh water would be
needed to produce enough oil to completely replace fossil fuel usage.
Soybeans are not a very efficient crop solely for the production of biodiesel, but
their common use in the United States for food products has led to soybean
biodiesel becoming the primary source for biodiesel in that country. Soybean
producers have lobbied to increase awareness of soybean biodiesel, expanding
the market for their product.
In Europe, rapeseed is the most common base oil used in biodiesel production. In
India and southeast Asia, the Jatropha tree is used as a significant fuel source,
and it is also planted for watershed protection and other environmental
restoration efforts. Malaysia and Indonesia are starting pilot-scale production
from palm oil.
Specially bred mustard varieties can produce reasonably high oil yields, and have
the added benefit that the meal leftover after the oil has been pressed out can
act as a effective and biodegradable pesticide.
The production of algae to harvest oil for biodiesel has not been undertaken on a
commercial scale, but working feasibility studies have been conducted to arrive
at the above yield estimate. In addition to a high yield, this solution does not
compete with agriculture for food, requiring neither farmland nor fresh water.
3.2. Efficiency and economic arguments
According to a study written by Drs. Van Dyne and Raymer for the Tennessee
Valley Authority, the average US farm consumes fuel at the rate of 82 litres per
hectare (8.75 US gallons per acre) of land to produce one crop. However, average
crops of rapeseed produce oil at an average rate of 1,029 L/ha (110 US gal/acre),
and high-yield rapeseed fields produce about 1,356 L/ha (145 US gal/acre). The
ratio of input to output in these cases is roughly 1:12.5 and 1:16.5.
Photosynthesis is known to have an efficiency rate of about 16% and if the entire
mass of a crop is utilized for energy production, the overall efficiency of this chain
is known to be about 1%. This does not compare favorably to solar cells
combined with an electric drive train. Biodiesel outcompetes solar cells in cost
and ease of deployment. However, these statistics by themselves are not enough
to show whether such a change makes economic sense.

Additional factors must be taken into account, such as: the fuel equivalent of the
energy required for processing, the yield of fuel from raw oil, the return on
cultivating food, and the relative cost of biodiesel versus petrodiesel. A 1998 joint
study by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) traced many of the various costs involved in the production of
biodiesel and found that overall, it yields 3.2 units of fuel product energy for
every unit of fossil fuel energy consumed. That measure is referred to as the
energy yield. A comparison to petroleum diesel, petroleum gasoline and
bioethanol using the USDA numbers can be found at the Minnesota Department
of Agriculture website. In the comparison petroleum diesel fuel is found to have a
0.843 energy yield, along with 0.805 for petroleum gasoline, and 1.34 for
bioethanol. The 1998 study used soybean oil primarily as the base oil to calculate
the energy yields. It is conceivable that higher oil yielding crops could increase
the energy yield of biodiesel. The debate over the energy balance of biodiesel is
ongoing, however.
Some nations and regions that have pondered transitioning fully to biofuels have
found that doing so would require immense tracts of land if traditional crops are
used. Considering only traditional plants and analyzing the amount of biodiesel
that can be produced per unit area of cultivated land, some have concluded that
it is likely that the United States, with one of the highest per capita energy
demands of any country, does not have enough arable land to fuel all of the
nation's vehicles. Other developed and developing nations may be in better
situations, although many regions cannot afford to divert land away from food
production. For third world countries, biodiesel sources that use marginal land
could make more sense, e.g. honge nuts grown along roads.
More recent studies using a species of algae that has oil contents of as high as
50% have concluded that as little as 28,000 km or 0.3% of the land area of the
US could be utilized to produce enough biodiesel to replace all transportation fuel
the country currently utilizes. Further encouragement comes from the fact that
the land that could be most effective in growing the algae is desert land with high
solar irradiation, but lower economic value for other uses and that the algae
could utilize farm waste and excess CO2 from factories to help speed the growth
of the algae.
The direct source of the energy content of biodiesel is solar energy captured by
plants during photosynthesis. The website www.biodiesel.co.uk discusses the
positive energy balance of biodiesel:
When straw was left in the field, biodiesel production was strongly energy
positive, yielding 1 GJ biodiesel for every 0.561 GJ of energy input (a
yield/cost ratio of 1.78).
When straw was burned as fuel and oilseed rapemeal was used as a
fertilizer, the yield/cost ratio for biodiesel production was even better
(3.71). In other words, for every unit of energy input to produce biodiesel,
the output was 3.71 units (the difference of 2.71 units would be from solar
energy).
Biodiesel is becoming of interest to companies interested in commercial scale
production as well as the more usual home brew biodiesel user and the user of
straight vegetable oil or waste vegetable oil in diesel engines. Homemade
biodiesel processors are many and varied.

Alcohol fuel
The use of alcohol as a fuel for internal combustion engines, either alone or in
combination with other fuels, has been given much attention mostly because of
its possible environmental and long-term economical advantages over fossil fuel.
Both ethanol and methanol have been considered for this purpose. While both
can be obtained from petroleum or natural gas, ethanol may be the most
interesting because many believe it to be a renewable resource, easily obtained
from sugar or starch in crops and other agricultural produce such as grain,
sugarcane or even lactose. Since ethanol occurs in nature whenever yeast
happens to find a sugar solution such as overripe fruit, most organisms have
evolved some tolerance to ethanol, whereas methanol is toxic. When 10% alcohol
fuel is mixed into gasoline, the result is known as gasohol. When 85% alcohol fuel
is mixed into gasoline, the result is known as E85. Other experiments involve
butanol, which can also be produced by fermentation of plants.
Alcohol is also increasingly used as an oxygenate for gasoline, as a replacement
for MTBE.
Contents:
1. Alcohol Fuels
1.1. Ethanol
1.2. Methanol
2. Other alcohols: butanol and propanol
3. Alcohol and hydrogen
4. Alternate sources
5. Economics of corn ethanol in the U.S.
6. Net fuel energy balance
6.1. Energy balance in the United States
7. Arguments and criticisms
7.1. Air pollution
7.2. Fire safety
7.3. Greenhouse gases
7.4. Renewable resource
7.5. Dependency on foreign oil and international crime
7.6. Statism
7.7. Cost
8. Alcohol fuel in Brazil
8.1. Ethanol production basics
8.2. Electricity from bagasse
8.3. Program statistics
8.4. Effect on oil consumption
8.5. Environmental effect
8.6. Social implications

8.7. Politics
9. U.S. National security
1. Alcohol Fuels
Proposals to use alcohol as a fuel are generally concerned with its use in
transportation, chiefly as a total or partial replacement for gasoline in cars and
other road vehicles. However, other less conventional approaches have been
advanced, such as the use of alcohol in fuel cells, either directly or as a feedstock
for hydrogen production. To have a net energy gain, it is critical that detailed
energy and input stock analyses be performed. Currently, all studies indicate a
net energy loss in the production of Alcohol Fuel versus equivalent oil products.
This is due to the use of petrochemicals for pesticides, fertilizers, and operation
of farm and other machinery in the processing of the feed stock. Without a net
energy gain, reduction in the use of Oil etc. does not occur!
Fuel alcohols can be produced from a variety of crops, such as hemp, kenaf,
sugarcane, sugar beets, maize, barley, potatoes, cassava, sunflower, eucalyptus,
etc. Two countries have developed significant bio-alcohol programs: Brazil
(ethanol from sugarcane) and Russia (methanol from eucalyptus). Ethanol for
industrial use is often made synthetically from petroleum feedstock, typically by
the catalytic hydration of ethylene with sulfuric acid as the catalyst. This process
is cheaper than the production by fermentation. It can also be obtained via
ethene or acetylene, from calcium carbide, coal, oil gas, and other sources.
Agricultural alcohol for fuel requires substantial amounts of cultivable land with
fertile soils and water. It is hardly an option for densely occupied and
industrialized regions like Western Europe. For example, even if Germany were to
be entirely covered with sugarcane plantations, it would get only half of its
present energy needs (including fuel and electricity), and even that only if we
assume that sugarcane would grow in Germany at all. However, if the fuel alcohol
is made of the stalks, wastes, clippings, straw, corn cobs, and other crop field
trash, then no additional land is needed. However using these sources for this
purpose would require additional replacement animal feedstock, fertilizers and
electric power plant fuels.
1.1. Ethanol
Ethanol can be derived from corn, wheat, potato wastes, cheese whey, rice straw,
sawdust, urban wastes, paper mill wastes, yard clippings, molasses, sugar cane,
seaweed, surplus food crops, and other cellulose waste. Petroleum is also used to
make industrial ethanol.
Ethanol, which is the same chemical as the alcohol in alcoholic beverages, can
reach 96% purity by volume by distillation, and is as clear as water. This is
enough for straight-ethanol combustion. For blending with gasoline, purities of
99.5 to 99.9% are required, depending on temperature, to avoid separation.
These purities are produced using additional industrial processes. Ethanol in
water is an azeotropic mixture which cannot be purified beyond 96% by
distillation. Today, the most widely used purification method is a physical
adsorption process using molecular sieves. Ethanol is flammable and pure
ethanol burns more cleanly than many other fuels. Assuming it is derived from

biomass, the combustion of ethanol produces no net carbon dioxide. When fully
combusted, its combustion products are only carbon dioxide and water which are
also the by-products of regular cellulose waste decomposition. For this reason, it
is favoured for environmentally conscious transport schemes and has been used
to fuel public buses. However, pure ethanol reacts with or dissolves certain
rubber and plastic materials and cannot be used in unmodified engines.
Additionally, ethanol has a much higher octane rating (about 115) than ordinary
gasoline, requiring changes to the compression ratio or spark timing to obtain
maximum benefit. To change a gasoline-fueled car into an pure-ethanol-fueled
car, larger carburetor jets (about 30-40% larger by area) are needed. (Methanol
requires an even larger increase in area, to roughly 50% larger.) A cold starting
system is also needed to ensure sufficient vaporization for temperatures below
15 C (59 F) to maximize combustion and minimize uncombusted nonvaporized
ethanol. If 10 to 30% ethanol is mixed with gasoline, no engine modification is
typically needed. Many modern cars can run on the mixture very reliably.
A mixture containing gasoline with approximately 10% ethanol is known as
gasohol. It was introduced nationwide in Denmark, and in 1989, Brazil produced
12 billion litres of fuel ethanol from sugar cane, which was used to power 9.2
million cars. It is also commonly available in the Midwest of the United States and
is the only type of gasoline allowed to be sold in the state of Minnesota. The most
common gasohol variant is "E10", containing 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline.
Other blends include E5 and E7. These concentrations are generally safe for
recent, unmodified automobile engines, and some regions and municipalities
mandate that the locally-sold fuels contain limited amounts of ethanol. One way
to measure alternative fuels in the US is the "gasoline-equivalent gallons" (GEG).
In 2002, the U.S. used as fuel an amount of ethanol equal to 137 petajoules (PJ),
the energy of 1.13 billion US gallons (4,280,000 m) of gasoline. This was less
than 1% of the total fuel used that year.
The term "E85" is used for a mixture of 15% (by volume) gasoline and 85%
ethanol. This mixture has an octane rating of about 105. This is down significantly
from pure ethanol but still much higher than normal gasoline. The addition of a
small amount of gasoline helps the engine under cold start conditions. E85 does
not always contain exactly 85% ethanol. In winter, especially in colder climates,
additional gasoline is added (to facilitate cold start). E85 has traditionally been
similar in cost to gasoline, but with the large oil prices seen during 2005 it has
become common to see E85 sold for as much as $0.70 less per gallon than
gasoline, making it highly attractive to the small but growing number of motorists
with cars capable of burning it. With no real hope of large long-term reductions in
oil prices, the long term cost-competitiveness (even without tax subsidies) of E85
seems assured.
Beginning with the model year 1999, an increasing number of vehicles in the
world are manufactured with engines which can run on any gasoline from 0%
ethanol up to 85% ethanol without modification. Many light trucks (a class
containing minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks) are designed to be dual fuel or
flexible fuel vehicles, since they can automatically detect the type of fuel and
change the engine's behavior, principally air-to-fuel ratio and ignition timing to
compensate for the different octane levels of the fuel in the engine cylinders.
In the past, when farmers distilled their own ethanol, they sometimes used
radiators as part of the still. The radiators often contained lead, which would get
into the ethanol. Lead entered the air during the burning of contaminated fuel,

possibly leading to neural damage. However this was a minor source of lead since
tetraethyl lead was used as a gasoline additive. Today, ethanol for fuel use is
produced almost exclusively from purpose built plants eliminating any use of
lead.
In Brazil and the United States, the use of ethanol from sugar cane and grain as
car fuel has been promoted by government programs. Some individual U.S.
states in the corn belt began subsidizing ethanol from corn (maize) after the Arab
oil embargo of 1973. The Energy Tax Act of 1978 authorized an excise tax
exemption for biofuels, chiefly gasohol. The excise tax exemption alone has been
estimated as worth US$1.4 billion per year. Another U.S. federal program
guaranteed loans for the construction of ethanol plants, and in 1986 the U.S.
even gave ethanol producers free corn.
In August 2005, President Bush signed a comprehensive energy bill which
included a requirement to increase the production of ethanol and biodiesel from 4
to 7.5 billion US gallons (15,000,000 to 28,000,000 m) within the next ten years.
It is expected that in the short term the majority of this increase will come from
ethanol produced from corn.
1.2. Methanol
Methanol, too, has been considered as a fuel, mainly in combination with
gasoline. It has received less attention than ethanol, however, because it has a
number of problems of its own. Its main advantage is that it can be easily
manufactured from methane (the chief constituent of natural gas) as well as by
pyrolysis of many organic materials. A problem with pyrolysis is that it is only
economically feasible on an industrial scale, so it is not advisable to try and
produce methanol from renewable resources like wood on a small (personal use)
scale. In any case, high temperatures are involved, with some risk of fire;
furthermore, methanol is highly toxic, so great care should be taken at all times
not to ingest methanol, spill it onto exposed skin, or inhale the fumes.
However, unlike ethanol, methanol is a toxic product; extensive exposure to it
could lead to permanent health damage, including blindness. US maximum
allowed exposure in air (40 h/week) are 1900 mg/m for ethanol, 900 mg/m for
gasoline, and 260 mg/m for methanol. It is also quite volatile and therefore
would increase the risk of fires and explosions. Besides the increased fire and
explosion risks, higher volatility means more evaporative emissions. Both in the
atmosphere and in the liver, methanol is oxidized into two highly potent toxins:
formaldehyde (used as a preservative for dead organic matter in laboratories),
and formic acid (the poison found in ant stings). Catalytic converters would
usually break down these two toxins in a manner similar to the sulfur, nitrogen, or
carbon monoxide molecules which they normally dispose of if it were not for the
fact that catalytic converters operate below the required temperature until the
vehicle has gone 5 to 10 miles (10 to 15 km).
It is possible to overcome this environmental issue in two ways. Firstly, there is
the very expensive option of adding more catalyst to the converter's aluminium
honeycomb. But the catalysts themselves just happen to be the metals platinum,
palladium, and rhodium - all of which are very rare and expensive to purchase. As
an example, palladium costs about $200 per ounce, the equivalent of $3,200 per
pound or 4,000 (5,500) per kilogram. Also, platinum costs even more: $935 per
ounce, $15,000 per pound, or 18,700 or 26,200 per kilogram. That is why
catalytic converters contain so little catalyst: the catalysts themselves are too

expensive to be used generously enough to be as effective as they were meant

to be.
Alternatively, an electric heater (for home conversion, an glow plug from an old
diesel engine) would serve to preheat the converter a bit more rapidly than an
engine by itself would by idling for 5 or 10 minutes. The catalytic converter would
still be operating below the required temperature for some time, but less than in
an unmodified vehicle, thus cutting pollution levels significantly. Note that hybrid
vehicles will be easier to modify this way because they already have battery
systems that can supply sufficient power to heat the catalyst sufficiently,
whereas conventional cars may need electrical modifications to enable this.
An additional problem of methanol is that its energy content is only 45% that of
gasoline (75% of ethanol).
Nevertheless, a drive to add a significant percentage of methanol to gasoline got
very close to implementation in Brazil, following a pilot test set up by a group of
scientists involving adding blending gasoline with methanol between 1989 and
1992. The larger-scale pilot experiment that was to be conducted in So Paulo
was vetoed at the last minute by the city's mayor, out of concern for the health of
gas station workers (who are mostly illiterate and could not be expected to follow
safety precautions). As of 2005, the idea has not resurfaced.
Since 1965, pure methanol was used in United States Auto Club competition for
its series, and today used by many short track organisations, especially midget
and sprint cars, Champ Car, and until 2005, Indy cars, primarily for safety
reasons.
A seven-car crash on the second lap of the 1964 Indianapolis 500 resulted in
USAC's decision to mandate methanol. Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald died in
the crash when their gasoline-fueled cars exploded. Johnny Rutherford was also
involved, in a methanol-fueled car which also leaked following the crash, and
while this car burned from the impact of the first fireball, it formed a much lesser
inferno than the gasoline cars. That testimony and pressure from the Indianapolis
Star writer George Moore, led to the 1965 alcohol fuel mandate.
Currently, the Indy Racing League uses pure methanol (M100). In 2006, the IRL
will switch to a 10% ethanol / 90% methanol (M90 or E10) mix, before switching
to an all-ethanol mix (E100) in 2007.
2. Other alcohols: butanol and propanol
Although not as common as ethanol and methanol, other fuel alcohols have been
considered, notably butanol and propanol. These alcohols are toxic, although
considerably less toxic than methanol, and considerably less volatile. In
particular, butanol has a high flashpoint of 35 C, which is a benefit for fire safety,
but a difficulty for starting engines, particularly in cold weather. (In comparison,
ethanol has a flashpoint of 13 C; methanol has a flashpoint of 11 C; and
propanol has a flashpoint of 15 C.)
The fermentation processes to produce these heavy alcohols from cellulose are
fairly tricky to execute, and the Weizmann organism (Clostridium acetobutylicum)
used to perform these conversions produces an extremely bad smell that must be
considered when designing and locating a fermentation plant.

One advantage shared by all four alcohols is octane rating. Butanol has the
additional attraction that its energy per kilogram is closer to gasoline than the
other alcohols (while still retaining over 25% higher octane rating).
As of 2005, production of all four alcohols from petroleum is cheaper than
fermentation and extraction from biomass, but this is expected to change as
fermentation and extraction processes become more efficient while petroleum
becomes more expensive.
3. Alcohol and hydrogen
A view is emerging that current consumers of fossil fuels should move to using
hydrogen as a fuel, creating a new so-called hydrogen economy. However,
hydrogen is not a fuel source in and of itself. Rather, it is merely an intermediate
energy storage medium existing between an energy source (be it solar power,
biofuels, and nuclear power) and the place where the energy will be used.
Because hydrogen in its gaseous state takes up a very large volume when
compared to other fuels, logistics becomes a very difficult problem. One possible
solution is to use ethanol to transport the hydrogen, then liberate the hydrogen
from its associated carbon in a hydrogen reformer and feed the hydrogen into a
fuel cell. Alternatively, some fuel cells can be directly fed by ethanol or methanol.
As of 2005, fuel cells are able to process methanol more efficiently than ethanol.
In early 2004, researchers at the University of Minnesota announced that they
had invented a simple ethanol reactor that would take ethanol, feed it through a
stack of catalysts, and output hydrogen suitable for a fuel cell. The device uses a
rhodium-cerium catalyst for the initial reaction, which occurs at a temperature of
about 700 C. This initial reaction mixes ethanol, water vapor, and oxygen and
produces good quantities of hydrogen. Unfortunately, it also results in the
formation of carbon monoxide, a substance that "chokes" most fuel cells and
must be passed through another catalyst to be converted into carbon dioxide.
(The odorless, colorless, and tasteless carbon monoxide is also a significant toxic
hazard if it escapes through the fuel cell into the exhaust, or if the conduits
between the catalytic sections leak.) The ultimate products of the simple device
are roughly 50% hydrogen gas and 30% nitrogen, with the remaining 20% mostly
composed of carbon dioxide. Both the nitrogen and carbon dioxide are fairly inert
when the mixture is pumped into an appropriate fuel cell. Once the carbon
dioxide is released back into the atmosphere, where it can be reabsorbed by
plant life. No net carbon dioxide is released, though it could be argued that while
it is in the atmosphere, it does act as a greenhouse gas.
EEI has developed a new method for producing butanol from biomass. This
process involves the use of two separate micro-organisms in sequence to
minimize production of acetone and ethanol byproducts. Interestingly, this
process produces recoverable amounts of hydrogen as well as butanol.
4. Alternate sources
Sugar cane grows in the extreme southern United States, but not in the cooler
climates where corn is dominant. However, many regions that currently grow
corn are also appropriate areas for growing sugar beets. Some studies indicate
that using these sugar beets would be a much more efficient method for making
ethanol in the U.S. than using corn.
In the 1980s, Brazil seriously considered producing ethanol from cassava, a major
food crop with massive starchy roots. However yields were lower than sugarcane,

and the processing of cassava was considerably more complex, as it would

require cooking the root to turn the starch into fermentable sugar. The babau
plant was also investigated as a possible source of alcohol.
There is also growing interest in the use of waste biomass as a source for alcohol
other types of fuel. New technologies such as cellulose to ethanol production
could provide much higher positive energy ratios of 2 to 3 times more energy in
ethanol produced than input. Cellulose to ethanol production could also run on
any cellulose source from farm waste, hay/grass, basically any plant matter
including wood, cardboard and paper. Theoretically farms could produce fuel
without sacrificing food production, because all that is needed is the left over
plant matter after harvesting. Cellulose to ethanol production is still in
development and has seen limited use in industrial ethanol production. The
biggest challenges in using cellulose as a feedstock is the treatment and disposal
of process waste and the conversion of C5 sugars (these are typically
unconverted adding to the waste treatment demand). Unlike grain based
processes which produce a by-product known as distillers grain with minimal
waste treatment needs, cellulosic processes are typically effluent and waste
treatment intensive. Distiller grain is a protein enriched animal feed with much
higher nutritional value than natural grain and is typically priced at less than half
that of natural grain. It therefore tends to be a desirable product for animal
feeders. Approximately one-third of grain usage in the production of ethanol in
modern plants is recovered as distillers grain.
At this time, most of the different processes for converting biomass into ethanol
and other fuels are very complicated and not particularly efficient. A few
processes have seen increasing buzz, including thermal depolymerization
(though that process produces what is described as light crude oil).
It is possible to decompose cellulose into sugar in strong or weak solutions of
sulphuric acid, but this process also decomposes and wastes perhaps half the
potential sugar content and creates large amounts of acidic waste, so scientists
are searching for more efficient and less polluting enzymatic and microbial
processes for breaking down cellulose into sugar.
Another approach under development is to gasify biomass by heating it in an
oxygen-poor environment. This yields hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide
as well as noncombustible carbon dioxide and nitrogen compounds. Bacterial
cultures have been isolated that can convert the reactive gasses into ethanol,
which is then distilled out of the liquid medium.
5. Economics of corn ethanol in the U.S.
While the energy balance of ethanol production is controversial and estimates
vary widely, the economics are more certain. Ethanol production from corn costs
$1.10 per US gallon (290 $/m). This figure takes into account a government
subsidy of $0.214 per US gallon (57 $/m). Additionally, corn farmers receive
subsidies equivalent to about $0.61 per US gallon (161 $/m) of ethanol. Finally,
the government subsidizes $0.54 per US gallon (143 $/m) of ethanol sold as fuel.
Totaling these subsidies and including the $1.10 cost of production gives $2.464
per US gallon (651 $/m) of ethanol.
The national trade deficit (USA) has risen to an all time high of $686 billion. Most
of this rise has been attributed to the record high prices of crude oil ($67/barrel).
Domestic production of ethanol for fuel has the potential to ease this deficit.

6. Net fuel energy balance

To be viable, an alcohol-based fuel economy should have positive net fuel energy
balance. Namely, the total fuel energy expended in producing the alcohol
including fertilizing, farming, harvesting, transport, fermentation, distillation, and
distribution, as well as the fuel used in building the farm and fuel plant
equipment should not exceed the energy contents of the product.
This is a controversial subject charged with potential bias. Much of it depends on
what is included and what is excluded from the calculation, particularly when
compared with the energy balance of the production of gasoline itself. Analyses
are greatly complicated by various methods of accounting for the energy value
coproducts and consideration of alternate uses of the feedstock. Not surprisingly,
this debate has been at best inconclusive to date.
Switching to a system with negative fuel energy balance would only increase the
consumption of non-alcohol fuels. Such a system would only be worth considering
as a way of exploiting non-alcohol fuels that may not be suitable for
transportation use, such as coal, natural gas, or biofuel from crop residues.
(Indeed, many U.S. proposals assume the use of natural gas for distillation.)
However, many of the expected environmental and sustainability advantages of
alcohol fuels would not be realized in a system with negative fuel balance.
Even a positive but small energy balance would be problematic: if the net fuel
energy balance is 50%, then, in order to eliminate the use of non-alcohol fuels, it
would be necessary to produce two units of alcohol for each unit of alcohol
delivered to the consumer.
In this regard, geography is the decisive factor. In tropical regions with abundant
water and land resources, such as Brazil, the viability of production of ethanol
from sugarcane is no longer in question; in fact, the burning of sugarcane
residues (bagasse) generates far more energy than needed to operate the
ethanol plants, and many of them are now selling electric energy to the utilities.
Also, in countries with abundant hydroelectric power, the net fuel energy balance
of the cycle could be improved to some extent by using electricity in the
production, e.g. for milling and distillation.
The picture is quite different for other regions, such as the United States, where
the climate is too cool for sugarcane. In the U.S., agricultural ethanol is generally
obtained from grain, chiefly maize, and the net fuel energy balance of that route
is still critical.
6.1. Energy balance in the United States
One study has concluded that the use of corn ethanol for fuel would have a
negative net energy balance. Namely, the total energy needed to produce
ethanol from grain including fermentation, fertilizing, fuel for farm tractors,
harvesting and transporting the grain, building and operating an ethanol plant,
and the natural gas used to distill corn sugars into alcohol exceeds the energy
content of ethanol. However, all subsequent studies have concluded that ethanol
production yields more energy than it consumes (most agree on a ratio of
1.34:1).
Using old data greatly affects the outcome in these studies. According to the
USDA, farms have become more energy efficient since 1978 due in large part to

replacing gasoline powered equipment with more fuel-efficient diesel engines.

Total farm energy use peaked in 1978 at 2,244 trillion Btu (2.368 EJ), but by 2000
had dropped to about 1,600 trillion Btu (1.7 EJ). In the meantime, corn production
rose from an average of 110 bushels per acre (6.9 Mg/ha) in 1980 to 140 bushels
per acre (8.8 Mg/ha) in 2000.
A study by Cornell University ecology professor David Pimentel seemed to
confirm this conclusion. Pimentel's study was disputed by other specialists,
forcing him to revise his figures. Still, in August 2003 (and again in March 2005),
he stated in a Cornell bulletin that production of ethanol from corn takes 29%
more energy than it produces, ethanol from switch grass requires 45% more
energy and ethanol from wood biomass requires 57% more energy that it
produces. However, he concluded yield was 218 US gallons per acre (204 m/km)
of gasoline equivalent, due to the energy in ethanol being only 66% that of
gasoline.
Pimentel also calculated it corn (maize) production requires about 115 US gallons
per acre (108 m/km) of gasoline equivalent. Thus, he calculated a net energy
production of 103 US gallons per acre (96 m/km), while his studies somehow all
concluded a net energy loss in producing ethanol. Critics of Pimentel's study cite
questionable deductions, for example; 1,000,000 Btu per acre (260 kJ/m) for
labor, 5,656,000 Btu per acre (1474 kJ/m) for machinery, as well as additional
deductions for steel and concrete production and construction of ethanol
refineries, while not saying from where these numbers were derived. (Shapouri,
Hosein, James A. Duffield, Michael Wang. The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An
Update. USDA: Office of the Chief Economist; Office of Energy Policy and New
Uses. Washington, DC. July, 2002)
Pimentels work has been largely criticized and discredited by subsequent
studies.
It is only fair to hold gasoline to the same standard that ethanol is being put
through. The focus of the USDA report, and others, was on ethanol and the
energy balance equation, but according to a report by the Minnesota Department
of Agriculture, when taking into account the energy needed to extract, transport
and refine crude oil into gasoline, the final energy product of gasoline has an
energy ratio of 0.805. That means ethanol production is 81% more energy
efficient than gasoline.
(Groschen http://www.mda.state.mn.us/Ethanol/balance.html )
Continuous refinements to ethanol production procedures have much improved
the benefit/cost ratio, and most studies of modern systems indicate that they
now have a positive net energy balance. Also, when ethanol is mixed with water
vapor and converted into hydrogen, it does not need to be as pure as when it is
used in a combustion engine, making the process more efficient.
Many other studies of corn ethanol production have been conducted, with greatly
varied net energy estimates. Most indicate that production requires energy
equivalent to 1/2, 2/3, or more of the fuel produced to run the process. A 2002
report by the United States Department of Agriculture concluded that corn
ethanol production in the U.S. has a net energy value of 1.34, meaning 34% more
energy was produced than what went in. This means that 75% (1/1.34) of each
unit produced is required to replace the energy used in production. The study
also concluded that the energy used to produce and convert the ethanol was
from abundant domestic sources, with only 17% of the energy used coming from
liquid fuels, therefore, for every 1 unit of energy from of liquid fuel used, such as

gasoline or diesel fuel, there was a gain of 6.34 units of energy. MSU Ethanol
Energy Balance Study: Michigan State University, May 2002. This comprehensive,
independent study funded by MSU shows that corn ethanol production has a net
energy value of 1.56: it produces 56% more energy per unit volume of ethanol
than it consumes. Nevertheless, as noted earlier, these relatively small energy
gains are problematic, for they imply that between 2.79 (assuming net energy
value 1.56) and 3.94 (assuming net energy value 1.34) units of ethanol must be
produced for each unit of ethanol that can be sold to consumers. Actual net
energy values might be improved by measures such as burning corn stalks
(which are not fermentable using current technology) to run some parts of the
corn ethanol production process that currently consume petroleum, gas, or
ethanol (similarly to the way bagasse is currently burned to produce energy to
run the ethanol production facilities in Brazil). As of 2005, ethanol production
from corn has a long way to go (or requires a great rise in the cost of petroleum)
before it will become economically viable without government subsidies.
7. Arguments and criticisms
The use of alcohol as fuel is advocated with various arguments, mainly relating to
its beneficial effects on the local and global environment, its independence from
foreign oil, and its economic advantages. Critics generally dispute those
arguments, claim that the switch would be expensive, and object to perceived
need for increased government subsidies, taxes, and regulations.
7.1. Air pollution
There has long been widespread acknowledgement that ethanol is a cleanerburning fuel than gasoline. Ethanol has far fewer standard regulated pollutants
such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, compared with plain gasoline in
equivalent tests. See, for example, the air pollution and environmental studies
listed
at
the
Renewable
Fuels
Association
website
http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pubs.shtml
There has been concern about increased evaporative smog-forming hydrocarbon
emissions. For example, the conservative organization RPPI claims that "adding
ethanol to gasoline will at best have no effect on air quality and could even make
it worse. Studies show ethanol could even increase emissions of nitrogen oxides
and volatile organic compounds, which are major ingredients of smog." Other
critics have argued that the beneficial effects of ethanol can be achieved with
other cheaper additives made from petroleum.
It is important to distinguish the issues. Ethanol in a blend with gasoline replaces
tetra ethyl lead, benzene and MTBE -- all of which are additives that are meant to
raise octane levels. Ethanol, with an octane rating of 110, far surpasses regular
gasoline and precludes needs for other dangerous additives. However, ethanol
can increase vapor pressure of gasoline causing increased evaporative emissions
which, on balance, are far less serious than lead, benzene or MTBE.
Ethanol as a straight fuel is far cleaner than gasoline in its own right and this has
been recognized from the dawn of the automotive age. See, for instance,
Kovarik's "Fuel of the Future" http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/lead
7.2. Fire safety

Ethanol appears to be less of a fire hazard than gasoline; while methanol, being
more volatile, is somewhat more prone to fire and explosions. However, since
ethanol and methanol dissolve in water (rather than floating on it like gasoline)
their fires can be extinguished with ordinary water hoses.
One of the problems with accidental combustion of pure ethanol is that it burns
with a dim, blue flame, with invisible smoke. Methanol flames are dim enough to
be considered invisible in daylight. Blending significant amounts of gasoline
produces a highly visible flame; small quantities of dye can also produce this
effect.
7.3. Greenhouse gases
A separate (and perhaps more important) benefit of switching to an ethanol fuel
economy would be the decreased net output of the greenhouse gas carbon
dioxide (CO2), since all the CO2 that would be liberated in the manufacture and
consumption of ethanol would have to be absorbed by the plantations. In
constrast, the burning of fossil fuels injects massive amounts of "new" CO2 into
the atmosphere, without creating a corresponding sink.
Needless to say, this advantage will be accrued only with agricultural ethanol, not
with ethanol derived from petroleum which, due to its much smaller cost,
presently accounts for most of the alcohol produced for industrial consumption.
This point must be taken into account when estimating the cost of the switch.
However, this assumes processes such as distillation of ethanol and production of
fertiliser which require large amounts of energy would be done without using
fossil fuels.
7.4. Renewable resource
According to its proponents, another advantage of (agricultural) alcohol as a fuel
is that it is a renewable energy source that will never be exhausted; whereas an
economy based on fossil fuels will sooner or later collapse when the world runs
out of oil.
However, David Pimentel disputes that "ethanol production from corn" is a
renewable energy source. However, Pimentel's studies have been widely
discredited, and also fails to compare other viable sources of ethanol such as
Sugar_beets and Sugarcane.
7.5. Dependency on foreign oil and international crime
A somewhat related (but more compelling) argument is that developed regions
like the United States and Europe consume much more fossil fuels than they can
extract from their territory, therefore becoming dependant upon foreign suppliers
as a result. As such, this dependency has become a major cause of oil wars and
coups d'etat initiated by Western powers, and attendant misery and human rights
violations in certain oil-producing countries allied with the West. Even if the
energy balance is negative, US production involves mostly domestic fuels such as
natural gas and coal, so the impact on oil importation is still positive.
7.6. Statism
Some critics, mainly on ideological grounds, dislike the idea of an ethanol
economy because they see it as leading to increased government subsidy for
corn-growing agribusiness, and statism. The Archer Daniels Midland Corporation

of Decatur, Illinois, better known as ADM, the world's largest grain processor,
produces 40% of the ethanol used to make gasohol in the U.S. The company and
its officers have been eloquent in their defense of ethanol and generous in
contributing to both political parties.
Tax Incentives for ethanol and petroleum: U.S. General Accounting Office,
September 2000. This study examines subsidies historically given to the oil
industry and to the ethanol industry and finds that the amounts of those to the oil
industry are far higher. At the same time, this study applies only to historical
subsidies and doesn't investigate the question of what the case would be if
petroleum fuels were substantially replaced by ethanol.
7.7. Cost
Some economists have argued that using bioalcohol as a petroleum substitute is
economically infeasible because the energy required to grow the corn and other
crops used as fuel is greater than the amount ultimately produced. They argue
that government programs that mandate the use of bioalcohol are simply
agricultural subsidies enacted to gain votes from heavily agricultural states,
especially Iowa. However, this reflects a lack of understanding of the motor fuel
industry; production of gasoline also requires more energy input than the fuel
itself provides, but the trade-off is worthwhile because it converts less portable
forms of energy (electricity for pumps, burning off crude oil for heat at refineries,
etc.) into a high-value (portable, easily used) form of energy. As of 2005, ethanol
production has actually become much more energy-efficient than gasoline
production, with energy inputs as low as 70% of the energy value of the ethanol
produced.
8. Alcohol fuel in Brazil

An early poster promoting alcohol fuel warns Brazilians not to mix standard petrol with alcohol fuel, and not to
use alcohol in unconverted engines

In Brazil, ethanol is produced from sugar cane which is a more efficient source of
fermentable carbohydrates than corn as well as much easier to grow and
process. Brazil has the largest sugarcane crop in the world, which, besides
ethanol, also yields sugar, electricity, and industrial heating. Sugar cane growing
requires little labor, and government tax and pricing policies have made ethanol
production a very lucrative business for big farms. As a consequence, over the
last 25 years sugarcane has become one of the main crops grown in the country.
8.1. Ethanol production basics
Sugarcane is harvested manually or mechanically and shipped to the distillery
(usina) in huge specially built trucks. There are several hundred distilleries

throughout the country; they are typically owned and run by big farms or farm
consortia and located near the producing fields. At the mill the cane is rollerpressed to extract the juice (garapa), leaving behind a fibrous residue (bagasse).
The juice is fermented by yeasts which break down the sucrose into CO2 and
ethanol. The resulting "wine" is distilled, yielding hydrated ethanol (5% water by
volume) and "fusel oil". The acidic residue of the distillation (vinhoto) is
neutralized with lime and sold as fertilizer. The hydrated ethanol may be sold as
is (for ethanol cars) or be dehydrated and used as a gasoline additive (for
gasohol cars). In either case, the bulk product was sold until 1996 at regulated
prices to the state oil company (Petrobras). Today it is no longer regulated.
One ton (1,000 kg) of harvested sugarcane, as shipped to the processing plant,
contains about 145 kg of dry fiber (bagasse) and 138 kg of sucrose. Of that, 112
kg can be extracted as sugar, leaving 23 kg in low-valued molasses. If the cane is
processed for alcohol, all the sucrose is used, yielding 72 liters of ethanol.
Burning the bagasse produces heat for distillation and drying, and (through lowpressure boilers and turbines) about 288 MJ of electricity, of which 180 MJ is used
by the plant itself and 108 MJ sold to utilities.
The average cost of production, including farming, transportation and
distribution, is US$0.63 per US gallon (US$0.17/L); gasoline prices in the world
market is about US$ 1.05 per US gallon (US$0.28/L). The alcohol industry, entirely
private, was invested heavily in crop improvement and agricultural techniques.
As a result, average yearly ethanol yield increased steadily from 300 to 550
m/km between 1978 and 2000, or about 3.5% per year.
8.2. Electricity from bagasse
Sucrose accounts for little more than 30% of the chemical energy stored in the
mature plant; 35% is in the leaves and stem tips, which are left in the fields
during harvest, and 35% are in the fibrous material (bagasse) left over from
pressing.
Part of the bagasse is currently burned at the mill to provide heat for distillation
and electricity to run the machinery. This allows ethanol plants to be energetically
self-sufficient and even sell surplus electricity to utilities; current production is
600 MW for self-use and 100 MW for sale. This secondary activity is expected to
boom now that utilities have been convinced to pay fair price (about US$10/GJ)
for 10 year contracts. The energy is especially valuable to utilities because it is
produced mainly in the dry season when hydroelectric dams are running low.
Estimates of potential power generation from bagasse range from 1,000 to 9,000
MW, depending on technology. Higher estimates assume gasification of biomass,
replacement of current low-pressure steam boilers and turbines by high-pressure
ones, and use of harvest trash currently left behind in the fields. For comparison,
Brazil's Angra I nuclear plant generates 600 MW (and it is often off line).
Presently, it is economically viable to extract about 288 MJ of electricity from the
residues of one ton of sugarcane, of which about 180 MJ are used in the plant
itself. Thus a medium-size distillery processing 1 million tons of sugarcane per
year could sell about 5 MW of surplus electricity. At current prices, it would earn
US$ 18 million from sugar and ethanol sales, and about US$ 1 million from
surplus electricity sales. With advanced boiler and turbine technology, the
electricity yield could be increased to 648 MJ per ton of sugarcane, but current
electricity prices do not justify the necessary investment. (According to one

report, the World bank would only finance investments in bagasse power
generation if the price were at least US$19/GJ.)
Bagasse burning is environmentally friendly compared to other fuels like oil and
coal. Its ash content is only 2.5% (against 30-50% of coal), and it contains no
sulfur. Since it burns at relatively low temperatures, it produces little nitrous
oxides. Moreover, bagasse is being sold for use as a fuel (replacing heavy fuel oil)
in various industries, including citrus juice concentrate, vegetable oil, ceramics,
and tyre recycling. The state of So Paulo alone used 2 million tons, saving about
US$ 35 million in fuel oil imports.
8.3. Program statistics
Except where noted, the following data apply to the 2003/2004 season.
land use:

45,000 km in 2000

labor:

1 million jobs (50% farming, 50% processing)

Sugarcane
344 million metric tons (50% sugar, 50% alcohol)
:
sugar:

23 million tons (30% is exported)

ethanol:

14 million m (7.5 anhydrous, 6.5 hydrated; 2.4% is

exported)

dry
bagasse:

50 million tons

electricity:

1350 MW (1200 for self use, 150 sold to utilities) in

2001

The labor figures are industry estimates, and do not take into account the loss of
jobs due to replacement of other crops by sugarcane.
8.4. Effect on oil consumption
Most cars in Brazil run either on alcohol or on gasohol; only recently dual-fuel
("Flex Fuel") engines have become available. Most gas stations sell both fuels.
The market share of the two car types has varied a lot over the last decades, in
response to fuel price changes. Ethanol-only cars were sold in Brazil in significant
numbers between 1980 and 1995; between 1983 and 1988, they accounted for
over 90% of the sales. 80% of the cars produced in Brazil in 2005 where dualfuel, comparing to only 17% in 2004.
Ethanol-fuelled small planes for farm use have been developed by giant Embraer
and by a small Brazilian firm (Aerolcool), and are currently undergoing
certification.
Domestic demand for alcohol grew between 1982 and 1998 from 11,000 to
33,000 cubic metres per day, and has remained roughly constant since then. In
1989 more than 90% of the production was used by ethanol-only cars; today that
has reduced to about 40%, the remaining 60% being used with gasoline in
gasohol-only cars. Both the total consumption of ethanol and the ethanol/gasohol
ratio are expected to increase again with deployment of dual-fuel cars.

Presently the use of ethanol as fuel by Brazilian cars - as pure ethanol and in
gasohol - replaces gasoline at the rate of about 27,000 cubic metres per day, or
about 40% of the fuel that would be needed to run the fleet on gasoline alone.
However, the effect on the country's oil consumption was much smaller than
that. Although Brazil is a major oil producer and now exports gasoline (19,000
m/day), it still must import oil because of internal demand for other oil
byproducts, chiefly diesel fuel (which cannot be easily replaced by ethanol).
8.5. Environmental effect
The improvement in air quality in big cities in the 1980s, following the
widespread use of ethanol as car fuel, was evident to everyone; as was the
degradation that followed the partial return to gasoline in the 1990s.
However, the ethanol program also brought a host of environmental and social
problems of its own. Sugarcane fields are traditionally burned just before harvest,
in order to remove the leaves and kill snakes. Therefore, in sugarcane-growing
parts of the country, the smoke from burning fields turns the sky gray throughout
the harvesting season. As winds carry the smoke into nearby towns, air pollution
goes critical and respiratory problems soar. Thus, the air pollution which was
removed from big cities was merely transferred to the rural areas (and
multiplied). This practice has been decreasing of late, due to pressure from the
public and health authorities. In Brazil, a recent law has been created in order to
ban the burning of sugarcane fields, and machines will be used to harvest the
cane instead of people. This not only solves the problem of pollution from burning
fields, but such machines have a higher productivity than people.
Many nations have produced alcohol fuel with no destruction to the environment.
Advancements in fertilizers and natural pesticides have eliminated the need to
burn fields. With condensed agriculture, like hydroponics and greenhouses, less
land is used to grow more crops.
Some question the viabiliy of biofuels like ethanol as total replacements for
gasoline/crude oil. We cannot replace all our food-growing fields with fuel-growing
fuels. Authors like George Monbiot fear the marketplace will convert crops to fuel
for the rich while the poor starve while as well as biofuels causing environmental
problems.
8.6. Social implications
The ethanol program also led to widespread replacement of small farms and
varied agriculture by vast seas of sugarcane monoculture. This led to a decrease
in biodiversity and further shrinkage of the residual native forests (not only from
deforestation but also through fires caused by the burning of adjoining fields).
The replacement of food crops by the more lucrative sugarcane has also led to a
sharp increase in food prices over the last decade.
Since sugarcane only requires hand labor at harvest time, this shift also created a
large population of destitute migrant workers who can only find temporary
employment as cane cutters (at about US$3 to 5 per day) for one or two months
every year. This huge social problem has contributed to political unrest and
violence in rural areas, which are now plagued by recurrent farm invasions,
vandalism, armed confrontations, and assassinations.
8.7. Politics

The Brazilian alcohol program has been often criticized for many motives,
including excessive land use, environmental damage, displacement of food crops,
reliance on misery-wage temporary labor, statism and dependency on
government subsidies, etc..
Until 1996, the Brazilian oil company (Petrobras) was forced to buy ethanol from
the private distilleries and sell it to gas station chains, both as pure (hydrated)
ethanol and gasohol. Nowadays Petrobras only buy ethanol as a anti-knocking
additive. However, for lack of internal demand, Petrobras is virtually forced to sell
its surplus gasoline in the international market at a rather low price, US$
0.13/liter. Since the domestic market price is about US$ 0.50/liter, Petrobras
could increase its revenue by over 1 billion US$ per year if the ethanol program
were cancelled. Petrobras also produces methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a
compound that could replace ethanol in gasohol as an anti-knocking and antipollution additive. However, it is unlikely that this replacement will happen as
although MTBE is cheaper than ethanol, it is also mostly derived from methanol
that is a byproduct of the natural gas industry; therefore, apart from being
carcinogenic, MTBE is also non-renewable (since it is made from crude oil-derived
methane.)
On the other hand, the sugarcane agribusiness sector is politically powerful and
so far it has successfully defended the program from its critics. The positive
effect of the program on Brazil's overstrained foreign trade speaks louder than all
its environmental and social problems.
9. U.S. National security
It is believed by some (including former CIA director James Woolsey and Frank
Gaffney, President Reagan's undersecretary of defense) that oil consumption in
the U.S. contributes in a large way to the funding of terrorism. Oil is the primary
source of revenue for many mid-east countries. Many of these countries are
thought to harbor and/or fund terrorist organizations. The use of alternative fuels
would divert money away from these nations. Ideally, instead of funding
terrorism, this money would then be used to fuel the U.S. economy.
10.

External links
Ethanol Facts, provided by the National Corn Growers Association.
U.S. Department of Energy: Biomass Program.
U.S. Department of Energy: Clean Cities. Includes info on flexible fuel
vehicles.
Zen Alcohol Stoves. Includes info on alcohol fuels for stove use.
Ethanol as Fuel - Documentation that Ethanol consumes more energy to
make than is derived from its burning.
American Coalition for Ethanol: www.ethanol.org. Advocacy group.
Methanol Institute: Article about methanol in race cars.
How To Run Your Car On Alcohol Fuel - A 1982 book, now published online,
with information on converting gasoline cars to use ethanol.
Farm Industry News: Hydrogen Corn Economy. Article about converting
ethanol to hydrogen.
Making Alcohol Fuel - A website that covers the use and production of
ethanol as a fuel.
Cogeneration in Ethanol Plants by P. M. Nastari
CDM Potential in Brazil, by S. Meyers, J. Sathaye et al.

Brazilian Ethanol program (in Portuguese) and its machine translation

UNICA - Brazilian Sugarcane growers assoc. (in Portuguese) and its
machine translation
Renewable Fuel Association
National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition Shows locations of E85 fuel pumps in the
USA
Clean Fuels Development Coalition
Pimentel: Ethanol - Inefficient Fuel
Debunking Pimentel: Ethanol - Efficient Fuel
Ethanol Fuel News and Discussion

API gravity
API Gravity is a specific gravity scale developed by the American Petroleum
Institute (API) for measuring the relative density of various petroleum liquids. API
gravity is gradated in degrees on a hydrometer instrument and was designed so
that most values would fall between 10 and 70 API gravity degrees.
The U.S. National Bureau of Standards established the Baum scale (see degrees
Baum) as the standard for measuring specific gravity of liquids less dense than
water in 1916. Investigation by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences found
major errors in salinity and temperature controls that had caused serious
variations in published values. Hydrometers in the U.S. had been manufactured
and distributed widely with a modulus of 141.5 instead of the Baum scale
modulus of 140. The scale was so firmly established that by 1921 the remedy
implemented by the American Petroleum Institute was to create the API Gravity
scale recognizing the scale that was actually being used.
The arbitrary formula used to obtain this effect is:
API gravity = (141.5/SG at 60 F) - 131.5
Sixty degrees Fahrenheit (15 5/9 C) is used as the normal value for
measurements and further tables give adjustments for temperature.
(See ASTM D1298)
Thus, a heavy oil with a specific gravity of 1.0 (the same specific gravity as pure
water) would have an API gravity of:
(141.5/1.0) - 131.5 = 10.0 degrees API.
Generally speaking higher API gravity degree oil values have a greater
commercial value and lower degree values have lower commercial value. This
general rule only holds up to 45 degrees API gravity as beyond this value the
molecular chains become shorter and less valuable to a refinery.
Crude oil is classified as light, medium or heavy, according to its measured API
gravity.
Light crude oil is defined as having an API gravity higher than 31.1 API
Medium oil is defined as having an API gravity between 22.3 API and 31.1
API
Heavy oil is defined as having an API gravity below 22.3 API.
Oil which will not flow at normal temperatures or without dilution is named
bitumen and the API gravity is generally less than 10 API. Bitumen derived from
the oil sands deposits in the Alberta, Canada area has an API gravity of around 8
API. It is 'upgraded' to an API gravity of 31 API to 33 API and the upgraded oil
is known as synthetic oil.