Biofuels

1
Biofuels

• Kenneth R. Szulczyk
• February 15, 2005

2
Main Benefit of Biofuel

• Mitigates the use of fossil fuels and the release
  of new GHG into the atmosphere
• Recycles carbon dioxide from the atmosphere 6

3
Recycling Carbon Dioxide
4
Other Benefits

• Increase prices and income for the agricultural
  sector 6
• Contribute to energy security, which reduces the
  reliance on the Middle East for petroleum 6
• Help protect a country from crude oil price
  volatility 8
• Would allow the U.S. to decrease its military
  presence in the Middle East 5
• Reduce harmful emissions like sulfur dioxide
  emissions 6

5
Main Biofuels

• Substitutes for gasoline
• Methanol aka grain alcohol
• Ethanol
• Substitute for diesel
• Biodiesel

6
Why this mix?

• All fuels can be created from the agricultural
  sector
• All fuels are substitutes for fossil fuels used
  in transportation
• Biodiesel uses methanol or ethanol as an input.
• Gasoline and diesel are simultaneously produced
  from crude oil

7
Crude oil production

• Both gasoline and diesel are produced
  simultaneously from fossil fuels.

SourceAmerican Petroleum Institute (www.api.org).
8
Methanol

• Production
• Convert methane gas into methanol
• Sources of methane
• Natural gas (90 methane)
• Anaerobic decomposition
• Landfills
• Animals
• Manure
• Kitchen wastes and soil sludge 10
• Other sources
• Dry wood feed stocks 11

9
Methanol Continued

• Agricultural sector is a significant emitter of
  methane gas
• Methane has a GWP of 21
• 1 kg of methane is equivalent to 21 kg of CO2 in
  trapping heat in the atmosphere (McCarls lecture
  on climatic change)

10
Methanol Vehicle Emissions

• Emission are for a light duty vehicle
• Emissions depend on vehicle and engine
  specifications
• Does not include emissions for growing and
  manufacturing of fuel

11
Economic Price

• Gasoline
• 124,800 BTU per gallon 11
• 1.909 per gallon (Feb. 13, 2005 EIA)
• Methanol
• 64,500 BTU per gallon 11
• 51.7 as efficient
• Price has to be 0.987 1.9090.517
• Can blend gasoline and methanol

12
Producing Methanol

• No cost analysis is provided
• May be expensive to collect methane
• Collect manure and waste
• Could collect emissions from animals if in a
  structure like a barn
• Could have large capital costs.
• Methanex
• Produces methanol from natural gas
• Wholesale price is 0.95 per gallon

13
Methanol

• Note
• Methane does not have to be converted into
  methanol
• Methane can power electric generators 10
• Joetsu City, Japan 10
• 170 kL/day of septic tank sludge 10
• 70 kL/day of night soil 10
• 8 tons/day of kitchen waste 10
• Generates 600-1100 KWH per day 10
• Depends which time of year 10

14
Problems with Methanol

• A car will have to be fitted with a new fuel
  system to run M100
• Most cars can operate up to M15 with no problems
• Cars may need bigger fuel tanks
• Larger fuel tanks with contents will decrease
  MPG.

15
Making Ethanol

• Two methods
• Fermentation of sugars and starches
• USA Corn
• Brazil Sugar cane
• 18.5 to 19.8 gallons per ton for sugar cane for
  regular fermentation 8
• Lignocellulosic biomass 9
• Theoretical
• Uses low grade biomass
• 75 gallons of ethanol per ton of biomass 9
• Bermudagrass, tall Fescue, Switchgrass, etc 9

16
Ethanol Vehicle Emissions

• E10 can cause -0.5 decrease for pre-1986
  vehicles and 5
• increase for post-1986 vehicles 7
• Emission are for a light duty vehicle
• Emissions depend on vehicle and engine
  specifications
• Does not include emissions for growing and
  manufacturing of fuel

17
Economic Price

• Gasoline
• 124,800 BTU per gallon 11
• 1.909 per gallon (Feb. 13, 2005 EIA)
• Ethanol
• 76,500 BTU per gallon 11
• 61.3 as efficient
• Price has to be 1.170 1.9090.613
• Can blend gasoline and ethanol.

18
Production costs Lignocellulosic biomass
19
Production costs continued

• Theoretical-Lignocellulosic biomass
• No facility has been constructed yet
• Does not include
• Cost of biomass
• 666,667 tons of biomass
• 75 gallons per ton 9
• Transportation of biomass to facility
• 39,216 truckloads to deliver biomass
• Truck capacity is 17 dry tons 9

20
Brazil-Ethanol Production

• Brazil produces 3.52 billion gallons of ethanol
  3
• 685 distilleries 8
• Produced from sugar cane
• Labor intensive industry 8
• Sugar cane yields 75 tons per hectare 8
• 70-75 liters of Ethanol is produced per ton 8
• U.S. produces about 1.5 billion gallons 12

21
Brazil continued

• Economics
• Annexed distillery
• A mill produces both sugar and ethanol and can
  easily switch between both products8
• Output mix is determined by sugar world price 8
• Possible Inefficiency
• Brazil has not substituted biodiesel for diesel
  8
• May have to export some gasoline 8

22
Problems with Ethanol

• E10 and E20 have a higher Reid vapor pressure, so
  the fuels evaporate faster than E0 7.
• Ethanol and gasoline blends can cause a 100 to
  200 increase in formaldehyde emissions.
• Emissions up to 700 have been recorded7.
• Ethanol enriched gasoline can separate out in the
  presence of water 7
• Enhances the corrosion of metals 7
• Can degrade various metals, rubbers, and plastics
  in cars, gas station storage tanks, and pumps 7.

23
Problems Continued

• Has lower interfacial tension, so it can permeate
  through smaller pores and cracks 7
• Fuel can leak through the gas lines, seals, etc.
  and into the ground 7
• Can dissolve hazardous components of gasoline
  like benzene, toluene, xylenes, etc 7.
• Can contaminate the water supply 7
• Similar to Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE)

24
Making Biodiesel

• Can be made from any vegetable oil
• Soybean oil
• 75 of the U.S. oil production 1
• 1,939.6 million gallons 1
• Corn oil
• Second most produced oil in the U.S. 1
• 269.6 million gallons 1
• Animal fats from tallow or lard 1
• Yellow grease - cheap source from restaurants 1
• 341.9 million gallons 1

25
Biodiesel Vehicle Emissions
Depends on engine. Some engines can actually
reduce NOX emissions for biodiesel 2
26
Emissions continued

• Emissions depend on engine
• Some engines can have lower NOX emissions for
  biodiesel.
• 2 stroke
• Tend to be worse 2
• 4 stroke
• Tend to have better emissions 2
• B100 causes 28.2 higher NOX emissions for
  Navistar HEUI engine 2

27
Making Biodiesel Continued

• Uses methanol or ethanol as an input
• Also produces glycerol as a byproduct
• Glycerol is used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,
  paints, toothpaste, and other commercial uses 1
• Glycerol is valued at 7.50 per gallon 2

28
Economic Price

• Diesel 2
• 131,295 BTU per gallon 2
• 1.983 per gallon (Feb. 13, 2005 EIA)
• Biodiesel
• 118,166 BTU per gallon 2
• 90 as efficient
• Price has to be 1.785 1.9830.9
• Note
• Studies indicate about 5-6 decrease in MPG 2
• Can blend diesel and biodiesel

29
Biodiesel Production Costs
30
Economically Efficient

• Soymor is a company that is planning to build a
  30 million gallon per year facility
• Price of biodiesel has to be 0.62 per gallon
• Have to be careful
• A large industry can influence the price of
  methanol, ethanol, glycerol and vegetable oils.

31
Problems and Benefits

• Biodiesel may cause engine problems, because it
  may eat and degrade various seals that lead to
  injector and fuel pump failures 2
• Has a higher cloud point around 00 C 2
• Cloud point-when fuel filter clogs
• Much higher for saturated fats 2
• Most engine manufacturers have not extended
  warranties for using biodiesel 2
• Fuel oxidation lower storage life 2
• Oxidation leads to hydroperoxides, which can form
  insoluble gums 2
• Improves engine lubrication, extending engine
  life 2
• Soygold
• Ag Environmental Products LLC

32
Future

• Use bio-engineering to genetically altered crops
  1
• Increase oil yield in plants
• Currently soybeans have 18.5 of its yield in oil
  1
• Grow other crops
• Rapeseed Oil
• Used to make biodiesel in Europe
• Poisonous plant
• Trivial-which popular cooking oil is derived from
  the oils of this genetically altered rapeseed
  plant?

33
References

• Duffield, James, Hosein Shapouri, Michael
  Graboski, Robert McCormick, and Richard Wilson,
  Biodiesel development New markets for
  conventional and genetically modified
  agricultural products, ERS publication, September
  1998.
• Graboski, Michael S. and Robert L. McCormick,
  Combustion of fat and vegetable oil derived fuels
  in diesel engines, Prog. Energy Combustion
  Science, Volume 24, 1998, pp. 125-164.
• Gutierres, Marcelo, Brazil Triples Alcohol
  Exports. Blame It on the US, Brazzil Magazine,
  Thursday, 13 January 2005, http//brazzilmag.com/c
  ontent/view/1130/1/
• International Energy Agency, Automotive Fuels for
  the Future-The Search for Alternatives, OECD,
  2000
• Lugar, Richard G. and R. James Woolsey, The new
  petroleum, Foreign affairs, Volume 78 No 1, 1999,
  88-102.
• McCarl, Bruce A., Dhazn Gillig, Heng-Chi Lee,
  Mahmoud El-Halwagi, Xiaoyun Qin, and Gerald C.
  Cornforth, Chapter 19, Potential for
  Biofuel-based Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation
  Rationale and Potential
• Nevin, Robert K., Ethanol in gasoline
  environmental impacts and sustainability review
  article, Renewable and Sustainable Energy
  Reviews, Article in Press.
• Rask, Kevin, The Social Costs of Ethanol
  Production in Brazil 1978-1987, Economic
  Development and Cultural Change, Volume 43 number
  3, April 1995, pp. 627-649.
• Tembo, Gelson, Francis M. Epplin, and Raymond L.
  Huhnke, Integrative Investment Appraisal of a
  Lignocellulosic Biomass-to-Ethanol Industry,
  Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics,
  Volume 28 number 3, December 2003, pp. 611-633.
• Yoneyama, Y. and K. Takemo, Co-digestion of
  domestic kitchen waste and night soil sludge in a
  full-scale sludge treatment plant, Water Science
  and Technology, Volume 45 Number 10, 2002, pp.
  218-286.
• Zerbe, John I., Liquid fuels from wood-ethanol,
  methanol, diesel. World Resource Review, Volume
  3 number 4, (year published ?) pp. 406-414.
• Rask, Kevin N., Clean air and renewable fuels
  the market for fuel ethanol in the US from 1984
  to 1993, Energy Economics, 1998, 20, 325-345.