Bioeconomy Institute

Biofuels

Is it true that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than you get out of it?

Dr. Robert C. Brown, Director of the Office of Biorenewables Programs, addresses the "energy balance" question for ethanol in his BRT 501 course, "Fundamentals of Biorenewable Resources." His lecture on this topic can be downloaded from the Internet in a variety of video file formats. Click on the link to view the 24 minute presentation.

Real Player (21MB)
* A Real Player file works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.

Windows Media (25MB)
* A Windows Media File works in Internet Explorer and Safari.

What is the difference between biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts?
(EERE Biomass Program - http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/bioma..._faqs.html)

In practice, we tend to use these three different terms for three different end uses - transportation, electric power or heat, and products such as chemicals and materials. "Biofuel" is short for "biomass fuel." We use the term "biofuels" for liquid fuels for transportation, such as ethanol and biodiesel that can be purely from biomass such as B100 or, in part, such as E10 (the number after the letter represents the percentage of biodiesel or ethanol in the fuel). We tend to use "BioPower" for "biomass power" systems that generate electricity or industrial process heat and steam, such as from combined heat and power (CHP) systems. The term "bioproduct" is short for biomass products, and can be used to describe a chemical, material, or other product derived from renewable biomass resources.

What is Biodiesel?
(http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs/)

Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.

What is Bioethanol?
(Abengoa Bioenergy - http://www.abengoabioenergy.com/bioethan...amp;lang=1)

Bioethanol is an alcohol product produced from corn, sorghum, potatoes, wheat, sugar cane, even biomass such as cornstalks and vegetable waste. When combined with gasoline, it increases octane levels while also promoting more complete fuel burning that reduces harmful tailpipe emissions such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.

Is biodiesel approved for use in the US?
(http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs/)

Biodiesel is registered as a fuel and fuel additive with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and meets clean diesel standards established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Neat (100 percent) biodiesel has been designated as an alternative fuel by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Department of Transportation (DOT).

Is Biodiesel the same thing as raw vegetable oil?
(http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs/)

No! Biodiesel is produced from any fat or oil such as soybean oil, through a refinery process called transesterification. This process is a reaction of the oil with an alcohol to remove the glycerin, which is a by-product of biodiesel production. Fuel-grade biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751) in order to insure proper performance. Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Biodiesel that meets ASTM D6751 and is legally registered with the Environmental Protection Agency is a legal motor fuel for sale and distribution. Raw vegetable oil cannot meet biodiesel fuel specifications, it is not registered with the EPA, and it is not a legal motor fuel.

Does biodiesel cost more than other alternative fuels?
(http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs/)

When reviewing the high costs associated with other alternative fuel systems, many fleet managers have determined biodiesel is their least-cost-strategy to comply with state and federal regulations. Use of biodiesel does not require major engine modifications. That means operators keep their fleets, their spare parts inventories, their refueling stations and their skilled mechanics. The only thing that changes is air quality.

I understand that my car's mileage drops when I use ethanol in my tank. Doesn't that prove that ethanol is not as efficient as gasoline?
(http://www.eere.energy.gov/biomass/polic...tions.html)

You are right that the "miles per gallon" you can travel on ethanol is less than the "miles per gallon" for gasoline. But this does not mean that ethanol is less efficient. It simply means that one gallon of ethanol actually contains less energy. A gallon of ethanol contains 76,000 Btus of energy. A gallon of gasoline contains around 110,000 Btus of energy. Your car's engine can use the energy from ethanol just as efficiently as it can use the energy contained in gasoline. Recent experience with new flexible fuel vehicles from Ford show that the energy efficiency of the engines in these cars is actually slightly higher for ethanol than it is for gasoline. And designs for dedicated ethanol vehicles could easily improve this efficiency to the point where the difference in miles per gallon for the two fuels would go away.