After some digging in the Biofuel archives - [Biofuel] US California Ethanol 29 Sep 2004
ETHANOL As a Transportation Fuel In California http://www.energy.ca.gov/ethanol/index.html As of January 1, 2004, California completed a transition from methyl tertiary butyl-ether (MTBE) to ethanol as a gasoline oxygenate additive. With most gasoline sold in the state presently containing 5.7 percent ethanol, California is now the largest ethanol fuel market in the United States. About one billion gallons of ethanol are expected to be used in the state's gasoline supply in 2004. The Energy Commission continues to study the potential for ethanol fuel production and use as part of California's overall strategy to assure adequate transportation energy supplies and reduce dependence on petroleum. In addition to its use as a gasoline blending component, ethanol can also be used as E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) in flexible fuel vehicles being produced by automakers. Most of California's current ethanol supply comes from the Midwest U.S. corn-based industry, with a small supply contribution from foreign imports. There are only two small producers of ethanol in California today; however, a number of projects for expanded in state ethanol production are under consideration. [more] --- Properties of Alcohol Transportation Fuels - was: [biofuel] Emissions of Neat Ethanol 02 Nov 2003 "Training On Fuel Ethanol" http://www.state.hi.us/dbedt/ert/archive/wksp-ethtech.html PROPERTIES OF ALCOHOL TRANSPORTATION FUELS Alcohol Fuels Reference Work http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw.html For additional references http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw Prepared for: Biofuels Systems Division Office of Alternative Fuels U.S. Department of Energy Prepared by: Fuels and Transportation Division July 1991 PROPERTIES OF ALCOHOL TRANSPORTATION FUELS Alcohol Fuels Reference Work #1 1-1 SECTION 1. Introduction 1,900Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-01.pdf 2-1 SECTION 2. Basic Chemistry of Alcohol Fuels 4,184Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-02.pdf 2-1 Chemical Structure 2-3 Physical Properties of Alcohols 3-1 SECTION 3. The Internal Combustion Engine 4,668Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-03.pdf 3-2 Engine Design 3-8 Operating Parameters 3-17 Key Design Parameters for Alcohol Combustion 4-1 SECTION 4. Volatility of Transportation Fuels 3,469Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-04.pdf 4-2 Reid Vapor Pressure 4-6 Distillation Curves 4-11 Vapor/Liquid Ratio 5-1 SECTION 5. Compatibility of Alcohols with Other Fuels in Blends 3,050Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-05.pdf 5-2 Solubility in Gasoline 5-4 Creation of Mixtures Having Different Properties than Constituent Fuels 5-7 Bonding with Water and Its Implications 5-7 Alcohol/Gasoline Separation 5-10 Methods to Overcome Phase Separation 6-1 SECTION 6. Engine and Vehicle Operation Issues 3,292Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-06.pdf 6-2 Low Ambient Temperature Starting 6-6 High Temperature Performance 6-10 Vehicle Range 7-1 SECTION 7. Cleaning and Corrosion Characteristics of Alcohol 2,976Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-07.pdf 7-2 Solvent Characteristics of Alcohols and Alcohol Blends 7-2 Influence on the Combustion Chamber 7-2 Influence of Alcohols on Various Materials 7-4 Effects of Alcohols on Various Materials 7-5 Influence on Fuel Distribution System 7-6 Vehicle Failures 7-9 Additives Required to Prevent Corrosion 8-1 SECTION 8. New Directions for Reformulating Alcohols Fuels to Overcome Operational Problems 2,450Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-08.pdf 8-2 Cetane Number 8-5 Miscibility with Water and Hydrocarbon Fuels 8-5 Electric Conductivity and Oxygen Content 8-6 Viscosity 8-6 Cold Weather Startability 8-7 Conclusion 9-1 SECTION 9. Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) 3,109Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-09.pdf 9-1 Gasoline-related Properties 9-4 Performance 9-7 Production Process Technology 9-12 Supplies and Commercialization 9-13 Conclusions 10-1 SECTION 10. Health and Safety Issues 2,201Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-10.pdf 10-1 Toxicity 10-4 Leaks and Spills in Water 10-5 Leaks and Spills on Land 10-6 Safety A-1 GLOSSARY 889Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-glo.pdf B-1 BIBLIOGRAPHY 2,605Kb PDF http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/ert/afrw/afrw-bib.pdf Section 1 INTRODUCTION During the mid and late i980s, research on alcohol fuels undertaken in the United States, Japan, and Europe expanded greatly. This research has covered the entire alcohol production, distribution and utilization process, from the selection of high-yield cultivars as feedstocks for the production process to the performance of neat alcohol fuels and blends in production passenger vehicles. Much of the recent research on alcohol fuel utilization has been undertaken by or funded by the R&D departments of private firms, as they seek new fuel and vehicle combinations to meet projected environmental and efficiency requirements for the 1990s. The state-of-the-art has been evolving very rapidly, as public and private sector groups continue research and development efforts that will lead to expanded alcohol fuel production and usage. The results of this research have been published primarily in journals dedicated to the scientific and engineering community, and have not been broadly disseminated to the public policy community. In addition, new information has been developed incrementally, and no compilation of recent findings is currently available. At the same time, a broad spectrum of public sector decisionmakers have become interested in potential applications of alcohol fuels to solve specific problems. These range from city and state officials, seeking to comply with required reductions in vehicle emissions of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides, to federal officials currently engaged in follow-up to the recently published National Energy Strategy and examining options to reduce future importation of crude oil and refined petroleum products. Because of the rapid rate of change in the research knowledge, and the very specific needs of public policy decision-makers, a widening gap has emerged in knowledge of the state-of-the art in alcohol fuels. At the end of 1989, it was therefore determined by the Biofuels Systems Division of the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a series of Alcohol Fuel Reference Works. The publications are targeted specifically at public decision-makers to provide a comprehensive set of current information on all aspects of alcohol fuels, from feedstock growth performance and alcohols chemical characteristics to infrastructure requirements for widespread sale of neat alcohol fuels. The following report is the first in a series of Alcohol Fuel Reference Works. It presents a range of scientific and engineering information on the characteristics of alcohol fuels. Research findings and data from the period 1985-1990 are emphasized, although more generic information on characteristics has also been included from standard chemistry, engineering, and petrochemical reference texts published prior to 1985. This reference work is designed to serve as a desk companion for public policy decisionmakers, and is organized by ten major topical areas. To facilitate usage, each section of the reference work has been designed to stand alone, with only infrequent cross-references to other sections. Key facts and definitions of terms are provided in a quick reference summary at the beginning of each major section. Extensive use of graphics has been made, whenever possible reproducing the full range of information presented in the original research reports. The major foci of this report are the two primary fuel alcohols -- ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and methanol (methyl alcohol). Where particular research reports examined other alcohol fuels (propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, decyl alcohol, etc.) or alcohol-based ethers (particularly methyl tertiary butyl ether or MTBE and ethyl tertiary butyl ether or ETBE), these results have also been included in the analysis. Due to increased interest in ETBE as a means for reformulating gasoline to meet the requirements of the 1990 revisions to the Clean Air Act, a separate section on ETBE has been included. In the case of engine-related research, there has been a great deal more recent published works on methanol and MTBE than has been published on ethanol and ETBE, and this is reflected in the information presented here. Throughout the series of reference works, however, every attempt has been made to present current research findings on both methanol and ethanol. Section 5 pg5-7 COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER FUELS IN BLENDS Bonding with Water and its Implications Low-molecular weight alcohols such as methanol and ethanol are completely soluble in water. Because of their polar structure, the alcohol molecules actively associate with water molecules through hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen bonds are strong enough to prevent the separation of the water/alcohol mixture by distillation. Distillation of a solution of ethanol and water will not yield ethanol more concentrated than 95%. A mixture of 95% ethanol and 5% water boils at a lower temperature (78.15°C) than either pure ethanol (boiling point or bp = 78.3°C) or pure water (bp = 100°C). Such a mixture is called an "azeotrope." Pure ethanol is often obtained by adding benzene to the mixture of 95% ethanol and water and then distilling this solution. Benzene forms a different azeotrope with ethanol. This azeotrope boils at 64.9°C, leaving behind the water (along with traces of ethanol). Eventually, pure ethanol (also called absolute or neat alcohol) is produced by continued distillation after the benzene azeotrope is vaporized. The earlier difficulty of producing water-free (anhydrous or absolute) alcohol explains why older engine tests were usually run with alcohol containing some water. In more recent years, it has become practical to produce alcohol with less than 0.1% water at an acceptable cost, ending the use of the 95% product in fuel applications. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
