Hello Dick Thanks for this. There has been news on Brazil's ethanol program on the list before, but re-reading it does no harm at all! If you visit the list website and search the archive for "Brazil" you'll find quite a lot of info. http://www.egroups.com/messages/biofuel
But this is a nice, clear outline, good to know. More details on the methanol program would definitely be interesting. By the way, is there much small-scale ethanol production in Brazil - backyard or on-farm operations like some of the list members are running (or would like to)? Best Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Tokyo http://journeytoforever.org/ >i know not if this info has been on the list before, and if so, pls. >excuse. maybe re-reading it won't do any harm ! > >brazil is today the only serious ethanol player in the world. all >other ethanol users are amateurs by comparison. > >in 1984 brazil decided to go the anhydrous ethanol route. it set up >vehicle mix standards for manufacturers, and made available (until >1997) a subsidy of 140 million dollars to anhydrous ethanol (ae) >manufacturers. in a country with 140 million people this is mere >chickenfeed. > >since then brazil has manufactured close to six million vehicles >that run on straight 100% ae. these include over seven hundred >thousand trucks and farm tractors, and some twelve thousand buses. > >all manufacturers, and that includes ford and gm, have a line-up of >ae powered vehicles. > >to manufacture the necessary ae, brazil has some fifteen million >acres of dedicated sugar cane plantations. > >as if this where not enough, all brazilian gasoline has a minimum of >24% ae (v/v) content, and this will probably be upped to 26% in the >near future. > >as things stand, brazil has the experience and the expertise derived >from running the world's largest alcohol fueled fleet, for over >sixteen years. > >as of this posting, the factory price for a liter of ae in brazil is >$R 0.40, or $R 1.51 a us gallon. this translates to us$ 0.90 a >gallon ! (R=real, the local currency) > >brazilian ae producers are already having to reach agreements with >vehicle manufacturers, as the available ae production will only fuel >25% of the total brazilian vehicle fleet. as fossil fuel prices >escalate, the demand for ae vehicles grows too, and premium prices >for such vehicles will become common. > >brazil also has developed the world's most efficient technology for >transforming wood to methanol, with wood charcoal as a by-product. >considering that a typical eucalyptus plantation in brazil yields >well over thirty metric tons of growth per year, per hectare (27500 >pounds per year per acre), brazil is in a position to launch a >methanol/charcoal program to supplement it's standing ae >undertaking. the wood used in such a program would all be plantation >grown, thus the methanol and charcoal co2 generation would be >neutral or even negative when these components are burnt. > >so now the rabbit is out of the hat. after this, all other ethanol >efforts will look puny by comparison, methinks. > >and by the way, making ethanol from corn is half as efficient as >making it from sugarcane. > >enjoy !, dick. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/0/_/837408/_/977032914/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
