If you are interested in buying this blog (or you know someone who might be), you are invited to express your interest by emailing at ethanol[dot]business[at]gmail[dot]com

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1. Look up gas stations in the phone book, or in Google Maps “Local business results” by searching the term “Gas stations”.

2. Make a database of the telephone numbers of potential gasoline stations in your area.

3. Call each one during normal operating hours and ask them if they sell ethanol free gasoline. If they say no, demand they start selling it. Mark their account in your database as “Ethanol mixed gasoline” and call them weekly asking about ethanol free gasoline. Eventually, they will get the point.

4. When you find a gas station that sells ethanol free gasoline, mark their account in your database and start buying their gasoline. Tell your friends about them and try to drive as much business to them as possible to help them stay selling ethanol free gasoline.

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In contrast to other renewable energy resources, biomass, an organic material, can be converted directly into burnable fuels, termed as “biofuels,” to assist in meeting transportation fuel demands. The two most widely used types of biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel.

On the other hand, biodiesel is produced by the combination of alcohol which is usually alcohol with vegetable or animal oil/fats, or recycled cooking grease. In order to lessen harmful vehicle emissions, it can be utilized on its pure form or as an additive (normally 20%) as a renewable substitute fuel for diesel engines.

Biodiesel and ethanol are both clean, grow-your-own fuels which can be produced on-site in local villages or communities from locally available, renewable resources, for the most phase using equipment that a local workshop can make and maintain. This can make biofuels an economical option to fossil fuels and can aid in strengthening local communities both socially and economically. Full article.

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Ethanol producers want the Environmental Protection Agency to raise from 10 percent to 15 percent the amount of ethanol blended with gasoline, saying it would increase demand for their fuel by 6 billion gallons annually. Automakers are leery of the idea, arguing it could damage some vehicles, and the EPA hasn’t said how it will respond.

We’ve all heard the arguments against ethanol derived from corn and other food crops, but ethanol producers claim boosting its viability will hasten the arrival of viable cellulosic ethanol produced from wood chips, switchgrass and other biomass.

“In order to have a second generation of ethanol fuel, you have to have a first generation,” Bob Dinneen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told Wired.com. “I assure you that corn-based ethanol will not serve as a barrier to the success of cellulosic ethanol. But it must also be understood that while the two fuels are dependent on one another, they are also on two different tracks to success.”

The U.S. Department of Energy says cellulosic ethanol provides 54 percent more energy than corn-based ethanol in comparison to the amount of energy required for production. And while conventional corn-based ethanol emits 10 to 20 percent less greenhouse gas than gasoline, the cellulosic stuff emits anywhere from 80 to 100 percent less – in other words, it’s carbon-neutral. It also eliminates the food-for-fuel debate that hobbles ethanol refined from food crops.

Read more.

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The 2009 V8 Supercar series started with the Adelaide 500.

Ian Glasson from CSR Sugar says the fuel cut carbon dioxide emissions from the racetrack in half.

“E85 is 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent petrol blend, and that enthanol all comes from north Queensland, it comes from our facility in Sarina,” he says.

“There’s no real issues on engine performance and the good news (is that) it gives a better smell, there’s fewer fumes, less exhaust smoke, so overall it actually ticks the box on a number of environmental benefits.”

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The study, led by Bruce Jones and Jim Rife in MSU’s automotive engineering technology department, has tested the effects of different blends of ethanol on the raw materials of a vehicle as well as fuel system parts.

Today all gas sold in Minnesota includes 10 percent ethanol. Some gas is 85 percent ethanol ( called E85). It’s the intermediate blends — between 10 percent and 85 percent — that MSU is studying.

It’s using regular vehicles, not the “flex fuel” models specifically designed to run on high ethanol blends. Jones said research into the 20 percent blend has just been completed.

Tests on raw materials — the metals, plastics and rubber- like substances — found no problems with the E20 blend.

Likewise, fuel pumps using regular gasoline, E10 and E20 were run for 5,000 hours and there was no more wear and tear on the higher- ethanol blend.

The research is being done to support a Minnesota proposal to move to a 20 percent blend in all gasoline by 2012.

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Probably no existing organization casting worldwide influence has achieved the level of opprobrium among real people as that of the OPEC cartel. And by “real people” is meant those not affiliated with the oil industry, those not professional speculators pushing for ever higher oil prices, and those who are not oil industry flacks and their peak oil echo chamber. In other words those who pay and whose lives are constricted by the OPEC cartels market manipulation and willful disinformation.

Remember when joining a club, even when one is invited to do so, it is worthwhile, no imperative, to know who your fellow club members are and, what they purport to be. After all, you will begin to be judged in measure by their actions and governance.

Certainly none of us are perfect, and defects in varying degree abound. But when public policy and avowed government tolerance of egrious behavior is so at variance to ones own standards, its best to think twice before jumping aboard.

Consider the following… read on.

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Yet the biofuel, made from grass, wood or other non-edible plant material, is probably five years from commercial production despite U.S. Department of Energy funding and university and private company research.

At the same time, growers are wondering where they may fit in this new market and how they can prepare for it. Pilot cellulosic ethanol facilities are being built in a number of states, including Tennessee, South Dakota, Louisiana, Kentucky and Florida.

Pilot plants are scheduled to begin production this year, starting with readily available crop residues like corn cobs and stover. But there are challenges, including finding an efficient way to convert plant materials to produce cellulosic ethanol and creating government policies that encourage biorefinery investments and growth as well as allow biomass crop production on Conservation Reserve Program land.

One piece of the cellulosic ethanol puzzle that is in place is switchgrass. Varieties bred as dedicated energy crops are now being marketed commercially. Growers in Tennessee and Kentucky are learning to raise switchgrass, deemed by the Department of Energy as a prime crop that can provide good yields with low inputs on marginal land.

“Switchgrass has a lot of things going for it; it’s got a seed that’s easy to plant,” says Ken Vogel, USDA-ARS forage breeder at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “It’s easy for farmers to handle and, for the first generation of energy crops, we’re furthest along on this and we’ve got the most information on it.”

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The latest victim was Wisconsin-based ethanol producer Renew Energy, which filed for bankruptcy in February after a bank refused to renew its operating loan. Archer Daniels Midland Co., the third-largest U.S. ethanol producer, estimates that 21% of U.S. ethanol production capacity has been idled amid the economic recession.

“While we did foresee the overbuilding of some supply a while ago, we did not foresee the depth of this current economic crisis or the decline in gasoline demand,” said ADM CEO Patricia Woertz on a conference call with analysts.

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According to the agreement, Honeywell will offer and market Vaperma’s Siftek polymer membrane technology, which was commercially launched in June 2008 and is applicable to conventional crop-based ethanol, as well as cellulosic ethanol plants.

The Siftek technology can be used in ethanol production to “de-water” ethanol streams to get a higher than 99 percent pure fuel-grade ethanol product. “Second-generation cellulosic processes will benefit the most from steam savings and allow for increased bioelectricity generation and revenue,” said Vaperma Chief Executive Officer and President Claude Letourneau…

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Ethanol groups have asked that it be raised from 10 percent to 15 percent. Earlier, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he liked the idea of an increase, though not necessarily to 15 percent.

Yesterday, regional reporters, including one from the Des Moines Register, met with Obama and the president was asked what his position is on the request and whether he’d be involved in the decision.

Here’s what he had to say, according to a White House transcript:

At some point I usually get involved. If it — somebody explained to me that nothing comes to my desk if it’s easy. (Laughter.) It means that somebody else has solved it. And I suspect that this one will be reconciling a lot of different issues.

As you know, I’ve been a supporter of biofuels. I think it is an important ingredient in our overall energy independence. I’ve also said — and I said during the campaign trail in Iowa, in front of farmers — that it was important for us to transition to the next generation of biofuels, that we’ve got to do a much better job of developing cellulosic ethanol, that corn-based ethanol, over time, is not going to provide us with the energy-efficient solutions that are needed…

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Range will build the facility in Soperton, Ga., by 2010. The plant will ultimately have a production capacity of 100 million gallons of cellulosic biofuels per year.

The plant will produce ethanol and methanol from non-food biomass such as wood.

Range Fuels was recently awarded an $80 million loan guarantee by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build the plant. The loan was the first ever to be dedicated to a cellulosic biofuels program.

Range Fuels is a privately held company based in Broomfield, Colo. It is funded by a number of greentech venture capital firms, including Khosla Ventures.

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Genomatica’s process is designed to work in existing ethanol plants and utilize traditional ethanol feedstocks, such as corn. Only minor retrofitting will need to be done to ethanol plants that utilize Genomatica’s technology. In addition, it would be possible for a plant to alternate the production of MEK and ethanol.

Instead of yeast, Genomatica’s process utilizes a microorganism the company has developed that converts sugars into MEK. That microorganism has been genetically engineered by the company. “Genomatica as a company has really unique technology that allows us to be able to make those changes to organisms so they can produce different types of chemicals,” Schilling said.

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“As estimated, the country would need at least 200 million liters of ethanol for the year,” Mario Marasigan, DOE director for energy utilization and management, said.

He admitted that, unfortunately, the country’s current production capacity is only 39 million liters, thus, the balance between the requirements and what the country can only produce would have to be imported elsewhere.

He said importing some of the ethanol requirements is allowed until 2011, since the proposed ethanol plants have yet to be fully constructed.

“So, come 2011, importing it [ethanol] is no longer possible,” he added.

Marasigan said the country’s ethanol program has recently kicked in, and that promotional campaigns are
being conducted by industry stakeholders.

“We want to prove that E10 is there already, as very few have noticed that E10 [10-percent ethanol blend] is available at the pump,” he added.

Marasigan said the DOE has also conceptualized a year-round promotion of the E10.

He added the DOE has no problem with biodiesel since it’s all over the country already.

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The first delivery of so-called E3 fuel, which is gasoline mixed with 3% sugarcane ethanol, was made at a gas station in Tokyo, Petrobras said. A company spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires in September that the sales were expected to start in March.

The E3 fuel was produced by Brazil Japan Ethanol, a joint venture formed by Petrobras and Japan Alcohol Trading. Brazil Japan Ethanol partnered with Japan’s Environmental Ministry to build a plant to produce the fuel at Sodeguara in central Japan.

The plant has installed capacity to produce up to 3 million liters of E3 fuel per month, which will be sold at independent fuel stations throughout Japan. Gasoline for the fuel will be supplied by the Nansei Sekiyu refinery in Okinawa. Petrobras holds an 87.5% stake in the refinery.

In April 2008, Petrobras completed its purchase of the stake in Nansei Sekiyu KK from ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM). Petrobras is upgrading the refinery to process heavy Brazilian crude for Japan and other Asian markets. The refinery also has large fuel storage facilities, which could be used for fuel trading throughout Asia.

The delivery of the first E3 fuel followed Petrobras’ efforts to expand into ethanol both in Brazil and abroad. Brazil is the world’s second-largest producer of ethanol, which is made from sugarcane, and Petrobras has identified Japan as a key future market for the fuel.

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EIA data for December showed an average of 656,000 b/d of ethanol production, down slightly from November of 2008 but up dramatically from the 489,000 b/d production rate from one year ago.

Ethanol demand, as calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), also grew in 2008. According to RFA data, demand for ethanol averaged 630,000 b/d in 2008 or more than 9.5 billion gallons. By comparison, ethanol demand in 2007 averaged 446,000 b/d.

According to International Trade Commission data, imports of ethanol exceeded 500 million gallons in 2008, and increase of more than 100 million gallons from 2007. In December, ethanol imports totaled 20 million gallons.

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By shredding corn stover instead of chopping, as is commonly done, about 40 percent less energy is needed to gain access to more of the material stored in the plant. Dennis Buckmaster, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, said that by shredding corn stover there is better access to cellulose, which is the main part of plant cell walls necessary to make ethanol.

“You can’t just use a big chunk of cellulosic material. You need small particles,” Buckmaster said. “What we want is access to what’s in there.”

Using a technique employed in food processing and other industries to measure cell damage, Buckmaster put chopped and shredded corn stalks in water and compared the amount of leachates in each solution. A leachate is any plant substance that is dissolved out of a plant or soil when it is placed in water. Read more.

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In addition to Buis, Growth Energy also announced that Jim Nussle, the former Office of Management and Budget director and Iowa Republican congressman, would serve as a special adviser.

Previously, the group said that Gen. Wesley Clark had joined the group as national co-chairman.

In addition to heading the Farmers Union, which lobbies on behalf of small farmers, Buis was a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Before moving to Washington in 1987, Buis was a full-time grain and livestock farmer in Indiana.

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Fallen branches and stripped bark can be used to produce what is known as bio-ethanol fuel.

At this stage the process is still energy intensive, but energy expert Professor Stephen Lincoln from the University of Adelaide says the south-east’s pine could eventually provide sustainable fuel for Holden’s new ethanol-based engines.

Professor Lincoln says scientists are working to make the fuel with less energy.

“At the moment there’s a lot of work going into making this much more efficient,” he said.

“At the moment it’s really quite energy intensive, so it’s really not up to speed yet, but there’s a huge amount of work going into this, so in maybe five or six years we’ll have a much more efficient method of doing it and that could be a use to which it be put, to produce ethanol for fuel in cars.”

Holden is expecting to have its locally built ethanol engine on the market by 2010.

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Goethe University Professor Eckhard Boles, co-founder of the Swiss biofuel company Butalco GmbH, said xylose is an unused waste sugar in the cellulosic ethanol production process during which the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used for ethanol production. But Boles said current bioethanol production technologies can use only parts of the plants, namely the storage sugars such as glucose, sucrose or starch, and that technology competes with food and feed production.

Boles and his team discovered a new enzyme that, in contrast to current cellulosic ethanol technologies, can convert xylose in a single step and isn’t inhibited by other chemical compounds normally present within the yeast cells. The researchers have filed a patent application for their process.

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