I'm not much on buying other people's problem cars. I would like to think I could buy a new car and it would last 15 years as my 1990 Mazda 626 and 1990 LS400. I have spent money on these two. Nothing ever major or they are history. I am not confident that any new car today will last 15 years with low mileage and normal service. Too much cheap electronics and added crappola.
Well, well I found some more of the autos that ***CENSORED*** owns...must be a used car salesman! ... 2005 Passat Diesel, 2006 Chevy Siverado Hybrid and of course the 1990 Mazda 626 and 1990 Lexus LS400...chuckle! I hope they all run on ethanol!
Last I read we have passed up Brazil as the number one producer of ethanol. And it is still less than 1% of our need. My question, at what cost to our environment? You also leave out the fact that Sugar cane produces over twice the ethanol of corn, for energy expended.
Outside of South Florida and South Louisiana there are no other suitable areas for growing sugar cane. Air pollution from burning off the leaves from the sugar cane can be found throughout the area 50 miles from the actual burning fields and when the wind is right the oder of the burning sugar cane can be detected 30 miles from the burning fields. There is little if any available acreage for growing sugar cane in the United States. I lived 25 years in South Florida (Palm Beach County)and am familiar with the sugar cane basic growing and harvest procedure.
By Ed Wallace Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Houston, We Have a Problem
Let me be the first to inform you of the next act in the ethanol tragedy; the story may break tomorrow or three years out, but it's coming.
Recently the Boat Owners Association of the United States issued a warning to owners of older, expensive boats, after numerous members reported ruined engines with "black gunk sludging their intake valves." The culprit is E10 gasoline, the same thing we are now using in the Metroplex; it's melting away parts of their fiberglass fuel tanks -- and the resulting gunk is clogging their fuel filters and fuel lines and ultimately destroying some very expensive motors. That's when it occurred to me: a whole lot of gas stations have fiberglass storage tanks.
Sure enough, the American Coalition for Ethanol's Web site even carries a warning for gas station operators on the use of the E85 blend: "However, fiberglass storage tanks manufactured prior to 1992 MAY NOT be able to handle E85." You see the obvious contradiction; boat owners using fuel containing just 10 percent ethanol are already reporting melted fiberglass storage tanks and ruined engines -- but the American Coalition for Ethanol claims that problems with fiberglass tanks come only from using 85 percent ethanol blends.
That sent me to the Fiberglass Tank & Pipe Institute, which also spells out warnings on using or storing ethanol in older tanks, although their concern seems lukewarm at most; they suggest that with proper tank maintenance there might not be a problem at all. But then, on the FTPI Web page marked "Ethanol and USTs," this bombshell pretty much explodes that optimism: "Ethyl alcohol, because of its affinity for water, is not blended into gasoline until it is loaded into the delivery tank truck."
American Petroleum Institute member companies address the need to control the ethanol blend component in API RP 1626, which states, "In-truck blending is not recommended since complete blending may not occur. Thus, splash-blending ethanol is not recommended since the ethyl/gasoline components tend to stratify and remain stratified after delivery to the refueling facility. Thus, the pump may pick up a high concentration of stratified ethyl alcohol, damage the automobile engine and not be covered under warranty."
Let's see: Owners of older boats have already filled their fiberglass gas tanks with E10 gasoline and watched them go away. One ethanol lobbying group states that an 85 percent ethanol blend could melt fiberglass storage tanks. The Fiberglass Tank & Pipe Institute claims tanks built before 1992 "could" have a problem with ethanol blends, but then spins around and says that the way we are delivering ethanol to local stations does an inadequate job of blending ethanol. Therefore, high concentrations of "stratified" ethanol are stored in fiberglass gas tanks and pumped into your automobile's fuel system. And, because the ethanol doesn't fully blend, parts of the fiberglass storage tanks are holding concentrations of ethanol much higher than 10 percent -- which everyone recognizes means trouble on older tanks.
It's a ticking time bomb, just like MTBE: Sooner or later, because gasoline storage tanks either are older or are not properly maintained, the higher concentrations of stratified, or insufficiently mixed, ethanol could eat through their walls. Next thing you know, subsoil gasoline plumes will invade local neighborhoods -- and the water supply. In case you didn¹t know, benzene is not good for St. Augustine grass -- or children.
I am sure as time goes by we will learn more about ethanol and the limitations to its value as an alternative fuel.
I see seniorjose has just discovered the problem with using sugar cane for ethanol. One of the main reasons Hawaii has quit growing sugar cane is the environmental impact. Burning the cane fields dumps a huge amount of pollution into the atmosphere. And sugar cane is still less invasive to the environment than corn. Maybe the EPA will do a little of their own research and shut this madness down before it reaches the level of use that MTBE. It is not needed it is corporate welfare at it's best. I could see this boondoggle coming two years ago. Some folks are just along for the ride. Until the land is raped of it's value.
One of the main reasons Hawaii has quit growing sugar cane is the environmental impact.
When did Hawaii quit growing sugar? According to their website the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company has a 37,000 acre plantation on Maui that produces 200,000 tons of raw sugar each year.
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The Big Island has quit growing sugar on 100s of thousands of acres over the last 25 years. Kauai is in the process of selling off most of the remaining cane land. the last sale was for 17,000 acres. Maui and Kauai have a remnant of the sugar plantations of the late 1800s. The Hawaiian Islands went from 162,000 acres of sugar cane in 1990 to 47,500 acres in 2002. sugar cane
Energy is the last hope for sugar in Hawaii.
Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. is transforming its 37,000-acre Maui sugar plantation into an energy farm in an attempt to become more profitable.
Change is already apparent. Transmission grids, boilers and cranes have given a new look to the rural landscape of sugar cane fields nestled in Maui's central valley. Their purpose is to collect thousands of tons of bagasse, or cane fiber, and generate electricity.
A full-scale conversion to energy production depends on the economics of adding an ethanol-production plant and doubling the current volume of power production. That would involve windmills, hydroelectric power and cane fiber as base stock for making plastic
In 2005, HC&S produced 211,648 megawatt hours of electricity, primarily for its own use -- saving the equivalent of 500,000 barrels of oil. It also sold 96,249 megawatt hours to Maui Electric Co. to supply 7 percent of its Maui customers. Its 3 percent increase in power sales over 2004 represented $5.1 million more revenue, more than offsetting a $4.3 million decline in sugar and coffee sales.
Honestly, that reads like alarmist Chicken Little silliness.
One of my basic research methods is to see what an appropriate trade association would have to say about something like this. Here's something from the Fiberglass Tank and Pipe Institute:
[T]echnical evaluations and historical experience are evidence that there is no material or technical reason why properly installed pre-1988 piping and tanks in conventional or MTBE service should not perform equally as well when handling 10% ethanol blends.
Bush urged to press for more ethanol stations Mich. lawmakers seek oil firm pledge
June 13, 2006
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON BUREAU Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow signed a letter asking for a commitment from oil firms.
Sixteen members of Michigan's congressional delegation called on President George W. Bush on Monday to pressure oil companies into setting a target for installing more ethanol filling stations by 2010, saying Detroit automakers are doing their part to improve the nation's energy security.
Congress and Bush have hailed ethanol as the fuel of the future in recent weeks, saying it could help alleviate the nation's reliance on foreign oil, cut greenhouse gases, create jobs in rural areas and perform other modern miracles.
Detroit's automakers have revved the bandwagon as well, touting the trucks they build for fuel economy credits that are capable of burning E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
But only about 750 filling stations out of 170,000 in the United States sell E85, according to the most recent data from the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. More than 200 of those are in Minnesota, a hub of ethanol production; Michigan has nine filing stations that either sell E85 or are planning to do so soon.
In a letter to the president, the Michigan lawmakers say the domestic auto industry has already done its part to increase ethanol use by committing to build up to 1 million E85-capable vehicles a year by 2008 and that the onus should now be on oil companies.
"We strongly urge you to ask the major oil companies to commit to installing E85 pumps at a significant percentage of their owned and franchised stations and to seek from them a commitment to a specific target by 2010," the letter said.
White House spokesman Alex Conant said the president is working with Congress to reduce dependence on foreign oil and increase the use of ethanol.
"The president has called on oil companies to invest in renewable sources of energy to strengthen our economy," he said.
Michigan Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow signed the letter as did all of Michigan's House members except one -- Republican Vern Ehlers of Grand Rapids. Jon Brandt, Ehlers' spokesman, said the congressman didn't believe that asking the president to lean on oil companies would solve any of the problems ethanol faces.
Because ethanol holds less energy than gasoline, a vehicle burning E85 gets fewer miles to the gallon. Oil refiners that have switched to using small amounts of ethanol in regular gasoline had driven up the price of ethanol to $3.53 a gallon as of Friday, three times the price from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The American Petroleum Institute has warned that ethanol could not be a viable substitute for regular gasoline until refiners find ways of making it from material other than corn.
Tribune staff, wire reports Published June 13, 2006
Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world's biggest ethanol producer, said it has agreed to market all the corn-based fuel produced by Millennium Ethanol LLC at the plant Millennium is building in Marion, S.D. The plant will be able to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol a year and 320,000 tons of dried distillers grain, a byproduct of the ethanol production process used as livestock feed, Decatur, Ill.-based ADM said Monday. ADM is expanding production and marketing of ethanol to meet increased demand for alternative fuels as gasoline prices soar. The company is building two plants that will expand its ethanol production capacity, currently at 1.1 billion gallons a year, by 550 million gallons.
Ethanol gives U.S. good run for fuel and money Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:00pm ET By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gasoline at nearly $3 a gallon is sending America's ethanol industry into overdrive, with about $2 billion committed to corn processing plants since the start of the year. From corn farmers in the Midwest to fund managers and bankers in New York, almost anyone with money to invest these days is thinking of ethanol, jacking up prices of the corn-and-starch-derived fuel as the world gives up hope that oil and petrol will get any cheaper.
And it's not just the green fuel that's hot: shares of top ethanol producers have created a tidy profit for both long-term investors and speculators.
Illinois' Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) stock is up 65 percent on the year based on Monday's close, while Ohio's The Andersons Inc. (ANDE.O: Quote, Profile, Research), traded over-the-counter, is up 90 percent.
Even smaller ethanol stocks are thriving. California's Pacific Ethanol (PEIX.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which counts software mogul Bill Gates among its investors, has doubled its price since January 3.
Wall Street icons such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are actively looking to broker investment banking deals for ethanol, joined by European rivals such as Germany's Nord/LB and Belgium's Fortis.
"There's a lot of money following ethanol right now," said Ray Crabbs at BRI Energy, a Delaware firm that makes ethanol from both corn and carbon. "I get two to three calls a day from potential investors."
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol) is a clear, colorless liquid with a characteristic, agreeable odor. In dilute aqueous solution, it has a somewhat sweet flavor, but in more concentrated solutions it has a burning taste. Ethanol, CH3CH2OH, is an alcohol, a group of chemical compounds whose molecules contain a hydroxyl group, –OH, bonded to a carbon atom. The word alcohol derives from Arabic al-kuhul, which denotes a fine powder of antimony used as an eye makeup. Alcohol originally referred to any fine powder, but medieval alchemists later applied the term to the refined products of distillation, and this led to the current usage.
Ethanol melts at –114.1°C, boils at 78.5°C, and has a density of 0.789 g/mL at 20°C. Its low freezing point has made it useful as the fluid in thermometers for temperatures below –40°C, the freezing point of mercury, and for other low-temperature purposes, such as for antifreeze in automobile radiators.
Ethanol has been made since ancient times by the fermentation of sugars. All beverage ethanol and more than half of industrial ethanol is still made by this process. Simple sugars are the raw material. Zymase, an enzyme from yeast, changes the simple sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. The fermentation reaction, represented by the simple equation
C6H12O6 2 CH3CH2OH + 2 CO2
is actually very complex, and impure cultures of yeast produce varying amounts of other substances, including glycerine and various organic acids. In the production of beverages, such as whiskey and brandy, the impurities supply the flavor. Starches from potatoes, corn, wheat, and other plants can also be used in the production of ethanol by fermentation. However, the starches must first be broken down into simple sugars. An enzyme released by germinating barley, diastase, converts starches into sugars. Thus, the germination of barley, called malting, is the first step in brewing beer from starchy plants, such as corn and wheat.
The ethanol produced by fermentation ranges in concentration from a few percent up to about 14 percent. Above about 14 percent, ethanol destroys the zymase enzyme and fermentation stops. Ethanol is normally concentrated by distillation of aqueous solutions, but the composition of the vapor from aqueous ethanol is 96 percent ethanol and 4 percent water. Therefore, pure ethanol cannot be obtained by distillation. Commercial ethanol contains 95 percent by volume of ethanol and 5 percent of water. Dehydrating agents can be used to remove the remaining water and produce absolute ethanol.
Much ethanol not intended for drinking is now made synthetically, either from acetaldehyde made from acetylene, or from ethylene made from petroleum. Ethanol can be oxidized to form first acetaldehyde and then acetic acid. It can be dehydrated to form ether. Butadiene, used in making synthetic rubber, may be made from ethanol, as can chloroform and many other organic chemicals. Ethanol is used as an automotive fuel by itself and can be mixed with gasoline to form gasohol. Ethanol is miscible (mixable) in all proportions with water and with most organic solvents. It is useful as a solvent for many substances and in making perfumes, paints, lacquer, and explosives. Alcoholic solutions of nonvolatile substances are called tinctures; if the solute is volatile, the solution is called a spirit.
Most industrial ethanol is denatured to prevent its use as a beverage. Denatured ethanol contains small amounts, 1 or 2 percent each, of several different unpleasant or poisonous substances. The removal of all these substances would involve a series of treatments more expensive than the federal excise tax on alcoholic beverages (currently about $20 per gallon). These denaturants render ethanol unfit for some industrial uses. In such industries undenatured ethanol is used under close federal supervision
16th Annual EPAC Ethanol Conference: Renewable Fuels - Making Progress in America June 11, 12, 13, 2006 at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake
The 16th Annual EPAC Conference will be held June 11-13, 2006, in Whitefish, Montana, near Glacier National Park. The conference is all day Monday and Tuesday morning and as always, will feature nationally known speakers regarding ethanol and biodiesel. Speakers as of this date are from the Lanigan, Saskatchewan Poundmaker Ethanol plant; Novozymes; BNSF Railway; National Biodiesel Board; National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition; the MT Department of Agriculture; MT Department of Environmental Quality; Clean Cities Program; a South America firm that uses gelled ethanol for cooking fuel, and National Park Service. Other speakers are also invited, though not confirmed.
This popular conference will be packed with information on Ethanol, Biodiesel and E-85 fuel.These key renewable fuels are crucial to Americaâs energy security and the topics will be very relevant to todays issues. Learn how these fuels enhance the economy, environment, and energy security. There will be a trade show with exhibits pertinent to the industry. On Tuesday, following adjournment of the EPAC conference, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) will hold a Board meeting and the MT Dept. of Environmental Quality will host a workshop on biodiesel. Both these additional meetings are planned for one and half days.
As Brazil Fills Up on Ethanol, It Weans Off Energy Imports by: David Luhnow & Geraldo Samor, Staff Reporter for The Wall Street Journal
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - After nearly three decades of work, Brazil has succeeded where much of the industrialized world has failed: It has developed a cost-effective alternative to gasoline. Along with new offshore oil discoveries, that's a big reason Brazil expects to become energy independent this year. To see how, take a look at Gildo Ferreira, a 39-year-old real-estate executive, who pulled his VW Fox into a filling station one recent afternoon. Instead of reaching for the gasoline, he spent $29 to fill up his car on ethanol made from sugar cane, an option that's available at 29,000 gas stations from Rio to the Amazon. A comparable tank of gasoline would have cost him $36. "It's cheaper and it's made here in Brazil," Mr. Ferreira says of ethanol. If the price of oil stays at current levels, he can expect to save about $350 a year.
At current prices, Brazil can make ethanol for about $1 a gallon, according to the World Bank. That compares with the international price of gasoline of about $1.50 a gallon. Even though ethanol gets less mileage than gasoline, in Brazil it's still cheaper per mile driven. As a result, ethanol now accounts for as much as 20% of Brazil's transport fuel market. The country's use of gasoline has actually declined since the late 1970s. The use of alternative fuels in the rest of the world is a scant 1%.
Yet countries wanting to follow Brazil's example may be leery about following its methods. Military and civilian leaders laid the groundwork by mandating ethanol use and dictating production levels. They bankrolled technology projects costing billions of dollars, despite criticism they were wasting money. Brazil ended most government support for its sugar industry in the late 1990s, forcing sugar producers to become more efficient and helping lower the cost of ethanol's raw material. That's something Western countries are loath to do, preferring to support domestic farmers.
With government support, sugar companies and auto makers' local units delivered cost-saving breakthroughs. "Flexible fuel" cars running ethanol, gasoline or a mixture of both, have become a hit. Car buyers no longer have to worry about fluctuating prices for either fuel because flex-fuel cars allow them to hedge their bets at the pump. Seven out of every 10 new cars sold in Brazil are flex-fuel.
Brazil is also fortunate that sugar is the cheapest way to make ethanol and Brazil has the right conditions for growing the crop -- plenty of land, rain and cheap labor.
Despite these unique circumstances, Brazil's efforts are being closely followed by countries with big fuel bills. India and China have sent a parade of top officials to see Brazil's program. India, the world's second-biggest sugar producer behind Brazil, mandated in 2003 that nine of its states add a 5% ethanol mixture to gas. The Brazilian unit of Germany's Volkswagen AG, the first car maker to introduce a flex-fuel model in Brazil, has received 38 delegations from more than a dozen countries in the past year alone, VW officials say.
Brazil says its ethanol exports will likely double to $1.3 billion in 2010 from $600 million in 2005, largely to Japan and Sweden. These countries hope using ethanol -- which releases less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels -- will help them meet their obligations under the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions.
The U.S., which currently imports 60% of its oil, is watching Brazil's progress, too. Three members of the Senate Energy Committee recently visited, and Sen. Hillary Clinton has cited Brazil as a role model in cutting dependence on imported oil. When President Bush made a recent stop-over in Brasilia, Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosted a barbecue and described to Mr. Bush how the country has reduced its oil import bill, according to Brazilian officials at the meeting.
Oil refiners that have switched to using small amounts of ethanol in regular gasoline had driven up the price of ethanol to $3.53 a gallon as of Friday, three times the price from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Will Congress have to raise the subsidies even more to keep people buying this stuff? Price posted on another Ethanol website:
E85 Price: 3.49 Station Name: Sandy Chevron Station City: Sandy, UT Unleaded Price: 2.89 Date: Sunday, June 11, 2006
That means someone driving 100 miles in a FFV will pay about $12.76 more for E85, than if they use regular unleaded. Sounds like a smart person would do that to stick it to Canada and Mexico our number one and two oil import partners.
The very mandate that all those in the Midwest wanted may be the death of their Yellow Goose. That price of $3.53 is after we subsidized it. How much would it cost without subsidies to grow the corn and process the ethanol? Probably over $5 per gallon.
Good article, it reiterates what I have been trying to say.
Along with new offshore oil discoveries, that's a big reason Brazil expects to become energy independent this year
Oil is still 80% of Brazil's energy consumption.
At current prices, Brazil can make ethanol for about $1 a gallon, according to the World Bank. That compares with the international price of gasoline of about $1.50 a gallon.
It costs us $3.53 to make a gallon of ethanol. What is wrong with that picture? Maybe we can go learn how to do it right instead of using Corn.
Did you notice there was no mention of subsidies to make this work for Brazil. If ethanol is ever going to stand on its own merit it will have to do it without being subsidized.
I don't think the picture is clear yet but it is apparent that gas companies and independents are not migrating towards providing E85 in California. I'm glad the legislature is moving towards applying pressure to offer alternate solutions (in addition to E85). I'm fortunate, the only public E85 station in California is less than 4 miles from my house. I'm already decided to defer purchasing the vehicle I want until the "07" models arrive with E85 support. I plan on doing this because the foreign and domestic oil companies are reaping vast profits but even worse..they are making America weak. There are many options and you have to follow the one that makes the most sense to you. I'm hoping that the technical difficulties with cellulose ethanol are resolved. That would address several issues.
ADM is one of the biggest reasons that we have fewer and fewer farmers with each passing year. If we're going to use ethanol, let's at least make sure our family farmers benefit. Few are, however. Take a few minutes to read this:
I live in Dallas/Fort Worth and have both read Ed's Column and listened to his radio show. He has always seemed very credible to me and his politics are hardly radical at all.
I would be greatly in favor of Ethanol research, but I am also seriously concerned that this is driven more by 2008 politics and the Iowa caucuses than anything else...
It depends on your definition of "trade group." You could say the National Corn Growers Association is a "trade group," and its agenda has contributed to our pathetic farm policy and our obsession with corn ethanol, high-fructose corn syrup and feedlot cattle -- none healthy habits, for sure.
Even the FTPI plants a disclaimer at the end of its ethanol essay: "Note: Sullivan D. Curran, Executive Director of the Fiberglass Tank and Pipe Institute, wrote this paper. The paper discusses the compatibility of gasoline-alcohol blends with FRP storage tanks and piping systems ONLY manufactured by members of the Institute. This paper does not address other FRP manufacturers of FRP products manufactured by others."
Everything is political. Naturally, "trade groups" are going to watch out for their products. Nobody's crying "Chicken Little," but often it makes sense to err on the side of precaution. I assume our groundwater is being monitored in the vicinity of all ethanol processing plants. We wouldn't want a "dirty bomb" dropped on us. We have too many budding groundwater problems the way it is now.
My point was that I doubt that the companies that make fiberglass tanks are going to have much of a vested interest in supporting one fuel or another -- their goal is to sell their products to whoever will buy them.
If fiberglass tanks were prone to being destroyed by ethanol, they would have a vested interest in making sure that they don't take the blame or legal hit for any problems related to E10, and would probably get together with others to lobby to have it banned.
Looks as if this trade association has studied this and doesn't see a problem, and there's no reason for the membership to put themselves on the line if this isn't the case. (Guess who will get sued if we end up with groundwater contamination from corroded tanks?)
Your column, in contrast, provides a couple of vague unsupported anecdotes, no footnotes and no studies. Why should I believe it when I have a more credible source that tells me something quite different?
I'm not sure where they dug that guy up. He is talking 90 cent a gallon ethanol from corn. That is just craziness. Even the big time supporters of ethanol are posting costs in the area of $3,50 per gallon. He keeps referring to Brazil. The largest producer of sugar cane in the world. Maybe we should tear down all the high rise hotels in Southern Florida and plant sugar cane.
Thats production costs for 90 cents/gal. It would be impossible to consider 3.50/gal. Even now, at the worst E85 did not exceed 3.21 gal retail with very little infrastructure built so costs are higher. Sugar cane is not the best but it is for Brazil because it's a natural resource. Corn isn't that great but bio from sawgrass or other is far superior. It's a long presentation (you can dll the ppt). BTW..the guy is a sharp cookie even if his presentation skills aren't the best. Crack the numbers and draw your own conclusions.
If corn is over 2 dollars per bushel. And you can only get 2.5 gallons max per bushel. How can you produce ethanol at 90 cents a gallon. And if ethanol only costs 90 per gallon to produce, and the wholesale price last Friday was $3.53 per gallon, who got the other $2.63.
driven up the price of ethanol to $3.53 a gallon as of Friday, three times the price from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
I agree that biomass such as Switchgrass may be a viable source of ethanol. You gotta get the sugar out to make the alcohol. That is not easy. Only one company has built a test facility to do that. Iogen of Canada is the company to watch. You cannot compare Brazil to the USA in any way shape of form. They have enough oil to be independent and the ethanol is a small part of their energy plan that gets all the attention. If we had millions of acres of sugar cane it would be different.
Why not try to get biofuel from Kudzu. It covers 7 million acres of the South. Another government project gone awry.
Diane Finestein, your CA's US Senator has absolutely refused to cooperate on any renewable source fuel. Of course Ms Finestein is entitled to her opinion and she is only doing what her supporters tell her to. I would have hoped she would be a bit more in listening mode so that she could determine fact from fiction and separate the rational positions of both sides of the argument; the message of our president, the US government, our corporations, actual tests, resultant studies and scientists evaluations. However the opposition to renewable fuels, which Ms. Finestein represents, just clutters and smoke screens their arguments by some of their supporters very vociferous, irrational and shrill mouthing of myths, falsehoods, and outright lies.
The opposition to renewable energy has many good points that have to be heard, but are being are lost in the clutter of those who have no vested interest in the United States and only want to grind their own axe for their own benefit and whose fixation seems to be the complete destruction of our auto industry. The people who do not believe in renewable energy resources do have a coherent message that has to be heard, but it is getting lost in the static in the inane whimpering and scurrilous baloney promulgated by many of those who just screech to screech.
Don't forget, Ethanol has been in use in autos almost the turn of the 20th Century (since the Ford Model T) and in human consumption since probably the Pharaohs. Corn is just the shortest way to get us started on ethanol NOW as it is readily available and readily converted to fuel from our world's breadbasket.
However, now that oil is as expensive and short of supply in the 21st Century USA, we are rolling out (for better or worse) a national plan to use Ethanol, Biodiesel, wind farms, more coal startup efforts, and more nuclear power to generate electricity
We are starting to execute NOW a plan to lessen the impact of the oil cartel dictators on our economy. The price of oil has increased by double in the last 3 years as its demand rises, the global need for oil in the developing countries will only increase the demand for foreign oil even more.
Oil reserves for the USA in California waters, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico and the new refineries that oil will need will soon be just more than plans, but actuality. In addition, the fast increase in conversion to renewable fuels will allow us to move forward into the 21st Century.
The world has changed and we now are in a global economy with many countries matching the USA in human and natural resources and bidding for the energy needs that they have to have for their own people.
TV Auto Commercial: Ford is offering free gas, including E85,to new Ford owners until 2007. I was surprised at the announcement of E85 included in their commercial! And the beat goes on...and on...and on!
Given the choice between free regular gas and free E85 I bet most would take the free regular gas. Using the regular gas means less trips to the gas station.
And the beat goes on
Yeah but they're beating a broken drum.
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Shares of VeraSun, No. 2 U.S. Ethanol Maker, Surge After IPO June 14 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of VeraSun Energy Corp., the second-largest U.S. ethanol producer, jumped as much as 30 percent on the first day after an initial public offering that raised $419.8 million for the company and its shareholders. The company and stockholders sold 18.25 million shares at $23 each, Brookings, South Dakota-based VeraSun said in a statement. That exceeded the $21 to $22 range the company forecast in a June 9 regulatory filing.
``Ethanol supplies are pretty tight and demand is still rising,'' said Kevin Buente, who helps oversee a $2 billion portfolio of loans to ethanol makers and farmers at Normal, Illinois-based 1st Farm Credit Services. ``Anyone who can make ethanol will have no trouble finding buyers for it.'' VeraSun and Pacific Ethanol Inc., whose shares have doubled this year, are benefiting as hedge funds and other investors bet on rising interest in alternative fuels. Ethanol is being backed by President George W. Bush and by General Motors Corp. to help wean the U.S. off imported crude oil, and increased use was mandated by last year's energy bill.
Decatur, Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland Co. is the largest U.S. producer of ethanol, which is made from corn in the U.S. and from sugar cane in Brazil.
Energy Bill The switch to ethanol from MTBE as a gasoline additive in the U.S. resulted from rule changes in last year's energy bill. MTBE that leaked from underground storage tanks fouled drinking water and spawned lawsuits. The energy bill also requires increasing amounts of ethanol in fuel every year through 2012.
VeraSun's plants in Aurora, South Dakota, and Fort Dodge, Iowa, can produce 230 million gallons of ethanol a year. The company is building another in Charles City, Iowa, that's expected to have production capacity of 110 million gallons and begin operations in the summer of 2007.
Shares of VeraSun rose 28 percent to $29.50 at 10:05 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They touched a high of $30. Pacific Ethanol shares rose $1.95, or 10 percent, to $22.09, after having dropped as much as 50 percent from their peak in May through yesterday.
There are 101 U.S. ethanol plants today, with capacity to produce almost 4.8 billion gallons annually, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a lobbying group in Washington. An additional 32 distilleries and six expansions are under construction with combined capacity of more than 1.97 billion gallons, the Washington-based association said on its Web site.
To contact the reporters on this story: Bruce Blythe in Chicago at bblythe@bloomberg.net; Elizabeth Hester in New York at ehester@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: June 14, 2006 10:09 EDT
Henry Ford’s vision was for everyone to be able to grow their own fuel. That's why his Model “A” was designed to run on either alcohol or gasoline... because Gasoline wasn't readily available.
A photo, taken in April 1933, shows a Lincoln Nebraska gas station of the Earl Coryell Co. selling "Corn Alcohol Gasoline." The test marketing of ethanol blends was common in the Midwest at this time, but it did not succeed due to the market dominance of the major oil companies.
Many countries around the world have millions of vehicle running on alcohol today. The idea of using alcohol for fuel is not new but becoming more attractive to the public as our dependence on gasoline becomes increasingly more expensive.
Most gasoline cars can be converted to alternative fuels with no need for a new or replacement engine. Other benefits include total elimination of smoke. It also contributes to a quieter and smoother running engine. Besides the environmental benefits, Flexfuel combines high performance with economy, making it the best current alternative to gasoline fuels.
Best of all ... Grain alcohol (ethanol) is a renewable fuel, and it is pretty much pollution free, since the by-products of combustion are only water and CO2. Furthermore, it is economical to make (around 75 cents to #1.25 per gallon), and your car will run cooler, faster, and better on ethanol. It is a home grown fuel and we don't have to import it from the Middle East.
(my contribution to public health) Ethanol INTRODUCTION The hazards of heavy ethanol (alcohol) intake have been known for centuries. Heavy drinking increases the risk of liver cirrhosis, hypertension, cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract, injury, and violence (USDA, HHS, 2000). A recent analysis found that alcohol use is the third leading actual cause of mortality in the United States, after tobacco use and poor diet and/or inactivity (Mokdad et al., 2004). The health consequences of consuming lesser amounts of alcohol are less often a focus of research or government recommendations.
In 1999–2001, 6 in 10 U.S. adults were current drinkers, 95 percent consuming light-to-moderate amounts (i.e., less than 7 drinks per week for women and less than 14 drinks per week for men) (Schoenborn et al., 2004) and 5 percent consuming more. Approximately 35 percent of adult Americans do not drink alcohol, with one in four being a lifelong abstainer (NIAAA, 1997). From a historical perspective, multiple sources suggest that fewer Americans consume alcohol today as compared to 50 to 100 years ago
Among persons who consume four or fewer alcoholic beverages per day (with a subsearch for persons age 65 and older), what is the dose-response relationship between alcohol intake and (1) total mortality and (2) several major causes of death (i.e., cardiovascular disease, cancer, and trauma)?
In middle-aged and older adults, a daily intake of one to two alcoholic beverages is associated with the lowest all-cause mortality.
Compared with nondrinkers, adults who consume one to two alcoholic beverages per day appear to have lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Compared with nondrinkers, women who consume one alcoholic beverage per day appear to have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.
Relationships of alcohol consumption with major causes of death do not differ for middle-aged and elderly Americans. Among younger people, however, alcohol consumption appears to provide little, if any, health benefit; alcohol use among young adults is associated with a higher risk of traumatic injury and death.
What is cellulosic ethanol? Though the majority of ethanol produced in the U.S. is made from corn, new technology has been developed to make ethanol from a wider variety of "cellulosic" sources. These cellulosic sources for ethanol include corn stover (the stalks and residue left over after harvest), grain straw, switchgrass, quick-growing tree varieties (such as poplar or willow), or even municipal waste. This technology does exist today, and work continues to bring this technology to commercial scale. Having a wide variety of feedstocks for ethanol production is beneficial because it allows the U.S. to make even more ethanol, further enhancing our energy security, national economy, and environment.
Given the choice between free regular gas and free E85 I bet most would take the free regular gas. Using the regular gas means less trips to the gas station.
Diesel cars get superior fuel economy to comparable gas-engine cars, but that doesn't seem to help the popularity of diesel among American buyers.
I do believe that too much is being made of the mileage disparity. If cars ran on ethanol and it had a price advantage over gas, I'd bet that people would use it.
It's a fair question to ask whether the price advantage will ever be acheivable, and whether some biomass is more cost-effective than others. But just so long as the mileage is "good enough", I can't see how the mileage loss from E85 would, by itself, deter many people from using it.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. will continue to expand its ethanol business, Chief Executive Patricia Woertz said Tuesday, as the company works to transform itself into a food and energy giant.
Woertz repeatedly sprinkled the word "ethanol" in a presentation to industry analysts that marked her public debut after taking ADM's top job in April.
Woertz spent most of her career at Chevron Corp., and analysts believe she was brought in to help ADM expand its renewable-fuel business.
Ethanol is a gasoline additive and substitute made from corn. Illinois farmers benefit from ethanol as it creates a new market for their crops.
Demand has pushed the price up sharply this year, as refiners increasingly are adding it to gasoline to reduce auto emissions. In Chicago last week, wholesale ethanol was selling for $3.59 a gallon, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
Woertz on Tuesday said ADM is going to put money into ethanol, the chemical name for ordinary alcohol. And it will need to. Ethanol cannot travel by pipeline because it is corrosive. It requires an expensive infrastructure of rail cars and trucks to transport it to market.
"Our investments will be robust," Woertz said of ethanol. "It is an important opportunity."
Democrats and Repuplian positions:"Both parties are more aligned on this than almost any other" issue, Woertz said.
Greggory Warren, equity analyst with Morningstar Inc., said he expects ADM to spend $650 million this year on capital expenditures.
"The majority of their spending these days is going for alternative fuels," Warren said.
Decatur, Ill.-based ADM is the nation's largest maker of ethanol. It is better known for its food business, extracting more than two dozen products from corn, for example.
"They have been doing well in their other business lines," Warren said.
The company earned more than $1 billion last year, compared with $495 million a year earlier.
Govenment faces MP ethanol revolt By Shane Wright and Robin Pash 14jun06
THE Federal Government was facing a backbench revolt led by Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce over the fuel additive ethanol.
Despite opposition from Treasurer Peter Costello and Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran, Senator Joyce said he would seek to win support from his Queensland party colleagues to mandate the use of ethanol in Australian petrol supplies. It follows growing concern amongst Nationals that plans to persuade oil companies to use the additive, which is derived from sugar cane and grain, was failing.
The Government has a 350 million tonne target for biofuels by 2010. That would amount to just 0.7 per cent of all fuel used in Australia.
However, fuel companies have dragged their feet on the issue, although to what extent will not be known until a new report on ethanol usage is compiled in coming weeks.
Senator Joyce today said it was time to get serious about the use of ethanol, and that might require a private member's bill mandating its inclusion in fuel supplies.
"We've been trying to herd this elephant with a feather, get the oil companies to take on bio-renewable fuels," Senator Joyce said.
"They've just been playing silly fellas with us and promising us and always going to say it's going to happen.
"I believe that we should move to a private member's bill but I have to take it to my Queensland state conference and say `this is what I intend to do, I need your support'.
Senator Joyce said it appeared oil companies were just playing the Government along.
Diesel cars get superior fuel economy to comparable gas-engine cars, but that doesn't seem to help the popularity of diesel among American buyers.
Please don't compare apples to oranges. Diesels don't have the popularity due to two reasons. 1.) due to bad experiences in the 70's with loud, noisy, dirty engines. And 2.) Government regulations regarding emissions and diesel fuel.
Also remember that in most cases diesel fuel cost more than regular gas reducing the cost efficentcy that the higher mileage affords.
I do believe that too much is being made of the mileage disparity. If cars ran on ethanol and it had a price advantage over gas, I'd bet that people would use it.
It all comes down to cost per mile, if ethanol had a lower cost per mile to use then people would be more inclined to use it. But as it stands now every car using E85 is spending more to go the same distance than by using regular gas. In other words few would buy E85 if it cost 15% less than gas and they get 20% less mileage.
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Henry Ford’s vision was for everyone to be able to grow their own fuel. That's why his Model “A” was designed to run on either alcohol or gasoline... because Gasoline wasn't readily available.
Yes but back then there weren't that many cars out there so producing enough ethanol for the relatively few cars was not a problem. Times have changed and what true for the 20's isn't true for today.
Most gasoline cars can be converted to alternative fuels with no need for a new or replacement engine.
First off that would void any warrantee, secondly it is not recomeneded as proper conversion would not be cost effective.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
But just so long as the mileage is "good enough", I can't see how the mileage loss from E85 would, by itself, deter many people from using it.
Really. Even if the price per mile driven came out the same I'd rather fill-up every 8 days as opposed to every 6 days. I'm just speaking for myself and maybe the average motorist does not share my aversion for going to the gas station. Let me put it to you this way. Lets say that when you were buying your car you had the option of a 16 or 12 gallon gas tank. If the price was the same which would you choose and why?
Yes but back then there weren't that many cars out there so producing enough ethanol for the relatively few cars was not a problem. Times have changed and what true for the 20's isn't true for today.
There was actually a fair bit of ethanol production in the US until the end of WWII. The problem was that oil became so cheap and plentiful that ethanol didn't offer any cost advantages, and production of it basically died off. (Some producers found it more lucrative to make alcohol for people to drink, rather than use to operate their cars.)
Ethanol might become cost-effective for the consumer if:
-The price of oil increases enough -Taxes on fuels are adjusted to make ethanol more advantageous -The cost of producing ethanol goes down (whether through scale economies, more efficient biomass, improved processes, etc.) -It is subsidized enough to lower the pump price sufficiently to drive demand.
That being said, you would still need the fuel to be produced in sufficient quantities to make a difference, and cars that can operate on it.
We'll see if these issues get addressed. If conditions remain exactly as they are today, my guess is that it won't.
Let me put it to you this way. Lets say that when you were buying your car you had the option of a 16 or 12 gallon gas tank. If the price was the same which would you choose and why?
For one, my example does not presume that the price is the same. If E85 and gas ends up selling for the same price, even if everyone owned FFV vehicles, I'd say that E85 is dead in the water, as consumers won't want to drive shorter distances for the same cost.
Nonetheless, I have doubts that the average consumer is going to get hung up on the occasional additional trip to the gas station, just so long as the price is right and the mileage is "good enough". If ethanol made it necessary to refuel every 50-100 miles, I could see the issue, but ethanol certainly provides enough distance to make it worthwhile if priced correctly. (And automakers could expand the size of their fuel tanks in many instances to mitigate much of the difference.)
Interestingly, I don't see the electric car proponents being so concerned about the more severe refueling problem of the battery-operated cars. Now, that problem is certainly bad enough for the electrics to prevent their widespread adoption anytime soon. A car that can only go short distances before recharging AND can't be recharged on the fly has absolutely no hope in the marketplace.
Really. Even if the price per mile driven came out the same I'd rather fill-up every 8 days as opposed to every 6 days.
Bingo, thats why I said with Ford offering free gas or free E85 few would take the E85. Me I fill up once a week, If I used E85 it would be once every 5 days.
Let me put it to you this way. Lets say that when you were buying your car you had the option of a 16 or 12 gallon gas tank. If the price was the same which would you choose and why?
All things being equal the 16 gallon.
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There was actually a fair bit of ethanol production in the US until the end of WWII.
Most cars in the 30's (maybe all cars) ran on gas. Plus again there were a fraction of the number of cars on the road in 1945 then there are now. Again times have changed and what was true for 1945 isn't true for today.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
A car that can only go short distances before recharging AND can't be recharged on the fly has absolutely no hope in the marketplace.
Not true, as long as the electric car can cover the daily use of the driver (say a commuter car in a two car family) it has hope in the marketplace. Even if it has to be recharged every day or every other day, it is no fuss to park it in the garage and plug it in. It takes an additional 10-15 seconds to do this. How much time is spent fueling up just one time?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I really think that you are all overblowing how the consumer would perceive a few extra fill-ups.
Let's take a hypothetical: You have the current Honda Accord 4-banger, which gets an average 28 mpg and has a 17.1 gallon fuel tank.
Assuming that you like to drive until you have 50 miles left worth of fuel, you'll be refueling every 429 miles. If you drive 15,000 miles per year within those parameters, you'll be buying gas about every ten days.
Now let's suppose that you take the same car, run it on E85 with 30% loss of fuel economy and drive until you have 50 miles worth of fuel in the tank. In addressing this fuel and its reduced economy, the automaker slightly expands the size of the fuel tank by a couple of gallons, in order to somewhat offset this change.
Result: Same person is stopping for fuel every eight days, instead of every ten days. While an anti-ethanol activist may take great affront to this, the average consumer isn't going to likely think twice about it, particularly if the fuel becomes more cost effective.
Again, fewer refueling intervals certainly don't drive diesel sales. Yes, I know that diesel has other disadvantages as well, but that doesn't negate the point that this is not likely a high priority to consumers. Ethanol may have its adoption issues, but a few more trips to the gas station is probably not going to be one of them.
Not true, as long as the electric car can cover the daily use of the driver (say a commuter car in a two car family) it has hope in the marketplace. Even if it has to be recharged every day or every other day, it is no fuss to park it in the garage and plug it in. It takes an additional 10-15 seconds to do this. How much time is spent fueling up just one time?
Clearly, the consumer doesn't agree with you, or else they'd be clamoring for these cars.
The problem is the degree of risk and uncertainty. Need to run a few extra errands, or get yourself stuck in a slow slog traffic jam, and suddenly you can't get to where you're going without finding an outlet and losing the use of your car for several hours.
That's a horrendous value proposition, there's no surprise that people aren't terribly interested in plunking down money on cars with those sorts of limitations. The great thing for consumers about hybrids is that they get the whiz-bang technology, but don't have to worry about finding an electrical outlet just to get home.
The highlights are that his company is developing a battery that can power a 5 person sedan for 300 miles on a single charge and completely recharge in 6 minutes. This battery is supposed to have a lifespan of 15+ years. Sounds a lot more promising than growing 100's of millions of acres of corn. The whole idea of distilling corn for ethanol seems like a leap back in time from a technological point of view. EVs are the future and maybe the not too distant future.
I really think that you are all overblowing how the consumer would perceive a few extra fill-ups.
I really don't think so, durning my normal driving around I fill up saturday morning and are nearing my reserve the following saturday morning, That means I fill up once every 7 days or 52 times year. Of course that doesn't include driving outside the norm, like taking vacations or visiting friends outside of town, but thats the exception.
If my car uses E85 and had the typical loss of mileage I would be stopping for gas every 5 days or 73 times a year (21 more times than when using regular gas).
In addressing this fuel and its reduced economy, the automaker slightly expands the size of the fuel tank by a couple of gallons, in order to somewhat offset this change.
OK so the automaker slightly expands the size of the fuel tank, that means I can go even further using regular fuel, right? Either way you are stopping for fuel more times than with E85.
Yes, I know that diesel has other disadvantages as well,
Then you know that it is a poor comparison.
Ethanol may have its adoption issues, but a few more trips to the gas station is probably not going to be one of them.
True but add it to the fact that it is a hard fuel to find, that it cost more to use per mile and the fact that we most likely will never make enough for major widespread use (we have a shortage just to make the mandated E10) and it just doesn't work out.
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Comments
Well, well I found some more of the autos that ***CENSORED*** owns...must be a used car salesman! ... 2005 Passat Diesel, 2006 Chevy Siverado Hybrid and of course the 1990 Mazda 626 and 1990 Lexus LS400...chuckle!
I hope they all run on ethanol!
They won't if given a choice.
Outside of South Florida and South Louisiana there are no other suitable areas for growing sugar cane. Air pollution from burning off the leaves from the sugar cane can be found throughout the area 50 miles from the actual burning fields and when the wind is right the oder of the burning sugar cane can be detected 30 miles from the burning fields. There is little if any available acreage for growing sugar cane in the United States. I lived 25 years in South Florida (Palm Beach County)and am familiar with the sugar cane basic growing and harvest procedure.
Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Houston, We Have a Problem
Let me be the first to inform you of the next act in the ethanol tragedy; the story may break tomorrow or three years out, but it's coming.
Recently the Boat Owners Association of the United States issued a warning to owners of older, expensive boats, after numerous members reported ruined engines with "black gunk sludging their intake valves." The culprit is E10
gasoline, the same thing we are now using in the Metroplex; it's melting away parts of their fiberglass fuel tanks -- and the resulting gunk is clogging their fuel filters and fuel lines and ultimately destroying some
very expensive motors. That's when it occurred to me: a whole lot of gas stations have fiberglass storage tanks.
Sure enough, the American Coalition for Ethanol's Web site even carries a warning for gas station operators on the use of the E85 blend: "However, fiberglass storage tanks manufactured prior to 1992 MAY NOT be able to handle E85." You see the obvious contradiction; boat owners using fuel
containing just 10 percent ethanol are already reporting melted fiberglass storage tanks and ruined engines -- but the American Coalition for Ethanol claims that problems with fiberglass tanks come only from using 85 percent
ethanol blends.
That sent me to the Fiberglass Tank & Pipe Institute, which also spells out warnings on using or storing ethanol in older tanks, although their concern seems lukewarm at most; they suggest that with proper tank maintenance there
might not be a problem at all. But then, on the FTPI Web page marked "Ethanol and USTs," this bombshell pretty much explodes that optimism: "Ethyl alcohol, because of its affinity for water, is not blended into gasoline until it is loaded into the delivery tank truck."
American Petroleum Institute member companies address the need to control the ethanol blend component in API RP 1626, which states, "In-truck blending is not recommended since complete blending may not occur. Thus, splash-blending ethanol is not recommended since the ethyl/gasoline
components tend to stratify and remain stratified after delivery to the refueling facility. Thus, the pump may pick up a high concentration of stratified ethyl alcohol, damage the automobile engine and not be covered under warranty."
Let's see: Owners of older boats have already filled their fiberglass gas tanks with E10 gasoline and watched them go away. One ethanol lobbying group states that an 85 percent ethanol blend could melt fiberglass storage tanks. The Fiberglass Tank & Pipe Institute claims tanks built before 1992 "could" have a problem with ethanol blends, but then spins around and says that the way we are delivering ethanol to local stations does an inadequate job of blending ethanol. Therefore, high concentrations of "stratified" ethanol are stored in fiberglass gas tanks and pumped into your automobile's fuel system. And, because the ethanol doesn't fully blend, parts of the fiberglass storage tanks are holding concentrations of ethanol much higher than 10 percent -- which everyone recognizes means trouble on older tanks.
It's a ticking time bomb, just like MTBE: Sooner or later, because gasoline storage tanks either are older or are not properly maintained, the higher concentrations of stratified, or insufficiently mixed, ethanol could eat
through their walls. Next thing you know, subsoil gasoline plumes will invade local neighborhoods -- and the water supply. In case you didn¹t know, benzene is not good for St. Augustine grass -- or children.
I see seniorjose has just discovered the problem with using sugar cane for ethanol. One of the main reasons Hawaii has quit growing sugar cane is the environmental impact. Burning the cane fields dumps a huge amount of pollution into the atmosphere. And sugar cane is still less invasive to the environment than corn. Maybe the EPA will do a little of their own research and shut this madness down before it reaches the level of use that MTBE. It is not needed it is corporate welfare at it's best. I could see this boondoggle coming two years ago. Some folks are just along for the ride. Until the land is raped of it's value.
gagrice, "Is Ethanol good for the environment?" #1, 28 Jul 2004 11:01 pm
You forgot Hawaii.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
When did Hawaii quit growing sugar? According to their website the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company has a 37,000 acre plantation on Maui that produces 200,000 tons of raw sugar each year.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Energy is the last hope for sugar in Hawaii.
Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. is transforming its 37,000-acre Maui sugar plantation into an energy farm in an attempt to become more profitable.
Change is already apparent. Transmission grids, boilers and cranes have given a new look to the rural landscape of sugar cane fields nestled in Maui's central valley. Their purpose is to collect thousands of tons of bagasse, or cane fiber, and generate electricity.
A full-scale conversion to energy production depends on the economics of adding an ethanol-production plant and doubling the current volume of power production. That would involve windmills, hydroelectric power and cane fiber as base stock for making plastic
In 2005, HC&S produced 211,648 megawatt hours of electricity, primarily for its own use -- saving the equivalent of 500,000 barrels of oil. It also sold 96,249 megawatt hours to Maui Electric Co. to supply 7 percent of its Maui customers. Its 3 percent increase in power sales over 2004 represented $5.1 million more revenue, more than offsetting a $4.3 million decline in sugar and coffee sales.
Ethanol from sugar
One of my basic research methods is to see what an appropriate trade association would have to say about something like this. Here's something from the Fiberglass Tank and Pipe Institute:
[T]echnical evaluations and historical experience are evidence that there is no material or technical reason why properly installed pre-1988 piping and tanks in conventional or MTBE service should not perform equally as well when handling 10% ethanol blends.
Mich. lawmakers seek oil firm pledge
June 13, 2006
FREE PRESS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow signed a letter asking for a commitment from oil firms.
Sixteen members of Michigan's congressional delegation called on President George W. Bush on Monday to pressure oil companies into setting a target for installing more ethanol filling stations by 2010, saying Detroit automakers are doing their part to improve the nation's energy security.
Congress and Bush have hailed ethanol as the fuel of the future in recent weeks, saying it could help alleviate the nation's reliance on foreign oil, cut greenhouse gases, create jobs in rural areas and perform other modern miracles.
Detroit's automakers have revved the bandwagon as well, touting the trucks they build for fuel economy credits that are capable of burning E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
But only about 750 filling stations out of 170,000 in the United States sell E85, according to the most recent data from the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition. More than 200 of those are in Minnesota, a hub of ethanol production; Michigan has nine filing stations that either sell E85 or are planning to do so soon.
In a letter to the president, the Michigan lawmakers say the domestic auto industry has already done its part to increase ethanol use by committing to build up to 1 million E85-capable vehicles a year by 2008 and that the onus should now be on oil companies.
"We strongly urge you to ask the major oil companies to commit to installing E85 pumps at a significant percentage of their owned and franchised stations and to seek from them a commitment to a specific target by 2010," the letter said.
White House spokesman Alex Conant said the president is working with Congress to reduce dependence on foreign oil and increase the use of ethanol.
"The president has called on oil companies to invest in renewable sources of energy to strengthen our economy," he said.
Michigan Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow signed the letter as did all of Michigan's House members except one -- Republican Vern Ehlers of Grand Rapids. Jon Brandt, Ehlers' spokesman, said the congressman didn't believe that asking the president to lean on oil companies would solve any of the problems ethanol faces.
Because ethanol holds less energy than gasoline, a vehicle burning E85 gets fewer miles to the gallon. Oil refiners that have switched to using small amounts of ethanol in regular gasoline had driven up the price of ethanol to $3.53 a gallon as of Friday, three times the price from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The American Petroleum Institute has warned that ethanol could not be a viable substitute for regular gasoline until refiners find ways of making it from material other than corn.
Published June 13, 2006
Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world's biggest ethanol producer, said it has agreed to market all the corn-based fuel produced by Millennium Ethanol LLC at the plant Millennium is building in Marion, S.D. The plant will be able to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol a year and 320,000 tons of dried distillers grain, a byproduct of the ethanol production process used as livestock feed, Decatur, Ill.-based ADM said Monday. ADM is expanding production and marketing of ethanol to meet increased demand for alternative fuels as gasoline prices soar. The company is building two plants that will expand its ethanol production capacity, currently at 1.1 billion gallons a year, by 550 million gallons.
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:00pm ET
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gasoline at nearly $3 a gallon is sending America's ethanol industry into overdrive, with about $2 billion committed to corn processing plants since the start of the year.
From corn farmers in the Midwest to fund managers and bankers in New York, almost anyone with money to invest these days is thinking of ethanol, jacking up prices of the corn-and-starch-derived fuel as the world gives up hope that oil and petrol will get any cheaper.
And it's not just the green fuel that's hot: shares of top ethanol producers have created a tidy profit for both long-term investors and speculators.
Illinois' Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) stock is up 65 percent on the year based on Monday's close, while Ohio's The Andersons Inc. (ANDE.O: Quote, Profile, Research), traded over-the-counter, is up 90 percent.
Even smaller ethanol stocks are thriving. California's Pacific Ethanol (PEIX.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which counts software mogul Bill Gates among its investors, has doubled its price since January 3.
Wall Street icons such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are actively looking to broker investment banking deals for ethanol, joined by European rivals such as Germany's Nord/LB and Belgium's Fortis.
"There's a lot of money following ethanol right now," said Ray Crabbs at BRI Energy, a Delaware firm that makes ethanol from both corn and carbon. "I get two to three calls a day from potential investors."
The money gushing in to expand existing plants -- as well as build new ones -- should boost U.S. ethanol capacity to 6.3 billion gallons per year (gpy) by the end of 2006 from 4.4 billion now. © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved
Ethanol melts at –114.1°C, boils at 78.5°C, and has a density of 0.789 g/mL at 20°C. Its low freezing point has made it useful as the fluid in thermometers for temperatures below –40°C, the freezing point of mercury, and for other low-temperature purposes, such as for antifreeze in automobile radiators.
Ethanol has been made since ancient times by the fermentation of sugars. All beverage ethanol and more than half of industrial ethanol is still made by this process. Simple sugars are the raw material. Zymase, an enzyme from yeast, changes the simple sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. The fermentation reaction, represented by the simple equation
C6H12O6 2 CH3CH2OH + 2 CO2
is actually very complex, and impure cultures of yeast produce varying amounts of other substances, including glycerine and various organic acids. In the production of beverages, such as whiskey and brandy, the impurities supply the flavor. Starches from potatoes, corn, wheat, and other plants can also be used in the production of ethanol by fermentation. However, the starches must first be broken down into simple sugars. An enzyme released by germinating barley, diastase, converts starches into sugars. Thus, the germination of barley, called malting, is the first step in brewing beer from starchy plants, such as corn and wheat.
The ethanol produced by fermentation ranges in concentration from a few percent up to about 14 percent. Above about 14 percent, ethanol destroys the zymase enzyme and fermentation stops. Ethanol is normally concentrated by distillation of aqueous solutions, but the composition of the vapor from aqueous ethanol is 96 percent ethanol and 4 percent water. Therefore, pure ethanol cannot be obtained by distillation. Commercial ethanol contains 95 percent by volume of ethanol and 5 percent of water. Dehydrating agents can be used to remove the remaining water and produce absolute ethanol.
Much ethanol not intended for drinking is now made synthetically, either from acetaldehyde made from acetylene, or from ethylene made from petroleum. Ethanol can be oxidized to form first acetaldehyde and then acetic acid. It can be dehydrated to form ether. Butadiene, used in making synthetic rubber, may be made from ethanol, as can chloroform and many other organic chemicals. Ethanol is used as an automotive fuel by itself and can be mixed with gasoline to form gasohol. Ethanol is miscible (mixable) in all proportions with water and with most organic solvents. It is useful as a solvent for many substances and in making perfumes, paints, lacquer, and explosives. Alcoholic solutions of nonvolatile substances are called tinctures; if the solute is volatile, the solution is called a spirit.
Most industrial ethanol is denatured to prevent its use as a beverage. Denatured ethanol contains small amounts, 1 or 2 percent each, of several different unpleasant or poisonous substances. The removal of all these substances would involve a series of treatments more expensive than the federal excise tax on alcoholic beverages (currently about $20 per gallon). These denaturants render ethanol unfit for some industrial uses. In such industries undenatured ethanol is used under close federal supervision
June 11, 12, 13, 2006 at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake
The 16th Annual EPAC Conference will be held June 11-13, 2006, in Whitefish, Montana, near Glacier National Park. The conference is all day Monday and Tuesday morning and as always, will feature nationally known speakers regarding ethanol and biodiesel. Speakers as of this date are from the Lanigan, Saskatchewan Poundmaker Ethanol plant; Novozymes; BNSF Railway; National Biodiesel Board; National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition; the MT Department of Agriculture; MT Department of Environmental Quality; Clean Cities Program; a South America firm that uses gelled ethanol for cooking fuel, and National Park Service. Other speakers are also invited, though not confirmed.
This popular conference will be packed with information on Ethanol, Biodiesel and E-85 fuel. These key renewable fuels are crucial to Americaâs energy security and the topics will be very relevant to todays issues. Learn how these fuels enhance the economy, environment, and energy security. There will be a trade show with exhibits pertinent to the industry. On Tuesday, following adjournment of the EPAC conference, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) will hold a Board meeting and the MT Dept. of Environmental Quality will host a workshop on biodiesel. Both these additional meetings are planned for one and half days.
by: David Luhnow & Geraldo Samor, Staff Reporter for The Wall Street Journal
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - After nearly three decades of work, Brazil has succeeded where much of the industrialized world has failed: It has developed a cost-effective alternative to gasoline. Along with new offshore oil discoveries, that's a big reason Brazil expects to become energy independent this year.
To see how, take a look at Gildo Ferreira, a 39-year-old real-estate executive, who pulled his VW Fox into a filling station one recent afternoon. Instead of reaching for the gasoline, he spent $29 to fill up his car on ethanol made from sugar cane, an option that's available at 29,000 gas stations from Rio to the Amazon. A comparable tank of gasoline would have cost him $36. "It's cheaper and it's made here in Brazil," Mr. Ferreira says of ethanol. If the price of oil stays at current levels, he can expect to save about $350 a year.
At current prices, Brazil can make ethanol for about $1 a gallon, according to the World Bank. That compares with the international price of gasoline of about $1.50 a gallon. Even though ethanol gets less mileage than gasoline, in Brazil it's still cheaper per mile driven. As a result, ethanol now accounts for as much as 20% of Brazil's transport fuel market. The country's use of gasoline has actually declined since the late 1970s. The use of alternative fuels in the rest of the world is a scant 1%.
Yet countries wanting to follow Brazil's example may be leery about following its methods. Military and civilian leaders laid the groundwork by mandating ethanol use and dictating production levels. They bankrolled technology projects costing billions of dollars, despite criticism they were wasting money. Brazil ended most government support for its sugar industry in the late 1990s, forcing sugar producers to become more efficient and helping lower the cost of ethanol's raw material. That's something Western countries are loath to do, preferring to support domestic farmers.
With government support, sugar companies and auto makers' local units delivered cost-saving breakthroughs. "Flexible fuel" cars running ethanol, gasoline or a mixture of both, have become a hit. Car buyers no longer have to worry about fluctuating prices for either fuel because flex-fuel cars allow them to hedge their bets at the pump. Seven out of every 10 new cars sold in Brazil are flex-fuel.
Brazil is also fortunate that sugar is the cheapest way to make ethanol and Brazil has the right conditions for growing the crop -- plenty of land, rain and cheap labor.
Despite these unique circumstances, Brazil's efforts are being closely followed by countries with big fuel bills. India and China have sent a parade of top officials to see Brazil's program. India, the world's second-biggest sugar producer behind Brazil, mandated in 2003 that nine of its states add a 5% ethanol mixture to gas. The Brazilian unit of Germany's Volkswagen AG, the first car maker to introduce a flex-fuel model in Brazil, has received 38 delegations from more than a dozen countries in the past year alone, VW officials say.
Brazil says its ethanol exports will likely double to $1.3 billion in 2010 from $600 million in 2005, largely to Japan and Sweden. These countries hope using ethanol -- which releases less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels -- will help them meet their obligations under the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions.
The U.S., which currently imports 60% of its oil, is watching Brazil's progress, too. Three members of the Senate Energy Committee recently visited, and Sen. Hillary Clinton has cited Brazil as a role model in cutting dependence on imported oil. When President Bush made a recent stop-over in Brasilia, Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosted a barbecue and described to Mr. Bush how the country has reduced its oil import bill, according to Brazilian officials at the meeting.
Will Congress have to raise the subsidies even more to keep people buying this stuff? Price posted on another Ethanol website:
E85 Price: 3.49
Station Name: Sandy Chevron
Station City: Sandy, UT
Unleaded Price: 2.89
Date: Sunday, June 11, 2006
That means someone driving 100 miles in a FFV will pay about $12.76 more for E85, than if they use regular unleaded. Sounds like a smart person would do that to stick it to Canada and Mexico our number one and two oil import partners.
The very mandate that all those in the Midwest wanted may be the death of their Yellow Goose. That price of $3.53 is after we subsidized it. How much would it cost without subsidies to grow the corn and process the ethanol? Probably over $5 per gallon.
Along with new offshore oil discoveries, that's a big reason Brazil expects to become energy independent this year
Oil is still 80% of Brazil's energy consumption.
At current prices, Brazil can make ethanol for about $1 a gallon, according to the World Bank. That compares with the international price of gasoline of about $1.50 a gallon.
It costs us $3.53 to make a gallon of ethanol. What is wrong with that picture? Maybe we can go learn how to do it right instead of using Corn.
Did you notice there was no mention of subsidies to make this work for Brazil. If ethanol is ever going to stand on its own merit it will have to do it without being subsidized.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13646
I would be greatly in favor of Ethanol research, but I am also seriously concerned that this is driven more by 2008 politics and the Iowa caucuses than anything else...
Even the FTPI plants a disclaimer at the end of its ethanol essay:
"Note: Sullivan D. Curran, Executive Director of the Fiberglass Tank and Pipe Institute, wrote this paper. The paper discusses the compatibility of gasoline-alcohol blends with FRP storage tanks and piping systems ONLY manufactured by members of the Institute. This paper does not address other FRP manufacturers of FRP products manufactured by others."
Everything is political. Naturally, "trade groups" are going to watch out for their products. Nobody's crying "Chicken Little," but often it makes sense to err on the side of precaution. I assume our groundwater is being monitored in the vicinity of all ethanol processing plants. We wouldn't want a "dirty bomb" dropped on us. We have too many budding groundwater problems the way it is now.
If fiberglass tanks were prone to being destroyed by ethanol, they would have a vested interest in making sure that they don't take the blame or legal hit for any problems related to E10, and would probably get together with others to lobby to have it banned.
Looks as if this trade association has studied this and doesn't see a problem, and there's no reason for the membership to put themselves on the line if this isn't the case. (Guess who will get sued if we end up with groundwater contamination from corroded tanks?)
Your column, in contrast, provides a couple of vague unsupported anecdotes, no footnotes and no studies. Why should I believe it when I have a more credible source that tells me something quite different?
http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060613/AUTO01/606130341/- 1148
Rocky
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-570288889128950913
I would suspect that that is low.
Even now, at the worst E85 did not exceed 3.21 gal retail with very little infrastructure built so costs are higher.
Don't forget that E85 is heavily subsidized.
bio from sawgrass or other is far superior.
Not really since by the best estiments we are 10 years or more away from producing ethanol from sawgrass, if at all.
Crack the numbers and draw your own conclusions.
I have the more I run them the less I am convinced that ethanol is the way to go.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If corn is over 2 dollars per bushel. And you can only get 2.5 gallons max per bushel. How can you produce ethanol at 90 cents a gallon. And if ethanol only costs 90 per gallon to produce, and the wholesale price last Friday was $3.53 per gallon, who got the other $2.63.
driven up the price of ethanol to $3.53 a gallon as of Friday, three times the price from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg
I agree that biomass such as Switchgrass may be a viable source of ethanol. You gotta get the sugar out to make the alcohol. That is not easy. Only one company has built a test facility to do that. Iogen of Canada is the company to watch. You cannot compare Brazil to the USA in any way shape of form. They have enough oil to be independent and the ethanol is a small part of their energy plan that gets all the attention. If we had millions of acres of sugar cane it would be different.
Why not try to get biofuel from Kudzu. It covers 7 million acres of the South. Another government project gone awry.
The opposition to renewable energy has many good points that have to be heard, but are being are lost in the clutter of those who have no vested interest in the United States and only want to grind their own axe for their own benefit and whose fixation seems to be the complete destruction of our auto industry. The people who do not believe in renewable energy resources do have a coherent message that has to be heard, but it is getting lost in the static in the inane whimpering and scurrilous baloney promulgated by many of those who just screech to screech.
Don't forget, Ethanol has been in use in autos almost the turn of the 20th Century (since the Ford Model T) and in human consumption since probably the Pharaohs. Corn is just the shortest way to get us started on ethanol NOW as it is readily available and readily converted to fuel from our world's breadbasket.
However, now that oil is as expensive and short of supply in the 21st Century USA, we are rolling out (for better or worse) a national plan to use Ethanol, Biodiesel, wind farms, more coal startup efforts, and more nuclear power to generate electricity
We are starting to execute NOW a plan to lessen the impact of the oil cartel dictators on our economy. The price of oil has increased by double in the last 3 years as its demand rises, the global need for oil in the developing countries will only increase the demand for foreign oil even more.
Oil reserves for the USA in California waters, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico and the new refineries that oil will need will soon be just more than plans, but actuality. In addition, the fast increase in conversion to renewable fuels will allow us to move forward into the 21st Century.
The world has changed and we now are in a global economy with many countries matching the USA in human and natural resources and bidding for the energy needs that they have to have for their own people.
And the beat goes on
Yeah but they're beating a broken drum.
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The company and stockholders sold 18.25 million shares at $23 each, Brookings, South Dakota-based VeraSun said in a statement. That exceeded the $21 to $22 range the company forecast in a June 9 regulatory filing.
``Ethanol supplies are pretty tight and demand is still rising,'' said Kevin Buente, who helps oversee a $2 billion portfolio of loans to ethanol makers and farmers at Normal, Illinois-based 1st Farm Credit Services. ``Anyone who can make ethanol will have no trouble finding buyers for it.''
VeraSun and Pacific Ethanol Inc., whose shares have doubled this year, are benefiting as hedge funds and other investors bet on rising interest in alternative fuels. Ethanol is being backed by President George W. Bush and by General Motors Corp. to help wean the U.S. off imported crude oil, and increased use was mandated by last year's energy bill.
Decatur, Illinois-based Archer Daniels Midland Co. is the largest U.S. producer of ethanol, which is made from corn in the U.S. and from sugar cane in Brazil.
Energy Bill
The switch to ethanol from MTBE as a gasoline additive in the U.S. resulted from rule changes in last year's energy bill. MTBE that leaked from underground storage tanks fouled drinking water and spawned lawsuits. The energy bill also requires increasing amounts of ethanol in fuel every year through 2012.
VeraSun's plants in Aurora, South Dakota, and Fort Dodge, Iowa, can produce 230 million gallons of ethanol a year. The company is building another in Charles City, Iowa, that's expected to have production capacity of 110 million gallons and begin operations in the summer of 2007.
Shares of VeraSun rose 28 percent to $29.50 at 10:05 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They touched a high of $30. Pacific Ethanol shares rose $1.95, or 10 percent, to $22.09, after having dropped as much as 50 percent from their peak in May through yesterday.
There are 101 U.S. ethanol plants today, with capacity to produce almost 4.8 billion gallons annually, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a lobbying group in Washington. An additional 32 distilleries and six expansions are under construction with combined capacity of more than 1.97 billion gallons, the Washington-based association said on its Web site.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Bruce Blythe in Chicago at bblythe@bloomberg.net;
Elizabeth Hester in New York at ehester@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 14, 2006 10:09 EDT
A photo, taken in April 1933, shows a Lincoln Nebraska gas station of the Earl Coryell Co. selling "Corn Alcohol Gasoline." The test marketing of ethanol blends was common in the Midwest at this time, but it did not succeed due to the market dominance of the major oil companies.
Many countries around the world have millions of vehicle running on alcohol today. The idea of using alcohol for fuel is not new but becoming more attractive to the public as our dependence on gasoline becomes increasingly more expensive.
Most gasoline cars can be converted to alternative fuels with no need for a new or replacement engine. Other benefits include total elimination of smoke. It also contributes to a quieter and smoother running engine. Besides the environmental benefits, Flexfuel combines high performance with economy, making it the best current alternative to gasoline fuels.
Best of all ... Grain alcohol (ethanol) is a renewable fuel, and it is pretty much pollution free, since the by-products of combustion are only water and CO2. Furthermore, it is economical to make (around 75 cents to #1.25 per gallon), and your car will run cooler, faster, and better on ethanol. It is a home grown fuel and we don't have to import it from the Middle East.
Ethanol
INTRODUCTION
The hazards of heavy ethanol (alcohol) intake have been known for centuries. Heavy drinking increases the risk of liver cirrhosis, hypertension, cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract, injury, and violence (USDA, HHS, 2000). A recent analysis found that alcohol use is the third leading actual cause of mortality in the United States, after tobacco use and poor diet and/or inactivity (Mokdad et al., 2004). The health consequences of consuming lesser amounts of alcohol are less often a focus of research or government recommendations.
In 1999–2001, 6 in 10 U.S. adults were current drinkers, 95 percent consuming light-to-moderate amounts (i.e., less than 7 drinks per week for women and less than 14 drinks per week for men) (Schoenborn et al., 2004) and 5 percent consuming more. Approximately 35 percent of adult Americans do not drink alcohol, with one in four being a lifelong abstainer (NIAAA, 1997). From a historical perspective, multiple sources suggest that fewer Americans consume alcohol today as compared to 50 to 100 years ago
Among persons who consume four or fewer alcoholic beverages per day (with a subsearch for persons age 65 and older), what is the dose-response relationship between alcohol intake and (1) total mortality and (2) several major causes of death (i.e., cardiovascular disease, cancer, and trauma)?
In middle-aged and older adults, a daily intake of one to two alcoholic beverages is associated with the lowest all-cause mortality.
Compared with nondrinkers, adults who consume one to two alcoholic beverages per day appear to have lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
Compared with nondrinkers, women who consume one alcoholic beverage per day appear to have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.
Relationships of alcohol consumption with major causes of death do not differ for middle-aged and elderly Americans. Among younger people, however, alcohol consumption appears to provide little, if any, health benefit; alcohol use among young adults is associated with a higher risk of traumatic injury and death.
Though the majority of ethanol produced in the U.S. is made from corn, new technology has been developed to make ethanol from a wider variety of "cellulosic" sources.
These cellulosic sources for ethanol include corn stover (the stalks and residue left over after harvest), grain straw, switchgrass, quick-growing tree varieties (such as poplar or willow), or even municipal waste.
This technology does exist today, and work continues to bring this technology to commercial scale.
Having a wide variety of feedstocks for ethanol production is beneficial because it allows the U.S. to make even more ethanol, further enhancing our energy security, national economy, and environment.
Diesel cars get superior fuel economy to comparable gas-engine cars, but that doesn't seem to help the popularity of diesel among American buyers.
I do believe that too much is being made of the mileage disparity. If cars ran on ethanol and it had a price advantage over gas, I'd bet that people would use it.
It's a fair question to ask whether the price advantage will ever be acheivable, and whether some biomass is more cost-effective than others. But just so long as the mileage is "good enough", I can't see how the mileage loss from E85 would, by itself, deter many people from using it.
Published June 14, 2006
Archer Daniels Midland Co. will continue to expand its ethanol business, Chief Executive Patricia Woertz said Tuesday, as the company works to transform itself into a food and energy giant.
Woertz repeatedly sprinkled the word "ethanol" in a presentation to industry analysts that marked her public debut after taking ADM's top job in April.
Woertz spent most of her career at Chevron Corp., and analysts believe she was brought in to help ADM expand its renewable-fuel business.
Ethanol is a gasoline additive and substitute made from corn. Illinois farmers benefit from ethanol as it creates a new market for their crops.
Demand has pushed the price up sharply this year, as refiners increasingly are adding it to gasoline to reduce auto emissions. In Chicago last week, wholesale ethanol was selling for $3.59 a gallon, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
Woertz on Tuesday said ADM is going to put money into ethanol, the chemical name for ordinary alcohol. And it will need to. Ethanol cannot travel by pipeline because it is corrosive. It requires an expensive infrastructure of rail cars and trucks to transport it to market.
"Our investments will be robust," Woertz said of ethanol. "It is an important opportunity."
Democrats and Repuplian positions:"Both parties are more aligned on this than almost any other" issue, Woertz said.
Greggory Warren, equity analyst with Morningstar Inc., said he expects ADM to spend $650 million this year on capital expenditures.
"The majority of their spending these days is going for alternative fuels," Warren said.
Decatur, Ill.-based ADM is the nation's largest maker of ethanol. It is better known for its food business, extracting more than two dozen products from corn, for example.
"They have been doing well in their other business lines," Warren said.
The company earned more than $1 billion last year, compared with $495 million a year earlier.
(partial text)
By Shane Wright and Robin Pash
14jun06
THE Federal Government was facing a backbench revolt led by Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce over the fuel additive ethanol.
Despite opposition from Treasurer Peter Costello and Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran, Senator Joyce said he would seek to win support from his Queensland party colleagues to mandate the use of ethanol in Australian petrol supplies.
It follows growing concern amongst Nationals that plans to persuade oil companies to use the additive, which is derived from sugar cane and grain, was failing.
The Government has a 350 million tonne target for biofuels by 2010. That would amount to just 0.7 per cent of all fuel used in Australia.
However, fuel companies have dragged their feet on the issue, although to what extent will not be known until a new report on ethanol usage is compiled in coming weeks.
Senator Joyce today said it was time to get serious about the use of ethanol, and that might require a private member's bill mandating its inclusion in fuel supplies.
"We've been trying to herd this elephant with a feather, get the oil companies to take on bio-renewable fuels," Senator Joyce said.
"They've just been playing silly fellas with us and promising us and always going to say it's going to happen.
"I believe that we should move to a private member's bill but I have to take it to my Queensland state conference and say `this is what I intend to do, I need your support'.
Senator Joyce said it appeared oil companies were just playing the Government along.
Please don't compare apples to oranges. Diesels don't have the popularity due to two reasons. 1.) due to bad experiences in the 70's with loud, noisy, dirty engines. And 2.) Government regulations regarding emissions and diesel fuel.
Also remember that in most cases diesel fuel cost more than regular gas reducing the cost efficentcy that the higher mileage affords.
I do believe that too much is being made of the mileage disparity. If cars ran on ethanol and it had a price advantage over gas, I'd bet that people would use it.
It all comes down to cost per mile, if ethanol had a lower cost per mile to use then people would be more inclined to use it. But as it stands now every car using E85 is spending more to go the same distance than by using regular gas. In other words few would buy E85 if it cost 15% less than gas and they get 20% less mileage.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Yes but back then there weren't that many cars out there so producing enough ethanol for the relatively few cars was not a problem. Times have changed and what true for the 20's isn't true for today.
Most gasoline cars can be converted to alternative fuels with no need for a new or replacement engine.
First off that would void any warrantee, secondly it is not recomeneded as proper conversion would not be cost effective.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Really. Even if the price per mile driven came out the same I'd rather fill-up every 8 days as opposed to every 6 days. I'm just speaking for myself and maybe the average motorist does not share my aversion for going to the gas station. Let me put it to you this way. Lets say that when you were buying your car you had the option of a 16 or 12 gallon gas tank. If the price was the same which would you choose and why?
There was actually a fair bit of ethanol production in the US until the end of WWII. The problem was that oil became so cheap and plentiful that ethanol didn't offer any cost advantages, and production of it basically died off. (Some producers found it more lucrative to make alcohol for people to drink, rather than use to operate their cars.)
Ethanol might become cost-effective for the consumer if:
-The price of oil increases enough
-Taxes on fuels are adjusted to make ethanol more advantageous
-The cost of producing ethanol goes down (whether through scale economies, more efficient biomass, improved processes, etc.)
-It is subsidized enough to lower the pump price sufficiently to drive demand.
That being said, you would still need the fuel to be produced in sufficient quantities to make a difference, and cars that can operate on it.
We'll see if these issues get addressed. If conditions remain exactly as they are today, my guess is that it won't.
For one, my example does not presume that the price is the same. If E85 and gas ends up selling for the same price, even if everyone owned FFV vehicles, I'd say that E85 is dead in the water, as consumers won't want to drive shorter distances for the same cost.
Nonetheless, I have doubts that the average consumer is going to get hung up on the occasional additional trip to the gas station, just so long as the price is right and the mileage is "good enough". If ethanol made it necessary to refuel every 50-100 miles, I could see the issue, but ethanol certainly provides enough distance to make it worthwhile if priced correctly. (And automakers could expand the size of their fuel tanks in many instances to mitigate much of the difference.)
Interestingly, I don't see the electric car proponents being so concerned about the more severe refueling problem of the battery-operated cars. Now, that problem is certainly bad enough for the electrics to prevent their widespread adoption anytime soon. A car that can only go short distances before recharging AND can't be recharged on the fly has absolutely no hope in the marketplace.
Bingo, thats why I said with Ford offering free gas or free E85 few would take the E85. Me I fill up once a week, If I used E85 it would be once every 5 days.
Let me put it to you this way. Lets say that when you were buying your car you had the option of a 16 or 12 gallon gas tank. If the price was the same which would you choose and why?
All things being equal the 16 gallon.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Most cars in the 30's (maybe all cars) ran on gas. Plus again there were a fraction of the number of cars on the road in 1945 then there are now. Again times have changed and what was true for 1945 isn't true for today.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Not true, as long as the electric car can cover the daily use of the driver (say a commuter car in a two car family) it has hope in the marketplace. Even if it has to be recharged every day or every other day, it is no fuss to park it in the garage and plug it in. It takes an additional 10-15 seconds to do this. How much time is spent fueling up just one time?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Let's take a hypothetical: You have the current Honda Accord 4-banger, which gets an average 28 mpg and has a 17.1 gallon fuel tank.
Assuming that you like to drive until you have 50 miles left worth of fuel, you'll be refueling every 429 miles. If you drive 15,000 miles per year within those parameters, you'll be buying gas about every ten days.
Now let's suppose that you take the same car, run it on E85 with 30% loss of fuel economy and drive until you have 50 miles worth of fuel in the tank. In addressing this fuel and its reduced economy, the automaker slightly expands the size of the fuel tank by a couple of gallons, in order to somewhat offset this change.
Result: Same person is stopping for fuel every eight days, instead of every ten days. While an anti-ethanol activist may take great affront to this, the average consumer isn't going to likely think twice about it, particularly if the fuel becomes more cost effective.
Again, fewer refueling intervals certainly don't drive diesel sales. Yes, I know that diesel has other disadvantages as well, but that doesn't negate the point that this is not likely a high priority to consumers. Ethanol may have its adoption issues, but a few more trips to the gas station is probably not going to be one of them.
Clearly, the consumer doesn't agree with you, or else they'd be clamoring for these cars.
The problem is the degree of risk and uncertainty. Need to run a few extra errands, or get yourself stuck in a slow slog traffic jam, and suddenly you can't get to where you're going without finding an outlet and losing the use of your car for several hours.
That's a horrendous value proposition, there's no surprise that people aren't terribly interested in plunking down money on cars with those sorts of limitations. The great thing for consumers about hybrids is that they get the whiz-bang technology, but don't have to worry about finding an electrical outlet just to get home.
If you read my response said that the price would be the same per mile driven. Which accounts for ethanol having to be cheaper.
I also conceded that I may not be typical of the average motorist because I would definitely choose a 16 gallon gas tank over a 12.
Here's a transcript of Altair Nanotechnologies CEOs testimony before a congressional committee today.
http://www.altairnano.com/documents/AlanJ.GotchertestimonytoSenateCommerce-6-14-- 04Final.pdf
The highlights are that his company is developing a battery that can power a 5 person sedan for 300 miles on a single charge and completely recharge in 6 minutes. This battery is supposed to have a lifespan of 15+ years. Sounds a lot more promising than growing 100's of millions of acres of corn. The whole idea of distilling corn for ethanol seems like a leap back in time from a technological point of view. EVs are the future and maybe the not too distant future.
I really don't think so, durning my normal driving around I fill up saturday morning and are nearing my reserve the following saturday morning, That means I fill up once every 7 days or 52 times year. Of course that doesn't include driving outside the norm, like taking vacations or visiting friends outside of town, but thats the exception.
If my car uses E85 and had the typical loss of mileage I would be stopping for gas every 5 days or 73 times a year (21 more times than when using regular gas).
In addressing this fuel and its reduced economy, the automaker slightly expands the size of the fuel tank by a couple of gallons, in order to somewhat offset this change.
OK so the automaker slightly expands the size of the fuel tank, that means I can go even further using regular fuel, right? Either way you are stopping for fuel more times than with E85.
Again, fewer refueling intervals certainly don't drive diesel sales.
Again you are comparing apples to oranges.
Yes, I know that diesel has other disadvantages as well,
Then you know that it is a poor comparison.
Ethanol may have its adoption issues, but a few more trips to the gas station is probably not going to be one of them.
True but add it to the fact that it is a hard fuel to find, that it cost more to use per mile and the fact that we most likely will never make enough for major widespread use (we have a shortage just to make the mandated E10) and it just doesn't work out.
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