maintain blend stability and other properties such as the cetane number and the lubricity. The additive package may comprise from 0.2% to 5.0% v/v of the blend.
The use of e-diesel can bring some reductions in diesel PM emissions, while contradictory reports exist on its effect on nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and emissions of hydrocarbon derivatives. Perhaps the biggest advantage of e-diesel is its partially renewable character, especially if renewable ethanol is used as the blending stock.
See also: Alcohols, Biodiesel, Butanol, Diesel Fuel, Ethanol, Hydroshear Emulsification, Methanol, Propanol.
Alcohol Fuels
Various alcohols (CnH2n+1OH) are used as fuel for internal combustion engines. The first four aliphatic alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol) are of interest as fuels because they can be synthesized chemically or biologically, and they have characteristics which allow them to be used in internal combustion engines. When obtained from biological materials and/or biological processes, the alcohols are often referred to as bioalcohols (for example, bioethanol). However, there is no chemical difference between biologically produced and chemically produced alcohols.
Most methanol is produced from natural gas, although it can be produced from biomass using similar chemical processes. Ethanol is commonly produced from biological material through fermentation processes. Butanol has the advantage in combustion engines in that its energy density is closer to gasoline than the simpler alcohols (while still retaining over 25% higher octane rating). However, biobutanol is currently more difficult to produce than ethanol or methanol.
One advantage shared by the four major alcohol fuels is the high octane rating which tends to increase the fuel efficiency and largely offsets the lower energy density of vehicular alcohol fuels (as compared to gasoline and diesel fuels), thus resulting in comparable fuel economy in terms of distance per volume metrics, such as kilometers per liter, or miles per gallon.
See also: Alcohol-Blended Fuel.
Alcohol Fuels – Ethanol
Ethanol is the predominant fuel produced form crops that, because of favorable properties, has been used as fuel in the United States since at least 1908, along with methanol and gasoline (Table A-10).
Table A-10 Selected physical and chemical properties of methanol, ethanol, and gasoline.
| Methanol | Ethanol | Gasoline | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property | CH3OH | C2H5OH | C4-C12 |
| Molecular weight (g/mol) | 32 | 46 | ~114 |
| Specific gravity | 0.789 (25oC, 77oF) | 0.788 (25oC, 77oF) | 0.739 (16oC, 60oF) |
| Vapor density rel. to air | 1.10 | 1.59 | 3.0 (-40) |
| Liquid density (g/cm-3 at 25oC, 77oF) | 0.79 | 0.79 | 3.0 to 4.0 |
| Vapor pressure, 38oC (100oF) | 4.6 | 2.5 | 8-10 |
| Heat of evaporation (Btu/lb) | 472 | 410 | 135 |
| Heating value (kBtu gal-1) | |||
| Lower (LHV) | 58 | 74 | 111 |
| Upper (UHV) | 65 | 85 | 122 |
| Viscosity (cp) | 0.54 | 1.20 | 0.56 |
| Flash point (oC, oF) | 11 (52) | 14 (57) | -36 (-33) |
| Flammability/explosion limits | |||
| (%) Lower (LFL) | 6.7 | 3.3 | 1.3 |
| (%) Upper (UFL) | 36 | 19 | 7.6 |
Although early efforts to sustain an ethanol program failed, oil supply disruptions in the Middle East and environmental concerns over the use of lead as a gasoline octane booster renewed interest in ethanol in the late 1970s. At present, extending the volume of conventional gasoline is a significant end use for ethanol, as is its use as an oxygenate. To succeed in these markets, the cost of ethanol must be close to the wholesale price of gasoline, currently made possible by the federal ethanol subsidy. However, in order for ethanol to compete on its own merit,s the cost of producing it must be reduced substantially.
The production of ethanol from corn is a mature technology that holds much potential. Substantial cost reductions may be possible, however, if cellulose-based feedstocks are used instead of corn. Producers are experimenting with units equipped to convert cellulose-based feedstocks, using sulfuric acid to break down cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugar. Although the process is expensive at present, advances in biotechnology could decrease conversion costs substantially. The feed for all ethanol fermentations is sugar - traditionally a hexose (a six-carbon or “C6” sugar) such as those present naturally in sugar cane, sugar beet, and molasses. Sugar for fermentation can also be recovered from starch, which is actually a polymer of hexose sugars (polysaccharide).
Biomass, in the form of wood and agricultural residues such as wheat straw, is viewed as a low cost alternative feed to sugar and starch. It is also potentially available in far greater quantities than sugar and starch feeds. As such, it receives significant attention as a feed material for ethanol production. Like starch, wood and agricultural residues contain polysaccharides. However, unlike starch, while the cellulose fraction of biomass is principally a polymer of easily fermented hexose (C6) sugars, the hemicellulose fraction is principally a polymer of pentose (C5) sugars; with quite
