Biofuels Digest

July 29, 2016

By Nathan Vander Griend

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) mission is to protect human health and the environment. They are charged with delivering on that mission by using the best scientific information available. We can all agree that is an important mission, but have they written off ethanol as helping them achieve that mission?

To understand this issues it is first important to understand what is in your vehicle’s gas tank. When you pull up to most retail fuel pumps you commonly see unleaded, super-unleaded or premium, which almost always contain at least 10% ethanol blended into each gallon even though it isn’t always labeled as “contains up to 10% ethanol.” Depending on where you are at you may even see an option of E85 or 85% ethanol. No matter what your selection however all you know is it is gasoline and can contain a percentage of a non-petroleum fuel molecule called ethanol. But if 10% up to 85% of the gallons you are purchasing is a single ethanol molecule, what makes up the balance of the gallon? Remember, gasoline is not a molecule. Gasoline contains hundreds of molecules derived from petroleum. Some are ok, but some are highly toxic carcinogens that can lead to real health issues and negative environmental impacts.

Although it is scary to think that there are toxic carcinogens in your gas tank that are subsequently released out of your tailpipe and into the air we breathe, you should be able to breathe easy as there are standards in place for minimizing Mobile Source-Related Air Toxics (MSATs) and they can be found in Section 202(L)(2) of the Clean Air Act. In fact, in the Clean Air Act it states the Administrator shall, from time to time revise regulations using reasonable requirements to control hazardous air pollutants from motor vehicles and motor vehicle fuels to reflect the greatest degree of emission reduction achievable.

With the EPA’s mission being so clearly stated and a law in place that requires the reduction of MSATs, why has the EPA not enforced this law that would lead to the growth of ethanol, a cleaner burning, more sustainable and more economical fuel? Perhaps even worse than their inaction is their action in creating new, unnecessary roadblocks to further hinder the growth of ethanol in the fuel supply.

Reid Vapor Pressure

The first roadblock is the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) standard which requires the EPA to limit evaporative emissions of gasoline from June 1 through September 15 due to the increase in evaporation rates in warmer temperatures. The higher the RVP of a fuel, the worse its emission are. The maximum RVP of gasoline ranges from 7 to 9 psi, whereas the RVP of pure ethanol is 2. With the majority of fuel used in the U.S. today being a 10% ethanol blend or E10 the RVP is approximately 10 psi. In 1990 Congress amended the Clean Air Act to allow gasoline with 10% ethanol or E10 a “one pound waiver” of EPA’s evaporative emission limit. In other words, Congress gave the EPA the authority to allow the use of 10% ethanol or E10 during June 1 through September 15. In 2011 the EPA approved the use of 15% ethanol or E15 blends but did not extend the “one pound waiver” even though a 15% ethanol blend or E15 has a lower RVP. This single issue blocks the majority of the market from using ethanol blends beyond 10% or E10 for 4.5 months of the year.

Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator

The next roadblock is the Motor Vehicle Emissions Simulator 2014 (MOVES2014) Model which was populated by the EPAct/V2/E-89 Fuel Effects Study. The final product, the MOVES2014 Model, is only as good as the information that goes into it, and the information that it is populated with from the EPAct/V2/E-89 Fuel Effects Study is engineered to create a roadblock for increasing ethanol usage. The model tells us that when you add more ethanol to gasoline, emissions will actually increase. Ethanol is 200 proof alcohol. In fact, some ethanol production facilities actually make a further purified product that ends up as beverage grade alcohol, whereas gasoline is considered toxic and can cause major health issues or death if breathed in or swallowed. The only way that it is possible for ethanol to cause toxic emissions to increase when added to gasoline is to engineer the source data, which is exactly what happened. When ethanol was added in the EPAct/V2/E-89 Fuel Effects Study, the base fuel was changed. In grade school science class, we learned that when you perform an experiment that you need constants and one variable to judge how each change to the experiment affects the outcome. Unfortunately, basic principles such as this were not used with this study. When ethanol was added, various other components in the fuel blend changed as well.

Corporate Average Fuel Economy

The next roadblock is the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations in the United States that first enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1975, in the wake of the Arab Oil Embargo, to improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) produced for sale in the United States. Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) or vehicles that can run on either regular gasoline or up to an 85% ethanol blend or E85 received a credit under the CAFE regulations for their ability to be powered by a renewable energy source. In 2012 the EPA decided to phase out FFV credits due to higher ethanol blends not being readily available nationwide for use in the FFVs. Currently auto manufacturers are positioned to cease producing FFVs as a result of the phasing out of FFV credits in 2019. Without FFVs on the road, there is no legal market for higher level ethanol blends beyond 15% ethanol or E15 for automotive use.

The R Factor

The next roadblock is R factor the EPA uses for ethanol. First off, R factor is defined as the sensitivity of the fuel economy result to changes in fuel energy content. When R equals 1.0, the fuel economy change exactly tracks the energy density difference between the fuels. If R is less than 1.0, the fuel economy change is smaller than the change in energy density. Auto manufacturers remain unfairly penalized by the EPA by holding ethanol’s R factor at 0.6 or 40% less energy content, even when in their own EPAct/V2/E-89 study the R factor averaged 0.82 to 0.86 and other studies and test programs would show a 0.93 to 0.96 R factor.

The last roadblock is the EPA’s test fuel certification protocols. They fail to use non-biased testing protocols when evaluating ethanol blends by not utilizing fuels for testing purposes that are actually commercially available for purchase. This gives the EPA the ability to discredit ethanol’s ability to reduce toxic carcinogens in the air.

When understanding the mission and understanding the science, it still just doesn’t add up. The inaction in enforcement of the Clean Air Act, and the construction of unnecessary and significant roadblocks to limit the growth of ethanol usage is not only disturbing, but is truly producing negative health and environmental impacts to the country.  The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is set to fully managed by the EPA after 2022, and today it doesn’t seem like they are betting on ethanol.

Read the original story: Does the U.S. EPA Not Want Biofuels?

United States Department of Agriculture

July 25, 2016

News Release

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking applications for funding to help support the development of advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products.

"The bioeconomy is a catalyst for economic development in rural America, creating new jobs and providing new markets for farmers and ranchers," Vilsack said. "Investing in the businesses and technologies that support the production of biofuels and biobased products is not only good for farm incomes. The whole economy benefits from a more balanced, diversified and consumer-friendly energy portfolio, less dependence on foreign oil and reduced carbon emissions."

Funding is being provided through the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program, formerly known as the Biorefinery Assistance Program. Congress established the program in 2008 to encourage the development of biofuels that use renewable feedstocks. The 2014 Farm Bill expanded the program to include renewable chemicals and biobased product manufacturing. The program now provides loan guarantees of up to $250 million to develop, construct and retrofit commercial-scale biorefineries and to develop renewable chemicals and biobased product manufacturing facilities.

USDA has provided $844 million in loan commitments to 10 businesses in the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program since the start of the Obama administration. Companies receiving these commitments are projected to produce 159 million gallons of advanced biofuels.

In 2011, under this program, USDA provided Sapphire Energy a $54.5 million loan guarantee to build a refined algal oil commercial facility. Sapphire's "Green Crude Farm" in Columbus, N.M., is an example of how USDA funding and partnerships with the private sector are helping to support the development of biorefineries.

The plant opened in May 2012 and is producing renewable algal oil that can be further refined to replace petroleum-derived diesel and jet fuel. According to the company, more than 600 jobs were created during the first phase of construction at the facility and 30 full-time employees currently operate the plant. After Sapphire received additional equity from private investors, it repaid the remaining balance on its USDA-backed loan in 2013.

USDA is helping to develop the bioeconomy, which has the potential to spur unprecedented growth in the rural economy by creating opportunities for the production, distribution and sale of biobased products and fuels. For example, USDA has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Navy to create advanced drop-in biofuels that will power both the Department of Defense and private-sector transportation throughout America. Over the course of this Administration, USDA has invested $332 million to accelerate research on renewable energy ranging from genomic research on bioenergy feedstock crops, to development of biofuel conversion processes and cost/benefit estimates of renewable energy production. For more information on how renewable energy factors into USDA's work to reduce greenhouse gases, visit the latest chapter of USDA's Medium entry, How Food and Forestry Are Adapting to a Changing Climate.

The Department has also taken steps to support biobased product manufacturing that promises to create new jobs across rural America – including adding new categories of qualified biobased products for Federal procurement and establishing reporting by Federal contractors of biobased product purchases. The more than 2,200 products that have received certification to display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label are creating and increasing consumer and commercial awareness about a material's biobased content as one measure of its environmental footprint. A 2015 USDA study of the bioeconomy found that the biobased products industry generates $369 billion and 4 million jobs each year for our economy. Biobased products industries directly employ approximately 1.5 million people, while an additional 2.5 million jobs are supported in other sectors.

For this announcement, USDA will seek applications in two cycles. Applications for the first funding cycle are due October 3, 2016. Applications for the second cycle are due April 3, 2017. For more information, see page 48377 of the July 25, 2016, Federal Register. Application materials can be found on USDA's Rural Development website.

In October 2015, Rural Development implemented a redesigned two-phase application process. This new process helps the Agency identify the projects that have made the most progress in the development stage and have the greatest capacity for implementation and loan closing. The first two application cycles under the new process yielded complete applications from projects producing biogas, biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol, biobased lubricants and oils, lignin cake and syrup, and fertilizers.

Eligible borrowers include individuals, corporations, federally-recognized tribes, units of state or local government, farm cooperatives and co-op organizations, associations of agricultural producers, national laboratories, institutions of higher education, rural electric cooperatives, public power entities – or a consortium of any of these borrower types. Entities that receive program financing must provide at least 20 percent of the funding for eligible project costs.

Since 2009, USDA Rural Development (@USDARD) has invested $11 billion to start or expand 103,000 rural businesses; helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; funded nearly 7,000 community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities; financed 185,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines; and helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents and businesses. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results.

Release No. 0174.16
Contact:
Catherine Dugan (202) 720-0999

Read the original release: USDA Seeks Applications for Funding to Help Develop Advanced Biofuels and Biobased Products

EIN News

July 22, 2016

By Diane Somer

PENSACOLA, FL, USA, July 22, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Bobby Likis, automotive expert and host of nationally syndicated car-talk program “Bobby Likis Car Clinic,” shares the mic with Randy Doyal, Chief Executive Officer of Al-Corn Clean Fuel in Claremont, MN, and Chairman of the Board of the Renewable Fuels Association, on Saturday, July 23, 2016, at 10:41a ET.

This Saturday, Doyal will brief Car Clinic listeners and viewers on ethanol and its benefits to local and national economies, to the environment and to national security. He will share also how Minnesota’s initiative in the industry is serving as a blueprint for helping solve future energy & economic challenges, as well as tackle misinformation swirling about the ethanol industry, debunking some of the more outrageous myths. Likis and Doyal will speak to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and why consumers/voters should support the RFS.

Doyal, now well-steeped in ethanol production, was born in the industry as a “cooker” with Mountain Development Corporation, and over the past 30 years, has served on many industry-related boards, including Minnesota AgriGrowth Board, Minnesota Biofuels Association, Chairman of Renewable Products Marketing Group, Chairman of the Board for Guardian Energy LLC in Janesville, MN and on the Board of Guardian Energy Management.

Doyal reflects, “As a 30-year veteran of the ethanol industry, I have seen the benefits we have provided to consumers in our communities and around the world, providing the lowest-cost, highest octane source on the planet. Ethanol use cleans the air, boosts local economies and helps to reduce our dependence on petroleum. I look forward to making sure Bobby’s audience of fellow automotive consumers, voters and our policymakers are aware of ethanol’s numerous benefits and continue to support its use.”

Likis invites, “Drivers, consumers, voters: tune in to Car Clinic for Randy’s plain-speak about ethanol...then you make an informed decision.”

To view Doyal’s interview in its entirety, visit WatchBobbyLive.com on Saturday, July 23, at 10:41a ET

Read the original story: Automotive Expert & Car-Talk Host Bobby Likis Talks with Randy Doyal, Chief Executive Officer of Al-Corn Clean Fuel

Morning Consult

July 19, 2016

Successful Farming

Reuters

July 19, 2016

By Chris Prentice

Midwest fuel terminal operator HWRT Oil Company LLC will become the first U.S. company to sell pre-blended fuel with 15 percent ethanol content in the coming months, the latest sign that more of the biofuel is making its way to the gas pump.

HWRT will begin selling the preblended fuel out of its four terminals in Illinois, Arkansas and Indiana in mid-September, the company said on Tuesday, a move that follows announcements by fuel retailers including Power Energy Corp and Thorntons that they will add pumps to sell higher ethanol blends in the Chicago area.

"As more and more retailers have the equipment to handle E15, we want to be able to supply them," Matt Schrimpf, president of the Illinois firm, said in a phone interview.

HWRT has been selling E85, a fuel with up to 85 percent ethanol content, for several years, Schrimpf said.

Nearly all U.S. gasoline is blended with 10 percent ethanol, according to the U.S. government. E15 contains anywhere from 10.5 to 15 percent ethanol.

In its battle against Big Oil, getting higher blends to consumers has been a years-long struggle for the biofuels industry. Renewable fuels companies like Pacific Ethanol Inc and Green Plains Inc have pressed U.S. regulators to boost annual requirements for use of renewable fuels like ethanol in gasoline.

The move by HWRT is a "game changer that can help expand the market for E15 overnight," said Robert White, the Vice President of Industry Relations for the Renewable Fuels Association.

The boost in use of biofuels has been largely driven by the over decade-old Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Ethanol producer Archer Daniels Midland Co has said that regulators are underestimating the amount of higher blends in the market.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has spent millions of dollars to help gas retailers overhaul tanks and pumps to be able to offer higher ethanol blends.

Biofuels advocates are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for setting annual requirements for use below 2007 requirements targets out by Congress.

Read the original story: U.S. Fuel Terminal Operator to Offer Higher Ethanol Blend

Biomass Magazine

July 14, 2016

By Ron Kotrba

More than 40 national organizations have called on Congress to end more than a century of tax breaks for the oil industry. In a letter to U.S. legislators, a diverse coalition of environmental, veterans, labor, renewable fuels and social justice groups are challenging Congress to repeal nearly $4 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil, tax breaks given to the most profitable companies in the world “despite the industry’s continued efforts to promote climate science skepticism and avoid any accountability as a leading contributor of carbon pollution,” stated a press release issued by Americans United for Change.

U.S. Senators are also being called on to support the FAIR Energy Policy Act, legislation sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, which would phase out special tax breaks for fossil fuels on the same schedule as the law Congress passed to phase out the wind production tax credit. 

“We know today that we are putting too much carbon pollution into the atmosphere,” said Greg Dotson, vice president for energy policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “And we should stop using tax payer dollars to encourage even more.”

Stephen Kretzmann, executive director of Oil Change USA, said, “Members of Congress have been a very lucrative investment for the oil industry. For every $1 they put in in campaign contributions, they get back more than $188 in subsidies … I am sure most Americans wish we could get returns even a fraction that good from our 401Ks. This has gone on for far too long, it is time now for a separation of oil and state.”

“We could send 166,000 kids to college every year with the $4 billion that is instead squandered on Big Oil,” said Brad Woodhouse, president of Americans United for Change. “Over summer recess, we’re going to demand answers from Republicans in Congress who can’t find the money to address the Zika Virus or Flint water crisis, or repair our crumbling infrastructure, but think Big Oil can’t live without these subsidies. Even with persistently low oil prices, which dipped below $30 a barrel earlier this year, ExxonMobil still reported nearly $1.8 billion in profits last quarter, and BP over $500 million. It seems even in the worst of times, Big Oil can make tons of money comfortably without a taxpayer handout. And it seems the only return on taxpayers’ investment is dirty air and 14,000 oil spills every year.” 

Woodhouse added, “Behind closed doors, Exxon accounted for the environmental impact of climate change in their business plans, but put on a public face that everything was normal,” he said, referring to the cover-up that ExxonMobil scientists recognized fossil fuels contributed to global warming as early as 1977, yet for decades it funded misleading campaigns against climate science.

“Worse,” Woodhouse said, “for decades Exxon has funneled millions of dollars into front groups like the ACCF to wage misinformation campaigns to discredit climate science and discourage use of cleaner renewable fuels.”

Read the original story: 40-Plus Groups Call on Congress to End Tax Breaks for Big Oil

Biofuels International

July 15, 2016

The Star Press

July 12, 2016

By Dave Hudak

It is disappointing that Indiana’s biofuels industry must once again respond to false allegations from out-of-state hired guns.

This time, Jane Van Ryan, a Washington, D.C.-area resident and former top communications official for the American Petroleum Institute, decries the inconvenience her central Indiana-based family will face because they have the choice to buy gasoline with a 10 percent ethanol blend.

The good news for Van Ryan is that here in Indiana, we know that when she makes her trip from the Washington, D.C.-area to Gatlinburg, she will save money thanks to the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the very policy that she and her bosses are seeking to repeal.

The Renewable Fuels Standard, the so-called “mandate” that Van Ryan and the American Petroleum Institute are referring to is a bipartisan energy policy that provides market access for biofuels, which benefit our environment, economy and energy security. It sets annual targets for the blending of renewables into our nation’s fuel supply in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keep our air clean.

As a result of the RFS, ethanol is now blended into 97 percent of the gasoline supply and virtually all regular gasoline sold in Indiana has a 10 percent ethanol blend.  Indiana-made, high-octane ethanol is dropped into gasoline as a method to boost octane so that the petroleum does not damage engines or affect vehicle performance.  In fact, because ethanol is environmentally-friendly and biodegradable, it has replaced dangerous and carcinogenic fuel additives like lead and MTBE, which have been outlawed in the United States.

The fact is that ethanol remains the cleanest and lowest-cost octane available on the market today. According to one analysis, consumers are saving between 50 cents and $1.50 per gallon as a result of increased ethanol production and the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Moreover, higher blends of ethanol have increased octane — which helps your car burn cleaner and cooler, better for your engine’s performance and the environment.  E15, a 15-percent blend of ethanol, is approved for all vehicles 2001 and newer — nearly 9 out of 10 cars on the road today. NASCAR mechanics trust E15 for their vehicles on and off the track, hitting 10 million miles using the biofuel this year.  And teams racing in the IndyCar series already use 100 percent ethanol fuel.

The question is this: Why would Van Ryan and the American Petroleum Institute, an organization funded by America’s largest oil companies who receive more than $7 billion in government subsidies and an additional $800 million in tax breaks annually, be calling for an end to the Renewable Fuels Standard?

“Big Oil” wants to continue their anti-competitive monopolistic actions that created a necessity for the Renewable Fuels Standard in the first place! They want Americans to be forced to buy more oil — whether it is shipped here from the Middle East or drilled, pumped or fractured from our lands or from the bottoms of our oceans.

The RFS enables competition in a marketplace dominated by the oil industry and ensures drivers have better options at the pump. And “Big Oil” is fighting in Congress — and yes, even in the editorial pages — to prevent drivers from having access to higher blends of ethanol. They know that the ultimate check against out-of-control oil prices is not increased supply that has been achieved through drilling technology, but an alternative source of fuel.

For over a decade, the RFS remains the most successful clean energy policy to strengthen our energy security, protect the environment and stimulates investment and creates jobs — including more than 25,000 jobs in Indiana alone.

Hoosiers deserve the truth, not misinformation peddled by “Big Oil” interests; The Renewable Fuels Standard is working and Congress should not mess with the RFS.

Dave Hudak is general manager of POET Biorefining Alexandria and secretary/treasurer of the Indiana Ethanol Producers Association.

Read the original story: Ethanol Standard Saves Consumers Money

Des Moines Register

July 10, 2016

By Austin Dillon

I have been racing cars all of my life. Growing up in the garage, I learned firsthand the incredible amount of preparation, teamwork and determination it takes to succeed. The one thing I have learned in that time, teams are measured by one thing in NASCAR: performance.

From the crew chief, to the tire changer, to the engineers, everyone on the team ultimately contributes to performance on the track. We rely heavily on each other, but we also depend on key partnerships that ensure we reach our goals. The fuel we put into our engines is one of the most important contributors to our performance at the track each and every weekend.

Fortunately, NASCAR has been powered by a homegrown bio-fuel since 2011. It’s clean, green and renewable. The best drivers in the world have raced almost 10 million flawless miles on Sunoco Green E15 — proving it’s as good for engines as it is for the environment.

Throughout my life, I have been lucky to travel across this great nation of ours. I’ve had the pleasure to meet people from all walks of life, including the hard working families who farm in our country’s heartland. That’s why I am so proud of my partnership with American Ethanol, because the American-grown corn used to manufacture ethanol has helped support countless farming communities, and our nation’s economy.

Educating our fans about sustainable homegrown American fuel that is better for our environment is truly a passion of mine. Offering consumers a higher blend of ethanol at the pump reduces our dependence on foreign oil and creates jobs right here in the U.S., while revitalizing rural economies across America.

In 2011, NASCAR’s groundbreaking partnership with Sunoco and American Ethanol prompted the launch of a long-term bio-fuels program across our three national touring series. Sunoco Green E15, a 15 percent ethanol blend bio-fuel, has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent while increasing horsepower.

How does this apply to you, the consumer who isn’t driving a race car on a daily basis? Tests by the Department of Energy prove that all 21st century engines can run on E15, a higher blend of ethanol, and automakers warranty 15 percent blends for use in nearly 3 out of 4 new cars being sold today. Moreover, drivers have surpassed 150 million miles using E15 in the last 12 months. Higher ethanol blended fuels are safe and viable options.

Gasoline retailers and automakers are embracing consumer demand for higher blends of ethanol by increasing the amount of pumps with E15, E85 and other higher blends and designing vehicles to support these higher blends of clean-burning, high-octane biofuels.

However, even with all of this positive momentum at our backs, we are now facing a critical time for our nation. Since 2005, the Renewable Fuel Standard remains the only clean energy policy working to lower our dependence on oil, keep our air clean and combat climate change.

Right now, preparations are being made to finalize the volume requirements that determine how much renewable fuel oil companies are required to make available to consumers at the pump. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed initial volume requirements that fall short of even the modest goals set into law by Congress.

To guarantee that the current administration doesn’t turn back the clock on America’s most successful energy policy, consumers across the country must make their voices heard now — the deadline is quickly approaching. By July 11, drivers who care about having affordable, green options at the pump should contact the EPA and ask their lawmakers to support a strong Renewable Fuel Standard. It’s easy, just visit GrowthEnergy.org/Action to make your voice heard by the EPA.

I am proud to run American Ethanol in my car, I promise you will be too.

AUSTIN DILLON drives the No. 3 Chevrolet SS. which includes sponsor American Ethanol, for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Read the original story: Ethanol Fuels the Race Against Climate Change

We recently reported on the number of economic and physical issues associated with particulate emissions but a new study released from the National Bureau of Economic Research reports on the far reaching indoor effects of fine particulate pollution.