HybridCars

November 14, 2018

By Evan Williams

Toyota is sending an ethanol hybrid to market and the executive responsible for it says that the project is exceeding all expectations.

Brazil is the biggest producer of ethanol in the world. The country has a largely sustainable biofuel market thanks to sourcing from sugar cane instead of grain. Every car in the country built after 1976 can run on at least some mix of gas and biofuel. Most are flex-fuel cars that can work on anything from E20 to pure ethanol. So it makes sense to build a flex-fuel hybrid for the market.

“The soonest I can put it in production, I’m going to do it,” Toyota’s Latin America CEO Steve St. Angelo told Automotive News at an auto show in Brazil last week.

“We need to be competitive,” St. Angelo said. “Our home countries are not going to give the money just because we are nice guys in Brazil. You have to have a good business case.”

Toyota’s current hybrids, like the Prius, can run on the usual E10 mixture found in North America but aren’t capable of handling a higher mix of the alternative fuel. In addition to different engine fueling and ignition calibration issues, more ethanol can cause problems with seals and rubber and plastic fuel system components. St. Angelo has his team working on a flex-fuel version that will fix that issue. Combining an electric motor and an engine that can run on ethanol. That has the potential to further reduce tailpipe emissions.

The automaker revealed the hybrid flex-fuel prototype in Brazil last March. The prototype was a Prius with a combustion engine and system modified for the biofuel. Toyota says that the system significantly lowers CO2 emissions from the vehicle. The sugarcane-based ethanol made in Brazil helps further improve the emissions reduction.

So how soon is soonest? It shouldn’t take more than three years to bring the car to market, St. Angelo said. He added that the company isn’t spending big money on a new model, but is making tweaks and calibration changes. Presumedly to an existing model.

Read the original article: Toyota Bringing an Ethanol Hybrid Car to Market

                Brian Kletscher, CEO of Highwater Ethanol, explaining cooling tower and waste water treatment plant operations to Springfield High School students.

Lamberton, Nov 13 – Eighteen students from Springfield High School toured Highwater Ethanol today to learn more about homegrown renewable energy production.

During the tour, the students, from grades 10 to 12, learned about the various processes in ethanol production at Highwater Ethanol, which produces 59.5 million gallons a year.

“By getting a first-hand look at our operations, we hope to have an impact on these students as they plan on furthering their education and eventually head into their respective working careers. Ethanol produced here in Lamberton supports our local farm economy and promotes homegrown energy independence," said Brian Kletscher, CEO of Highwater Ethanol.

The students, who were from the school’s Ag Science and Horticulture classes, toured the plant’s administrative office, water treatment process, incoming grain grading and handling, ethanol loadout, ethanol process facility, energy center, dried distiller grain production and storage.

The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Biofuels), a non-profit trade organization that represents the ethanol industry in Minnesota. Highwater Ethanol is a member of MN Biofuels.

“These tours allow students the opportunity to engage with plant staff and learn about the many benefits that locally grown and made biofuels have, like reducing carbon emissions, contributing to consumer choice and lowering pump prices,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director at MN Biofuels.

Highwater Ethanol began operations in Lamberton in August 2009. It currently has 42 fulltime employees. 

Sarah Lee, an Agriculture Education teacher at Springfield High School, said her students had discussed renewable energy and its environmental benefits prior to today’s tour.

“We grow a lot of corn in our area and it is neat for them to see, in more detail, how it is used. Living in the area, many students understand the ‘farm-to-table’ for our food, but with many vehicles on the road today that are able to run on E85, or an ethanol blend, it will be good for them to understand the ‘farm-to-fuel-tank’ process,” she said.

Lee said today’s tour also highlighted to her students the various career opportunities in the ethanol industry.

“This is extremely relevant to our local agricultural economy and is important for kids to get a better understanding of ethanol, its uses and the local and global impact. Our students now have a better idea of area job opportunities for post high school by seeing the process of corn to ethanol conversion and the technology used to help make it happen,” she added.

Ethanol Producer Magazine

November 8, 2018

By Erin Voegele

On Nov. 8, the USDA released the November edition of its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, forecasting corn production for 2018-’19 at 14.626 billion bushels, down 152 million bushels from October on a reduced yield forecast.

Feed and residual use is lowered 50 million bushels to 5.5 billion bushels based on a smaller crop and higher prices. Exports are reduced 25 million bushels to 2.45 billion bushels based on expectations of increased competition from Ukraine. With supply falling more than use, the report forecasts corn ending stocks down 77 million bushels when compared to October, to 1.736 billion bushels. The forecast for ethanol and byproducts use is maintained at 5.65 billion bushels. The season-average corn price received by producers is raised 10 cents to a midpoint of $3.60 per bushel.

Globally, corn production is forecast higher for China, Ukraine, Argentina, Kenya, Moldova, and Russia. EU corn production is lowered, mostly reflecting reductions for Hungary, Poland and Germany. Corn exports are raised for Ukraine, Argentina, and Moldova. Imports are raised for the EU, Vietnam and Iran. Not including China, foreign corn ending stocks are higher than last month, mostly reflecting increases for Argentina, Iran, Paraguay and Vietnam.

Read the original article: USDA WASDE Maintains Forecast For Corn Use in Ethanol

Euractiv

November 8, 2018

By Gerardo Fortuna

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently pointed out that the pace of transition in the transport sector deemed necessary for a 1.5C-consistent pathway must include more biofuels and electricity in transport’s energy mix.

The UN’s climate science body highlighted some benchmark indicators for sectoral changes in the supplementary materials attached to the major report that shocked the world one month ago (8 October).

As regards the transport sector, IPCC scientists indicated for 2020, 2030 and 2050 respectively a biofuels share of 2%, 5.1%, and 26.3% as good policy targets in order to follow the appropriate path in curbing emissions.

The report also said that electricity’s involvement in the transport mix should increase to 1.2% in 2020, 5% in 2030 and 33% in 2050, meaning that by 2030 biofuel-powered vehicles would still be as important as e-cars.

“What the IPCC projects on 1.5°C-consistent transport pathways can be derived from their figures on a low overshoot pathway,” Zoltán Szabó, a sustainability consultant specialised in bioenergy told EURACTIV.

Szabó said the IPCC singled out electromobility and biofuels as the two major drivers of transport sector decarbonisation in 2020, 2030 and 2050, and it concludes that biofuels will displace more oil in 2020 and 2030 than renewable electricity will, and has these two solutions roughly equal in scale by 2050.

“Electromobility is on the rise but much of it will be powered by fossil fuels. A derived chart shows that biofuels, with ethanol being the most prominent biofuel, will have a larger role in the critical next 12 years than renewable energy powered electromobility. IPCC represents science, so this is a powerful vision,” he stated.

In the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) market forecast published on the same day as the IPCC report, modern bioenergy is expected to become the fastest-growing renewable sources between 2018 and 2023.

Bioenergy will remain the largest source of renewable energy also because of its widespread use in heat and transports, sectors in which other renewables currently play a much smaller role, the IEA’s report said.

Wastes and residues will offer low lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate concerns over land-use change, representing huge potential for the entire bioenergy sector and improving waste management and air quality as well, according to the IEA.

The European renewable ethanol association ePure shares the view of IEA and particularly on the significant “untapped potential” of biofuels in fighting climate change.

“The current Clean Mobility proposal on reducing CO2 emissions from cars ignores the important contribution that low-carbon liquid fuels can make to decarbonisation now and in the future,” Secretary-General of ePURE Emmanuel Desplechin told EURACTIV.com

He added that politicians tend to focus on the latest miracle cure, represented in the case of transport decarbonisation by the e-cars, which are important but not the only answer to the question of emissions reduction.

Nor are e-cars a major factor at the moment. “People are still buying cars that run on liquid fuel, and those cars will be on the road for a long time,” he said, adding that the best way to decarbonise these car fleets is to use low-carbon liquid fuel, like renewable ethanol.

“We need to get ready and all options need to be mobilised,” Desplechin concluded.

“Policymakers in Brussels think about bicycles and e-cars in Norway and the Netherlands, but they ignore the real world of Poland, Italy, Ireland etc… where cycling and e-cars are purely theoretical,” said James Cogan, a policy analyst at the operator of Ethanol Europe Renewables Ltd (EERL), Europe’s largest biorefinery.

Thinking that electric vehicles powered by wind and sun have already solved the problem in transport is a dangerous solution, according to him.

He said the world’s huge fleet of conventional vehicles is growing 3%-6% each year, adding hundreds of millions of additional carbon emitting engines to the problem.

“There is a big risk that COP24 delegates in Katowice in December will not realise this,” he said.

Bioenergy can be used effectively on a scale that makes a real contribution to curbing emissions, but it has a material cost and impact because it requires substantial volumes of biomass to be converted to energy.

First generation biofuels made from food crops are currently not taken into account by the EU biofuels policy due to their significant land use impacts.

They are not considered a solution anymore, whereas “sustainable advanced biofuels from waste and residues can help decarbonise transport, provided they deliver significant GHG savings and comply with strict sustainability criteria,” said Laura Buffet from the NGO Transport and Environment (T&E).

“However, the quantities of advanced biofuels available at sustainable level will remain very limited,” she added.

The NGO is well known for underpinning e-mobility and it recently accused fossil gas of being as bad for the climate as diesel, petrol and marine fuel in a report.

“Renewable electricity from solar and wind is the cleanest source of fuel and should be the preferred pathway to decarbonise transport,” Buffet said.

According to T&E, renewable electricity is also much more efficient in terms of land use than conventional biofuels, since one football pitch of ethanol crops can power 2.6 cars for a year.

According to EERL’s Cogan electricity and biofuel can coexist and complement each other.

“The most flexible vehicle on the planet is the Toyota hybrid flex-fuel. It runs on four types of power (renewable electricity, fossil electricity, fossil petrol, and renewable ethanol) with seamless flexibility, in any combination in any moment,” he said.

For ePure as well, the two sources must coexist because people will still be driving cars with combustion or hybrid engines for a long time.

“The public wants results now to lower emissions. They shouldn’t have to wait decades for electric vehicles to become more commonplace,” said ePure’s Desplechin.

According to T&E’s Laura Buffet, renewable electrofuels produced with additional renewable electricity and complying with strict sustainability safeguards could help reduce emissions in sectors like aviation which are harder to electrify.

Read the original article: Electricity and Biofuels Needed in Tandem to Meet Climate Goals, UN Report Says

Ethanol Producer Magazine

November 7, 2018

By Erin Voegele

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the November edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, maintaining its October forecast for 2018, but increasing its ethanol production forecast for next year.

The EIA currently predicts the U.S. will produce an average of 1.05 million barrels of ethanol per day this year, unchanged from its October STEO. Production averaged 1.04 million barrels per day last year. On a quarterly basis, the EIA now predicts that ethanol production will average 1.05 million barrels per day during the third quarter of 2018, up from its October prediction of 1.04 million barrels per day for the quarter.

For 2019, the EIA now predicts ethanol production will average 1.04 million barrels per day, up from the 1.03 million barrel per day prediction included in the October STEO. On a quarterly basis, production is expected to average 1.03 million barrels per day during the first quarter of 2019, increase to 1.04 million barrels per day during the second quarter, fall to 1.03 million barrels per day during the third quarter, and return to 1.04 million barrels per day during the fourth quarter.

Ethanol consumption is currently expected to average 940,000 barrels per day in 2018, level with 2017 consumption. Next year, consumption is expected to increase to 950,000 barrels per day.

The EIA’s most recent weekly data shows ethanol production averaged 1.068 million barrels per day the week ending Nov. 2, up from 1.059 million barrels per day the previous week.

The EIA’s most recent monthly data shows the U.S. imported 304,000 barrels of ethanol in August, primarily from Brazil. During the same month, the U.S. exported 2.942 million barrels of ethanol, primarily to Canada, the Netherlands, and United Arab Emirates.

Read the original article: EIA Increases Ethanol Production Forecast for 2019

Little Falls, Nov 7 – Thirty students from Milaca High School toured the Central Minnesota Renewables (CMR) plant today to gain a better understanding of clean Minnesota-produced renewable chemicals. 

The students, who are from Milaca’s FFA chapter, were briefed on the various processes of bio-based chemical production such as acetone and n-butanol.

“It’s important for students to understand how bio-based ingredients produced right here in Little Falls reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Our renewable chemicals are boosting the economy in rural Minnesota and tours like these highlight the necessary skills to pursue a career in bio-based chemical production,” said Jonathan Olmscheid, VP of Finance at CMR.

The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Biofuels), a non-profit trade organization that represents the ethanol and renewable chemical industries in Minnesota. CMR is a member of MN Biofuels.

CMR was previously an ethanol plant that was repurposed to produce renewable chemicals from corn in 2016. Renewable chemicals have 45 percent greater carbon efficiency during production in comparison to petroleum-based chemicals.

CMR’s renewable chemicals are used as raw materials in many consumer products such as Kingsford GreenFlame charcoal lighter fluid, Beauty Secrets acetone nail polish remover, paints, adhesives and coatings.

"During the tour, the students learned about the different stages of acetone and butanol production at our facility and how they compared to traditional ethanol production including incoming grain handling and storage, breakdown of corn into starch which is utilized in fermentation, the protein and fiber sold as a livestock feed, distillation of solvents, and the products that these solvents are used to produce," Olmscheid said.

CMR uses 5.2 million bushels of Minnesota-grown corn a year to produce its renewable chemicals.

“Through these tours, students are given a chance to see and understand the process of converting a homegrown renewable ingredient into sustainable bio-based chemicals” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director at MN Biofuels.

Doug Olson, the Vocational Agriculture teacher at Milaca High School, accompanied his students for the tour.

"We are trying to expose our students to a wide variety of career options within the agriculture industry. Having the opportunity to tour a local bio-based chemical plant is awesome! Renewable energy will continue to be in the spotlight as we try to manage our natural resources for an estimated global population predicted to exceed nine billion by the year 2050,” Olson said.

CMR currently has 50 employees that work in fields such as accounting, logistics, grain procurement, shift operations, engineering and lab technicians.

3050 1st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-827-6370
E15, E30 ,E85

U.S. Grains Council

November 1, 2018

News Release

Global markets vary greatly in their experiences with ethanol, from fully realizing the advantages of increased ethanol use to continued reliance on expensive and environmentally harmful fossil fuel additives. The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) wants countries around the world to look to ethanol when their government and industries think about octane.

Depending on the octane of the base gasoline in the fuel, refiners use additives to boost octane levels to enhance engine performance. Many international markets rely on methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) as an additive despite water quality problems and associated clean-up costs exhibited in the United States and other countries. Additionally, refiners often use aromatics such as benzene, toluene and xylene, collectively known as BTX. Aromatics have high levels of particulate matter emissions that negatively impact human health and are expensive.

With one of the highest octane ratings of any fuel additive at 113 AKI (anti-knock index, which measures the fuel’s ability to resist knocking during combustion), ethanol provides economic benefits by boosting octane ratings of subgrade gasoline. Markets that do not allow ethanol blending within their national fuel specifications do not capture this octane advantage, cost-savings and other benefits of ethanol for their fuel oxygenation requirements, typically due to the lack of policies effectively governing national fuel standards. Many of these governments simply do not know a reliable alternative to MTBE or aromatics exists and is readily available.

From a straight price perspective, U.S. ethanol is cheaper than other components of gasoline – including MTBE and aromatics – and in some cases, gasoline itself. Using ethanol also reduces refining costs, allowing use of a sub-grade of gasoline, adding more savings. Octane value and cost savings are especially important in price-sensitive markets where fuel demand is more elastic.

Countries with excess refining capacity stand to further benefit from using ethanol in the finished gasoline product to other countries. South Korea and India both have significant refining sectors to service their own markets and export finished product to other markets. Singapore is also a major transshipment point for other countries in the Asian region, including Indonesia, which has annual gasoline demand of nearly 12 billion gallons.

The Persian Gulf, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and other European countries with excess oil refining capacity are exporting finished gasoline products to the West Africa region. These countries are taking advantage of the octane benefits of ethanol and passing them on to customer countries.

In its work to promote ethanol use globally, the Council encourages countries without the ability to produce their own feedstock to develop biofuels policies that include a role for ethanol imports. Countries that produce ethanol domestically can also benefit from trade that helps reliably fulfill the total ethanol demand needed to meet national fuel mandates.

More than 65 countries already have biofuels policies in place, with 11 markets announcing significant policy expansions in the last year. The Council continues to educate ministry and industry officials on the benefits of using ethanol and developing policies with a role for trade.

Read the original release: Sharing The Octane Advantage Of Ethanol With World Markets

Energy.AgWired.com

November 2, 2018

By Cindy Zimmerman

Environmental groups filed a petition with EPA this week claiming that “millions of acres of wildlife habitat” have been converted to corn and soybean crops to produce biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard, based on a June report to Congress, which offered no specific conclusions about land use change related to biofuels production.

The petition claims that previously uncultivated land is being used to grow biofuels feedstocks, even though the amount of land used for corn and soybean production has declined since the RFS was instituted.

“The acreage data is very clear: farmers are planting fewer acres to corn today than we did when the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was expanded,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Lynn Chrisp. “And it’s not just corn acres that have fallen. The area planted to principal crops is shrinking nationwide. The reality of what is happening on today’s farms is not accurately portrayed in the petition.”

NCGA notes that farmers planted fewer acres to corn in 2018 (89.1 million) than they did when the RFS was expanded in 2007 (93.5 million). During that same time, ethanol production expanded from 6.5 billion gallons to 15.8 billion gallons. Overall, the area planted to principal crops in the U.S. has fallen from 328.6 million acres in 2000 to 322 million acres in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Meanwhile, the average corn yield has increased by more than 25 bushels per acre since 2007 and doing so with fewer resources and improved farming practices. Farmers have doubled yields while the cutting use of primary nutrients per bushel in half between 1980 and 2014.

Chrisp says they welcome new dialog with environmental organizations. “Environmental groups recognized the emissions reductions and health benefits of biofuels when they backed the RFS. This energy and environmental policy has been a success, delivering GHG reductions, improving air quality, saving consumers money at the pump and reducing our dependence on oil,” said Chrisp.

Read the original article: Corn Growers Dispute Land Use Petition Claims