Just Auto

June 16, 2017

By Fernando Calmon

Nissan was the auto industry's first company to develop a vehicle prototype powered by a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that works with bio-ethanol. By combining this and two other technologies (electric motor and a 24 kW/h battery) range is in excess of 600km (375 miles).

Brazil was chosen by the Japanese automaker for the global reveal of the technology and initial testing due to its huge, nationwide ethanol supply network and being the world's second largest ethanol producer.

Testing was done with two SOFC-equipped e-NV200 electric vans made in Spain and fitted with an ethanol fuel tank of just 30 litres (6.6 imperial gallons).

The first testing cycle in daily use was accomplished in the last few months by the Nissan Brazil research and development team. The technology fitted perfectly with day to day use and with Brazil's 5% water, hydrous ethanol fuel.

The Fuel Cell e-bio's research and development programme was announced by Nissan in Yokohama, Japan, in June 2016. It was first unveiled on the eve of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games opening in Rio de Janeiro City in August last year at an event for smart mobility organised by Nissan.

The motor is clean, highly efficient and it works 100% on straight ethanol or on a mix of ethanol with up to 50% water, which would make it easier to use in countries with no ethanol production dependent on imports. Its emission are classified as carbon-neutral well to wheel.

The Fuel Cell e-Bio provides the usual strong acceleration and silent drive of any electric vehicle, together with low maintenance costs, but with the range of a fossil fuel-powered vehicle.

Bio-ethanol comes mainly from sugar cane and corn available in North and South American countries.

Read the original article: Nissan Brazil Ends Initial Tests of Ethanol Fuel Cell

AgriPulse

June 14, 2017

By Spencer Chase

A hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee left backers of a bill that would expand sale of higher ethanol blends encouraged, but the legislation has an uncertain future.

The hearing examined the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S.517), which would alter the Clean Air Act to allow for the sale of blends of ethanol like E15 to be sold in the summer. Currently, Reid vapor pressure restrictions are only waived for E10, a 10 percent blend that accounts for most of the fuel sold in the U.S.

While the hearing did examine the legislation, it wasn’t a formal markup of the bill. Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is one of the bill’s 17 co-sponsors, told reporters yesterday that he hoped to see a markup next week, but Committee Chairman John Barrasso told Agri-Pulse that isn’t going to happen.

“It’s not going to be next week,” the Wyoming Republican said. Asked whether the committee would pursue a markup, he said that a markup of the bill “has been promised” to Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb, the bill’s sponsor, but did not mention a timeline.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Delaware Democrat Tom Carper, the committee’s ranking member, said he sensed a “willingness to hold a hearing, not an eagerness to move toward a markup.”

Biofuel industry sources tell Agri-Pulse  the current estimate is for a markup sometime before the August recess. But when the bill eventually does move, it may have to overcome opposition from committee leadership.

Barrasso said at the beginning of today’s hearing that he doesn’t support the bill, but said it deserved “a full and fair hearing before this committee.” Additionally, Carper told reporters after the hearing that if his concerns about how the legislation would impact the volatility of the Renewable Identification Number (RIN) market aren’t addressed, then he “could not support the bill as it is.”

A bipartisan contingent of senators, however, threw their weight behind the bill. Besides Fisher, Republicans Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Democrat Tammy Duckworth of Illinois all spoke favorably of the legislation.

Mike Lorenz is an executive vice president with Sheetz, a retailer that sells E15. He said that after millions of transactions from thousands of customers, “we have not had a single customer complaint or any cases of misfueling.” Todd Teske, the chairman, president, and CEO of Briggs & Stratton, reiterated his concern over misfueling, however, by pointing to damaging impacts that could come about if small engines used fuel blended with more than 10 percent ethanol.

Ethanol skeptics on the committee like Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe also spoke against the bill, saying it would be another victory for corn ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard. But Brooke Coleman, the executive director of the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, said advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol could also benefit from the legislation. He pointed to difficulties some cellulosic projects face in securing funding because of an uncertain demand picture, and he said the bill could shore up confidence among investors.

“This will fundamentally change that conversation,” Coleman said at the hearing. “Basically, you’ll have an ethanol industry that gets to the next level from an innovation standpoint.”

After the hearing, Coleman pointed out that opponents of  the legislation will seek to pit cellulosic and other advanced biofuels against conventional corn ethanol, but he said the industry can’t let that happen. He said the same groups of lawmakers that helped pass the RFS in the first place can also play a role in backing S.517 and companion legislation in the House.

“The coalition that built the RFS was a broad, bipartisan, middle of the country, coastal America coalition, and there’s no reason to break that down.”

Read the original story: Senate Hearing Reviews E15 Bill; Path Forward Unclear

Renewable Fuels Association

June 7, 2017

By Emily Druckman

More than a decade after the original renewable fuel standard (RFS) was signed into law, tremendous progress has been made toward its goals of energy security, clean air and boosting local economies, according to a new analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association, “RFS Impacts: By the Numbers.” The analysis comes as EPA is expected to soon issue its proposed 2018 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the RFS.

Congress adopted the RFS in 2005 and expanded it in 2007. The program requires oil companies to blend increasing volumes of renewable fuels with gasoline and diesel, culminating with 36 billion gallons in 2022.

“The data show that by any objective measure, the RFS has been a tremendous success,” according to the analysis, which looks at data on how the world has changed since adoption of the RFS. Specifically, the analysis compares key data points and indicators from 2005 and 2007 to data from 2016.

Among the highlights:

-The number of operational U.S. ethanol plants has grown from 81 in 2005 to 213 in 2016, while  ethanol production has grown from 3.9 billion gallons to 15.3 billion gallons, a nearly 300% increase;

-U.S. ethanol industry jobs grew 121 percent from 153,725 in 2005 to 339,176 in 2016, and the value of the industry’s output quadrupled from $8.1 billion to $32.8 billion;

-U.S. corn production has grown from 11.1 billion bushels in 2005 to 15.2 billion gallons in 2016, a 36 percent increase, while average yields grew from 147.9 bushels per acre to 174.6 bushels per acre;

-U.S. petroleum net import dependence has dropped from 60% in 2005 to 25% in 2016, and would have been 33% last year without ethanol;

-The number of retail gasoline stations offering flex fuels like E85 to flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) grew 728 percent from 2005 to 2016, while the number of FFVs on the road grew 239 percent; and

-Ethanol’s role in cleaning the air has increased, with notable reductions in emissions of both greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants.

Meanwhile, the negative outcomes that opponents of the RFS suggested would occur simply have not materialized:

-Corn acres in 2016 were only 0.5 percent larger than in 2007, while total cropland was down more than 20 million acres (5 percent);

-Corn prices in 2016 were actually 19% lower than in 2007, while the corn surplus was 42% larger;

-Water use for irrigating corn trended lower, while the size of the Gulf hypoxia zone shrunk 14 percent between 2007 and 2016;

-Deforestation in the Amazon fell 58 percent between 2005 and 2016;

-Retail food price inflation was just 0.3 percent in 2016, compared to 2.4 percent in 2005 and 4 percent in 2007;

-Prices for red meat, poultry, fish, cereals and bakery items, and dairy actually experienced price deflation in 2016, compared to modest inflation in 2005 and 2007;

-U.S. milk production in 2016 was 20 percent higher than 2005, while red meat and poultry production was up 12 percent; and

-The U.N. global food price index was just 0.1 percent higher in 2016 than it was in 2007, while the number of people undernourished worldwide was down 16 percent.

“As this analysis clearly shows, the RFS has made a huge impact on consumers, providing them with greater choice at the pump, while cleaning the air and boosting local economies,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “With EPA expected to propose its 2018 RFS obligations in the near future, the agency needs to look no further than this document for what impact this vital program has had on our nation. We look forward to EPA continuing to implement a strong RFS to ensure future growth for our industry and the positive impact it has throughout all sectors of our economy.”

The full analysis is available here.

Read the original press release: RFS Has Been ‘Tremendous Success’ Since Adoption, According to RFA Analysis

Phys.Org

June 7, 2017

Making a living raising cattle isn't as simple as just buying a herd and turning it out to pasture. Cattle require specific diets to maintain proper nutrition and weight gain. And how to do this in the most effective and efficient way possible has interested both ranchers and researchers for generations.

Scientists in Texas are interested in how seasons affect how well cattle can digest a type of Bermuda grass, Tifton 85. In a recent study, they found that as seasons progress, the grass becomes harder to digest. However, by supplementing with the dried distillers' grains, this effect can be minimized.

Dried distillers' grains are left over after ethanol production. They are what remains of the ground corn used for fermentation.

"Due to the ramp-up in ethanol production over the past few decades, there has been an abundance of this byproduct in the beef industry," explains Monte Rouquette, a professor with Texas A&M AgriLife Research. "Originally viewed as a waste product of the industry, research began looking into other uses of the byproduct."

He adds that using it as food for livestock is an efficient use of this product. The value-added aspect has moved the grains from wasted to wanted.

The dried grains are now commonly used as a relatively cheap source of feed. In some instances, it can replace primary feed ingredients like corn or soybeans. Some supplements provide additional energy, some more protein, and others minerals. The distillers' grain is used for both protein and energy.

How does this fit with the forage season? Tifton 85 Bermuda grass is a common forage grass across the south and southeast United States. However, as the plants mature, they become harder for livestock to digest. The cattle have a harder time extracting nutrients from the grass. The grains can help add back those nutrients.

The results of this study, conducted by W. Brandon Smith as part of his PhD research, point to a potential two-season grazing strategy, based on animal size, weight, and age. For example, lightweight animals could graze in the early summer without the grain supplement because the grass is able to give them the needed nutrients to thrive.

In the later part of the summer, the matured animals could graze with the distillers' grain supplement. The grain would add back some of the nutrients the cattle lose out on when the grass is further into season.

This research allows the scientists to determine the most effective and efficient way to use distillers' grains as a supplement. They can learn how much is best to give, when is best to give it, and how much return it can provide a rancher.

"These data can then be used in an economic assessment to provide a baseline of potential responses from the use of a supplement," says Rouquette. "This work is of interest to us me because it sheds light on changes that occur chemically within the plant across the year that affect its digestibility."

Read the original story: Waste Not, Want Not: Byproduct of Ethanol Industry Makes Suitable Cattle Feed Supplement