The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 targets use of 36 billion gallons of biofuels per year by 2022. Achieving this may require substantial changes to current transportation fuel systems for distribution, dispensing, and use in vehicles. The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory designed a system dynamics approach to help focus government action by d...

Rapidly declining gasoline prices from their record high during the summer of 2008, while ethanol prices remained relatively high, made it difficult for many bio-fuel policy modelers to fully explain the impacts of U.S. bio-fuel policies on fuel prices. Using profitmaximization models for blenders, refiners, and distillers, we conduct a comparative static analysis to measure the relative magnit...

Motor fuel grade ethanol (MFGE) is the fastest growing market for ethanol worldwide; and MFGE production dwarfs the combined total production of all other grades of ethanol. Fermentation ethanol, as fuel (and solvent), has experienced several cycles of growth and decline since the early 1800s. By 1860, production had reached more than 90 million gallons per year. In 1861 Congress imposed a tax ...

Due to the feasibility of ethanol production in the United States, ethanol has become more attractive as a fuel source and a possible energy carrier within the hydrogen economy. Ethanol can be stored easily in liquid form, and can be internally pre-formed prior to usage in low temperature (200 o C – 400 o C) solid acid and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. However, complete electrochemic...

Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) are able to operate on a blend of ethanol and gasoline in any volumetric concentration of up to 85% ethanol (93% in Brazil). The estimation of ethanol content is crucial for optimized and robust performance in such vehicles. Even if an ethanol sensor is utilized, an estimation scheme independent of the ethanol sensor measurement retains advantages in enhancing the ...

a r t i c l e i n f o Consumption of ethanol in the United States has increased rapidly over the last few years, fueled by both higher crude oil prices and generous public support measures for renewable fuels. The contribution of etha-nol to the transport energy mix varies markedly by state. Heterogeneity in ethanol adoption and market development is investigated using a hierarchical, spatiotem...

Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) are able to operate on a blend of ethanol and gasoline in any volumetric concentration of up to 85% ethanol (93% in Brazil). The estimation of ethanol content is crucial for optimized and robust performance in such vehicles. Even if an ethanol sensor is utilized, an estimation scheme independent of the ethanol sensor measurement retains advantages in enhancing the ...

We show that the cost of increasing biofuel mandates given a binding ethanol blend wall will fall disproportionately on diesel fuel consumers. The extent of the burden on diesel fuel consumers is explained neither by their relatively more inelastic demand nor by blenders seeking to capitalize on the biodiesel tax credit. Relaxing the blend wall constraint by increasing the potential demand for ...

The addition of ethanol into gasoline has long been a method to help the hydrocarbons of gasoline burn smoother in an internal combustion engine by adding oxygen into the fuel. Gas stations list ethanol content in gasoline can be up to 10% ethanol but no more than 10% ethanol. By using the methods of standard addition, using known concentrations and volumes of spikes of ethanol into the gasolin...

Background: To mitigate climate impacts associated with energy consumption, renewable fuel policies have been established in the USA that encourage production and use of corn ethanol. Current fuel usage of corn ethanol is approximately 15 billion gallons/year (57 billion liters/year), with nearly all of this in the form of E10 (10% blend in gasoline). There is now interest in increasing fuel et...