Epa's Plan To Boost Ethanol Use In Gasoline Gets Hearing

[outsydthebox]

I like the theory, but there are usually unintended consequences which need to be fleshed out through study.

What is the impact of converting non-tillable land to algea production? Are other parts of the biosphere affected adversely? Much of the land which cannot be used to grow cash crops is used as a natural nursery for many species.

Like I said, do some research. The "land" is not damaged. It is a simple matter of pumping water into large, clear plastic tubing, and letting the sun react with the carbon dioxide. The result is incredible algae growth, which can be "harvested" every 10-12 days with annual harvest equivalent to (or greater than) 12,000 bushels of corn per acre. Whereas the average (corn) yield in the US for 2015 was 168.5 bushels/acre.
Algae requires zero fertilizers or pesticides.

 

[Marshall]

Like I said, do some research. The "land" is not damaged. It is a simple matter of pumping water into large, clear plastic tubing, and letting the sun react with the carbon dioxide. The result is incredible algae growth, which can be "harvested" every 10-12 days with annual harvest equivalent to (or greater than) 12,000 bushels of corn per acre. Whereas the average (corn) yield in the US for 2015 was 168.5
Algae requires zero fertilizers or pesticides.

I certainly think the concept should be pursued. It would certainly be more cost effective to produce a biofuel with the most efficient means available and if as totally efficient as hoped, free up food growing land.

Perhaps they could get back to letting farmland lay fallow every seven years to restore the lands naturally rather than through chemical additives and fertilizers. In fact, I suspect one byproduct of algea production for fuel would be as a natural fertilizer.

 

[Marshall]

Minimum 95% Naphtha. Less than 0.5% "proprietary organic compounds". = Snake Oil IMHO.

MSDS reveals the facts: http://rutherfordcountytn.gov/rm/documents/StarTronGasolineAdditive_000.pdf

Just buy Naphtha at your local Big Box hardware store for 1/100th the price.

Any time I hear "Free Radicals" in marketing, I know they are con artists.

I don't know if I'd go that far.

Be suspicious, but also be aware that catalysts are usually a small portion of a product and have a tremendous effect. I could see a possibility of 1 part in 200 being chemically significant. It doesn't mean it is, just that it could be.

 

[Rob Croson]

People have been hyping algae-based fuel production for decades, and that's not an exaggeration. I have National Geographic articles from the mid-90s that talked about it.

 

[AriLea]

People have been hyping algae-based fuel production for decades, and that's not an exaggeration. I have National Geographic articles from the mid-90s that talked about it.

In a way, not being supported by lobbyists is helpful. This makes the idea stand on it's own. If it's all that easy to do, at some point-boom it will be everywhere.
Maybe how wind-farms on actual farms are helping farmers augment their incomes, the algae process will do the same. Maybe in this case when you have wasted Detroit factory space you can get tanks, add your algae, pump in brown-water and whah-la multiple fuel out puts. Anyway plenty of people working on making that profitable.

 

[DeltaMike]

As some of you no doubt know, aviation has been wrestling with the issues of sustainable aviation fuels for some time including those mentioned here. Search for Sustainable Aviation Fuels for some excellent articles on the quality, economic, and environmental aspects. Yes, avjet fuels are not compatible with gasoline engines but the issues are interesting, and for fans of diesel, could point the way to the future.

 

[Ian442]

As someone who used to work on aircraft (u-2 models) we used JPTS fuel in the aircraft. Interesting stuff not too far from Diesel Fuel.

Wasn't very flammable in that you could flick matches or cigarettes into a bucket of it and they would simply go out. However burned great as the U-2 climbs to heights of over 70,000 feet in altitude.

 

[Hog]

I was searching for a way to extract the ethanol from the gas, I thought boiling it might work, but the boiling point is lower for most gasoline than the ethanol, I almost gave up when I found this post -

http://goldwingdocs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14679

I will definitely be trying this shortly..

 

[pistonboy]

EPA's Plan to Boost Ethanol Use in Gasoline Gets Hearing Ethanol acts as an efficient solvent, gradually cleaning out the accumulated gunk in fuel
It helps to know the terminology of fuels being sold. Ethanol is grain alcohol, produced mostly from corn in the U.S. It is used as an "oxygenate," an additive blended with gasoline to reduce exhaust emissions by introducing additional oxygen molecules to the combustion process. Two ethanol blends are currently available in many parts of the United States and Canada:

• E10 � A blend of 10% ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline. This is the most common ethanol fuel available.
• E85 � A blend of 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline

E85 is 85% alcohol? Alcohol requires much heat to vaporize it. The more alcohol, the more heat required. If I remember my professor correctly, engines that run on pure alcohol must start using gasoline, and then switch to alcohol when the engine is hot.

 

[Marshall]

I was searching for a way to extract the ethanol from the gas, I thought boiling it might work, but the boiling point is lower for most gasoline than the ethanol, I almost gave up when I found this post -

http://goldwingdocs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14679

I will definitely be trying this shortly..

If the boiling points are different, then a cracking unit can separate them. It's the basis of oil refining. But it would be far more cost effective to simply not mix them in the first place and that is a political problem, not a science problem.

But this same process will probably be part of the Algea based renewable fuel process.