Renewable Energy -Ethanol Fuel Alternative - E100 Ethanol is most commonly used to power automobiles, though it may be used to power other vehicles, such as farm tractors and airplanes Ethanol fuel is a biofuel alternative to gasoline. It can be combined with gasoline in any concentration up to pure ethanol (E100). Anhydrous ethanol, that is, ethanol with at most 1% water, can be blended with gasoline in varying quantities to reduce consumption of petroleum fuels and in attempts to reduce air pollution. Fuel Additives - E10 & E85 There are three types of gasoline additives, methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethanol and ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE). Ethanol is increasingly used as an oxygenate additive for standard gasoline, as a replacement for methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE). At a 10% mixture, ethanol reduces the likelihood of engine knock, by raising the octane rating. The use of 10% ethanol gasoline is mandated in some cities where the possibility of harmful levels of auto emissions are possible, especially during the winter months. Worldwide automotive ethanol capabilities vary widely and most spark-ignited gasoline style engines will operate well with mixtures of 10% ethanol (E10) (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline). For E10, the effect is small (~3%) when compared to conventional gasoline, and even smaller (1-2%) when compared to oxygenated and reformulated blends. However, for E85 (85% ethanol), the effect becomes significant. E-85 is fuel composed of 85% Ethanol and 15% Gasoline. E-85 has additional benefits such as burning cleaner than gasoline and having a higher-octane level resulting in more horsepower. With the recent rise in gasoline prices, E-85 is price competitive also. Although most North American gasoline powered vehicles will tolerate up to 10% Ethanol, E-85 compatible engines must be designed and built to accept this fuel. Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) allows the fuel injection system to monitor the Ethanol content and adjust the system automatically. Thereby allowing drivers to fill up with E-85, regular gasoline or any combination of both. Many automotive companies have licenced this system and have built cars and trucks, which are FFV. Back to Top FACT: Ethanol-blended fuel keeps your fuel system clean for optimal performance because it does not leave gummy deposits. FACT: With a 113 octane rating, ethanol is the highest performance fuel on the market and keeps today's high-compression engines running smoothly.           Graphic Source: FRA (Renewable Fuels Association) Back to Top With the significantly-increasing labor productivity in agriculture countries, Ethanol fuel has become practical and has been greatly promoted worldwide. New regulations on gasoline quality and the additive application have an important impact on production in conventional refinery plants. Ethanol as the additive has become a trend to reduce the use of ethers in the production. MTBE Methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) was used a lot as gasoline additive but is difficult to retrieve from groundwater and soil contamination. After twenty years of MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) experience, the United States is now back to ethanol as the replacement of MTBE because the additive MTBE is currently being phased out due to ground water contamination.. ¡¡ ETBE ETBE was prepared from ethanol and tert-butyl alcohol on strong acid cation exchange resin via reactive distillation coupled with pervaporation. The comparison of several kinds of catalyst on the reactions was investigated and the reaction kinetics model was established. Separation of water by the hollow fiber membrane and the reactions coupled with pervaporation were researched. The comparison of ETBE yield via reactive distillation with and without pervaporation was carried out. According to measurement results, ETBE, as a gasoline blender produced by this methodology was superior to MTBE. Back to Top All Designed by Benny Xia   Best viewed at 800x600 resolution