by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) Go ahead, blend any amount of ethanol you want. And here’s why. -- ... The recent decision by the Biden Administration to provide an “emergency waiver” so E15 can continue to be sold during
compression ratios
Back TO HOMEACE Urges NHTSA to Develop a More Technology-Neutral Approach to Meet Fuel Economy Standards
(American Coalition for Ethanol) American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings submitted feedback to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today on its proposed rulemaking for Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks for Model
October 17, 2023 Read Full Article
New Issue Brief on Next Generation Fuels Act
(Clean Fuels Development Coalition) CFDC has produced an Issue Brief clearly explaining the provisions of the Next Gen legislation and makes a compelling case for its passage. The new brief, the latest in CFDC’s highly successful Issue Brief and White Paper series,
October 02, 2023 Read Full Article
Compression RATIO – A 5-Letter Word for EARTH MONTH
[caption id="attachment_176025" align="alignleft" width="333"] Graphic from AutoProTips.com https://www.autoprotips.com/what-is-compression-ratio-petrol-and-diesel-engine/[/caption] Within an internal combustion engine (ICE), as the volume within the vehicle's cylinders changes it causes the combustion of the fuel and FORCE is then exerted on the piston. The amount of FORCE
April 14, 2023 Read Full Article
Awestruck by Aquastroke: A New Engine and Its Ethanol+Water Fuel
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A very interesting technology has come to our attention, worth a serious look, it’s a new attack on an old idea, which is the production of affordable energy using s combination of 70 percent water and
March 02, 2023 Read Full Article
Who Should Want More Ethanol in the Pool? Would You Believe Oil Refiners?
by David Hallberg, President (Dakota Ag Energy/Biofuels Digest) ... Which brings us back to my thesis—as the pendulum swings back to internal combustion engines the quest for low carbon isn’t going to disappear. ... A nationwide E30 Clean Octane standard This triggered a
January 27, 2023 Read Full Article
Mazda's Multi-Solution Strategy: Fuel for Thought
(Mazda Stories) From reimagining the humble combustion engine to developing the all-electric cars of the future, Mazda is hard at work revolutionizing the way we think about sustainability. ... While most manufacturers concentrate simply on exhaust fumes to reduce CO2, Mazda has
November 29, 2022 Read Full Article
Ethanol vs. Electrons: The Future of Fuel
by Matt Roberts (Terrain) Many worry that electrified vehicles, fuel economy standards, and improving battery technology will make the internal combustion engine (ICE) obsolete, illegal, or both, with wildly varying estimates of the timeline. Many of these forecasts overlook the
November 16, 2022 Read Full Article
High-Octane Solutions to the New Energy Crisis
by C. Boyden Gray (Boyden Gray & Associates/Real Clear Politics) ... Currently, the EPA regulates fuels and automobiles separately, instead of as a single system. Automakers have the technological know-how to make much more efficient car engines, but regulatory barriers prevent
March 14, 2022 Read Full Article
What Is E85 Gas and Should You Use It?
by Andy Jensen (Advanced Auto Parts) ... E85 is widely available, an affordable alternative for many popular vehicles. Here's why you should take another look at ethanol. ... E85 is a gasoline and ethanol blend, much like your regular gas. If you
October 22, 2021 Read Full Article
Matching For More: The Defour Group's Dean Drake's Plan Involves Match Blending Mid-Level Blends
by Melissa Anderson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Defour Group's Dean Drake, a former GM public policy analyst, says liquid fuels have a shared future with electric vehicles if ethanol blending methods, engine technology and policy can align. His plan involves
September 25, 2021 Read Full Article
The Fuel Economy Rule: An EPA That Won’t See, Hear, or Speak to the Facts
by Doug Durante (Clean Fuels Development Coalition/Biofuels Digest) The release of the highly anticipated revision of the Safe Affordable Fuel Efficient Vehicle (SAFE) proposed rule this month was, for the biofuels industry, yet another poke in the eye as the EPA
August 26, 2021 Read Full Article
RFA Testimony to EPA Calls for Inclusion of High-Octane Low-Carbon Fuels
(Renewable Fuels Association) In a hearing today on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed greenhouse gas emissions standards for 2023-2026 light-duty vehicles, the Renewable Fuels Association is spotlighting the role high-octane, low-carbon fuels like ethanol can and must play in increasing fuel efficiency
August 25, 2021 Read Full Article
RFA Founder Calls for Correction of EPA Transportation Office’s “Shocking Miscarriage of Environmental Justice”
(Dakota Ag Energy) Speaking to the 14th Annual Bioenergy Conference hosted by Brazilian government and industry stakeholders, the founder of the U.S. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) charged U.S. EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) bureaucrats with a “shocking
August 10, 2021 Read Full Article
Renewed Focus on Climate Legislation Could Help Biofuels
by Sara Wyant (Ag Week) The biofuel industry argues that President-elect Joe Biden can also make progress on his climate goals by expanding biofuel usage mandates, embracing a low carbon fuel policy and increasing vehicle emissions standards. Now that Democrats have
January 19, 2021 Read Full Article
Libertine Demonstrates Technology to Help Heavy-Duty Vehicles Go ‘Fossil Free’, Enables Improved Cold Start with Bioethanol
(Libertine) Libertine FPE (“Libertine”), the creator of Smart Engine technology for hybrid electric vehicles and distributed power generation, has demonstrated technology that could help leading truck manufacturers to fulfil pledges to make all heavy-duty vehicles fossil free by 2040. With Libertine’s technology,
January 13, 2021 Read Full Article
The Secret Ingredient for Super Speed? Ethanol
by John Herath (AgWeb) The headlines were head-turning: an American made supercar had punched through the 300 mph barrier on a seven-mile stretch of empty road outside of Las Vegas. While the 331 mph top speed reported by the SSC Tuatara
November 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Signal to Noise: Oil and Biofuels Must Work Together
by John Herath (Farm Journal Ag Web) ... They (Pro Farmer's Jim Wiesemeyer and Farm Journal's John Herath) also lay out how the oil and biofuels industries need to work together if they want to preserve a future for liquid
September 28, 2020 Read Full Article
Onboard Separation Technology Set to Improve Fuel Economy
by Lynne Roeder (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) PNNL invention partitions ethanol from gasoline to enable octane on demand; could also lower emissions -- ... Designed to work with a car’s existing fuel, the onboard separation technology is the first to
May 25, 2020 Read Full Article
OPINION: Ethanol Dominates in Clean Air Contest
by Chris Bliley (Growth Energy/Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... When it comes to transportation emissions, newsrooms around the world generally preserve their biggest headlines for the urgent, high-stakes battle against climate change. Biofuels are a major part of that conversation, and
May 04, 2020 Read Full Article
Global Ethanol Summit Panel Focuses on the Economics of Octane
by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Day two of the inaugural Global Ethanol Summit began with a discussion about the economic benefits of blending ethanol in gasoline. Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Geoff Cooper began the panel with a discussion about
October 18, 2019 Read Full Article
Top 10 Bioeconomy Markets and Predictions for 2019
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A mere “The Year in Rewind” as we sail into 2019? Not the good ship Digest! Instead, we dust off our crystal ball and offer our predictions for the year ahead. As the sunset of 2018 gives way
January 08, 2019 Read Full Article
RFA Testifies in Support of High Octane Low Carbon Fuels at EPA/NHTSA Hearing
by Rachel Gantz (Renewable Fuels Association) A high-octane, low-carbon fuel containing 20-40% ethanol used in optimized engines would be the lowest cost means of achieving compliance with fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for model year 2021-2026 and beyond, Renewable Fuels
September 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Automakers Want 95 Octane Gas To Completely Take Over
by Erik Shilling (Jalopnik) ... Higher compression ratios, and thus higher octane, can have the additional benefit of greater fuel efficiency if the engine is built that way from the start, however. Which is why automakers are now lobbying for a new,
April 18, 2018 Read Full Article
RFA: EPA and NHTSA Should Consider Role of High Octane Fuels in Upcoming CAFE/GHG Rulemaking
by Emily Druckman (Renewable Fuels Association) The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today encouraged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to strongly consider the role of high-octane fuels and higher compression ratio engines as the
April 02, 2018 Read Full Article
EPA Publishes CAFE Standards Mid-Term Evaluation Final Determination
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) On April 2, 2018, the Administrator signed the Mid-term Evaluation Final Determination which finds that the model year 2022-2025 greenhouse gas standards are not appropriate in light of the record before EPA and, therefore, should be revised.
April 02, 2018 Read Full Article
Auto Exec: Raise the Octane Rating of U.S. Gasoline for Bump in Fuel Efficiency
by Jessie Stolark (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) At a recent American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers meeting, General Motors executive Dan Nicholson voiced the automaker’s support in raising the minimum octane rating of the U.S. gasoline pool from 87 to 91,
March 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Ethanol Groups Comment on CAFE-GHG Standards
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy and American Coalition for Ethanol have all submitted public comments to U.S. EPA and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration stressing the benefits of high-octane ethanol fuels in response to
October 10, 2017 Read Full Article
$45B Annual Windfall for US Consumers with a Gasoline-Engine Overhaul? EPA Is Getting a Patent Worth Knowing about
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the US Patent & Trademark Office has just issued a “notice of allowance” for a patent by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for a high efficiency, high compression engine that would reduce
June 09, 2017 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Here we have EPA agreeing that higher ethanol blends can reduce emissions and acknowledging that engines and fuels must be looked at as an integrated system. Adjusting compression to address the slightly lower energy content of ethanol while taking advantage
June 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol's Biggest Advocate May Be EPA
(Urban Air Initiative) In plot twist that may open the door to higher ethanol blends, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received an engine patent it has been pursuing for nearly a decade for a high efficiency, high compression
June 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Livin’ La Vida Octane: The Quest for Torque and Affordable, Sustainable Vroom
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In recent days. we’ve been updating some very useful industry charts relating to costs, carbon, and biofuels — and here’s another highly useful chart from the University of Illinois that looks at ethanol as a
May 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Energy Department Announces Up to $7 Million for the Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines
(U.S. Department of Energy) Today, the Energy Department (DOE) announced up to $7 million for eight universities to accelerate the introduction of affordable, scalable, and sustainable high-performance fuels for use in high-efficiency, low-emission engines. Under the Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines (Co-Optima)
December 29, 2016 Read Full Article
The War against Ethanol Began in the 1920S
(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) Big Oil has been fighting the ethanol industry for a long time. Since the 1920s, to be exact. -- In a recent feature by Automobile Magazine, the publication traces the roots of the war against ethanol to
September 30, 2016 Read Full Article
CAFE Standards: What’s Biomass Got to Do with It?
by Rebecca Chillrud (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On July 18, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released their Draft Technical Assessment Report (TAR), providing a midterm evaluation
September 09, 2016 Read Full Article
Don’t Save Energy, Save Exergy! The Enemy of Progress a/k/a Waste Heat
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... One of the most important efforts to reduce waste heat is in transportation engines. ... In transportation engine efficiency, there’s nothing more ambitious on the agenda than the US effort to raise corporate averaged
February 26, 2016 Read Full Article
The Highway to High Octane: Ethanol's Attempts to Gain Ground in US Gasoline
by Herman Wang and Jeff Bair (Platts) Capitol Crude: The US Oil Policy Podcast -- The US is likely to raise its gasoline octane standard over the next decade or so, which has the ethanol industry shifting into high gear
February 23, 2016 Read Full Article
Ethanol and the Race to Higher Octane Standards in the US: Fuel for Thought
by Herman Wang (Platts) With the US likely to raise the gasoline octane standard in the next decade or so to achieve greenhouse-gas emissions regulations and fuel efficiency targets, the domestic ethanol industry is promoting its product as the most cost-effective
February 22, 2016 Read Full Article
Octane’s Liquid Diamonds: The Secret Value of Ethanol
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Is ethanol really worth $3.81 for the octane but costs only $1.39 on the market? How could that be? Math majors around the country are frequently perplexed by this one. If you start with 84-octane RBOB
January 26, 2016 Read Full Article
The Looming Octane Shortage?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In a time of rising gasoline demand and targets for higher engine efficiencies, the world could use more octane. What about ethanol, and what about iso-octane itself? The Digest looks at the economics and the supplies. Over
December 29, 2015 Read Full Article
14 More Answers for your Burning Questions about Biofuels, Renewable Chemicals, the New Agriculture, and Biobased Products
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Q. How have the US elections and the regulatory situation in the US impacted development of biofuels for other countries, particularly Latin America? ... Not much impact from the 2014 US elections, so far —
December 28, 2015 Read Full Article
Power by People: ACE Discusses the Next Chapter for Ethanol
by Katie Fletcher (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Power by people; a simple slogan with the hopes of executing the complex task of changing the way people fundamentally think about the ethanol industry. Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition
August 11, 2014 Read Full Article
Ford Explains Ethanol Program to ACE Members
by John Davis (DomesticFuel.com) ... We’re committed to supporting biofuels by providing a range of products that provide biofuel capability in line with consumer demand. And that is key,” explained Dominic DiCicco with Ford Motor Company during the conference session titled, Automaker
September 24, 2013 Read Full Article
Advanced Biofuels USA Updates Next Generation Engines White Paper
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) With Ford's Ecoboost engines in about 40% of F-150 fleet and three shifts working in Cleveland, Ohio to keep up with demand, along with the increasing popularity of GM's Ecotec engines, it was time