Advanced BioFuels USA

by Don Siefkes, Debbie Baron and Eileen Broderick (E100 Ethanol Group, Mendo Alcohol Fuel Group) … California Governor Jerry Brown and other Governors, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and much of the major media are continuing their unnerving habit of referring to H2 fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles as Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). They are not.

It takes a large amount of fossil fuel to produce the H2 and electricity for fuel cell and electric vehicles. ZEVs are zero emission only at the tailpipe and should be referred to in that way in all communications both oral and written by Governors, CARB, and major media.

If we are serious about lowering CO2 emissions, we should take into account the entire life cycle of CO2 generation during fuel production, shipping, distribution and combustion in the engine, not just at the tailpipe of a vehicle after combustion. The best way to do that is to specify maximum life cycle CO2 emissions per mile.

As the following table shows, ZEVs emit significant quantities of CO2. The numbers in the following table were developed using the accepted world standard for calculating life-cycle CO2 emissions, Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy in Transportation (GREET), v1.2.0.11425 from Argonne National Laboratory, and EPA data from window stickers of vehicles for sale. A range of 275 miles for the Mirai, a Green Car Reports estimate, was used since the EPA has not yet officially measured the Mirai’s range.

                                                                                      Life-cycle Lbs. CO2/mile

Chevy Equinox – 26 average mpg gasoline engine……………. 0.950

Toyota Mirai – H2 Fuel Cell …………………………………………… 0.488

Tesla Model S – 85 kWh battery (U.S. mix electricity)……….. 0.411

Tesla Model S – 85 kWh battery (CA mix electricity)…………. 0.255

26 average mpg cellulosic ethanol engine……………. 0.012 – 0.019*

*(Depending on the type of waste cellulose used)

As can be seen, an optimized cellulosic ethanol vehicle cuts CO2 emissions by anywhere from 13 to 21 times more than the Tesla S, even assuming the California mix for making electricity.

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The trouble with cap and trade systems such as California’s AB32 program and increased carbon taxes is that they don’t lower CO2 emissions directly. These proposals raise prices for continued CO2 emissions, but, as long as the increased prices are paid, it permits CO2 emissions to continue at the same rate.

After all, when we decided to restrict DDT and leaded gasoline, we didn’t say you can keep using DDT or leaded gasoline if you pay more money. The government simply mandated those bans, and the mandates worked.

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Stipulating less than 0.1 lbs. CO2/mile life cycle emissions for half of our vehicles will permit gasoline, electric, and H2 vehicles to continue to be sold and researched, but will cut CO2 emissions much more rapidly and at far lower cost than any carbon tax or cap and trade system. It will also permanently assure the future of the biofuels industry and make the U.S. absolutely and truly independent of imported oil.   READ MORE