Brandon McMurphy, Megan Gershey, Kate Widmer, Seth Johnston

Objectives: 1. Inform class of likelihood of biodiesel being a viable alternative fuel in the future. 2. Where can biodiesel be developed and deployed? 3. What are some problems encountered when using biodiesel? 4. Does our government support the use of biodiesel? 5. Discuss the sustainability of biodiesel.

Does Ethanol Have Potential? World ethanol-based energy production has tripled. Countries are currently using ethanol to power a large proportion of their vehicles. Ethanol may, however, use more energy during creation then it gives back in the long run. Ethanol may have the potential to provide a significant energy demand in the future, but has many drawbacks.

Corn-based Ethanol: In the United States most ethanol is made from corn. Corn is an easier and less expensive way to produce ethanol. Provides 26 percent more energy than it requires for production. Concerns about its production and use: Requires a large amount of arable land required for crops. Consumes a food crop to produce fuel. Highly dependent upon subsidies. May not actually reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 5 to 6 times less efficient than sugarcane.

Cellulosic Ethanol: Cellulosic Ethanol is biofuel derived from leaves and stems. Has the potential to become a competitive energy resource. Contained in nearly every free-growing plant and tree, and is in meadows, forests, and fields all over the world. Provides 80 percent more energy. Reduces GHG emission by 85 percent over reformulated gasoline. Concerns about its production and use: Currently requires extra financial support to develop. About $2.20 per gallon to produce cellulosic ethanol.

Does Biodiesel Have Potential? Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines. Usually made from plant oils or animal fat through a series of chemical reactions. Increasing use in the United States. Non-toxic and renewable. Concerns about its production and use: It requires twice the land area of the US to meet current heating and transportation needs. Vast amounts of land and fresh water are needed to produce enough oil to completely replace fossil fuel usage.

Current U.S. biodiesel production is primarily from oil from soybeans or from recycled restaurant cooking oil. efficiency/alternative- fuels/biodiesel2.htm

Does our group agree with the evidence? YES!!!!!!!

Development: Ethanol is produced efficiently where there is a supply of organic material. Corn-based ethanol can be produced anywhere there are given crops. Popular in Midwestern America. Biodiesel is better developed close to the source of the oil. Cities and towns, by restaurants.

Biodiesel runs in diesel engines No needed modifications to regular diesel engine in order to run on biodiesel. Manufacturer’s warranties Fuel Filters Biodiesel can degrade rubber Unsure of long term effects of running B100 on diesel engines

Environmental Problems Ethanol corn-based green house gases emitted large scale farming cellulosic “net energy” Biodiesel green house gases emitted increases biodegration rate

Sustainability Ethanol corn-based obtained from common crops: potatoes, sugar cane, maize ethylene, acetylene calcium carbide, coal, oil gas cellulosic cellulose products plant cell walls Biodiesel obtained from chemically reacting lipids vegetable oil tallow (animal fat) alcohol

Sustainability Ethanol United States and Brazil (in 2008) were the top ethanol fuel producers accounting for 89% of the worlds production of billions gallons University of Minnesota researchers say that if all corn grown in the U.S. were used to make ethanol it would replace 12% of current U.S. gasoline consumption. Biodiesel From the biodiesel production rate has increased 40% The total demand for diesel in the US and Europe is approximately 490 million tonnes (147 billion gallons). World production level of vegetable oil in 2005/06 was about 110 million tonnes, with about 34 million tonnes each of palm oil and soybean oil.

Laws and Regulations: April 23, 2009: California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a ruling that will go into effect January 1 of The California Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) limits carbon intensity in fuels used for transportation to help decrease CO12 emissions to overall reduce the carbon footprint of transportation May 5, 2009: President Obama signed a directive to help advance biofuels and to improve the way they're commercialized.

Policies Promoting Ethanol The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L ) established a renewable fuels standard. This standard requires the use of 4.0 billion gallons of renewable fuels in 2006, increasing each year to 7.5 billion gallons in Most of this requirement will be met with ethanol.

Technical Impediments Large-Scale farming is necessary to produce substantial amounts of ethanol from crops such as corn and sugar cane. This means much more land would need to be cultivated and farming this land would cause a decline in soil fertility, a decrease in water availability and quality, an increase in erosion, and an increase in the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Since land able to support crop growth in the US is fairly limited and most of it is already used to grow food crops many farmers would switch over to growing crops solely for making ethanol.

Land Conversion Converting forests to crop land may be necessary to maximize ethanol production. Much of the forest land in the US would not be able to support crops. However, deforestation of land that is able to support crops would increase global warming pollution and destroy animal habitats.

Problem with Engines All gasoline-burning cars and trucks can use a blend of 10 percent ethanol without any engine modifications. E10 can cause an increase in smog-forming pollution compared to pure gasoline. Gasoline specifications must be modified to burn clean on E10 so that that air quality is not reduced. Flexible-fuel vehicles can run on a fuel blend of up E85.

Cellulosic Ethanol Problems Planting fields solely of switchgrass has negative effects on wildlife habitats. It would be better on wildlife habitats if we were able to plant a mixture of different grass which could be converted to ethanol, however, the technology to do so has not yet been developed.

Conclusion In conclusion we feel that biodiesel is a good supplemental source of fuel but will not be able to fill the demands fully due to its disadvantages.