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How Different Types of Alternative Fuel Are Produced

Alternative Fuel Information: Fuel Production

Alternative fuels, as defined by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), include hydrogen, ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, natural gas, propane, p-series fuels and electricity. These fuels are being used worldwide in a variety of vehicle applications.

Using these alternative fuels in vehicles can generally reduce harmful pollutants and exhaust emissions. In addition, most of these fuels can be domestically produced and derived from renewable sources.

How Alternative Fuels Are Made:

How is Hydrogen Made?

Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen can be produced using diverse, domestic resources including fossil fuels, such as natural gas and coal (with carbon sequestration); nuclear; and biomass and other renewable energy technologies, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and hydro-electric power. Researchers are working to develop a wide range of technologies to produce hydrogen economically and in environmentally friendly ways.

Today the two most common methods used to produce hydrogen fuel are:

Producing Hydrogen from Natural Gas

The predominant method for producing synthesis gas is steam reforming of natural gas, although other hydrocarbons can be used as feedstocks. For example, biomass and coal can be gasified and used in a steam reforming process to create hydrogen.

Producing Hydrogen from Water Using Electrolysis

Electrolysis uses electrical energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The electrical energy can come from any electricity production source including renewable fuels.

How is Ethanol Made?

Ethanol Production

Ethanol can be produced from any biological feedstocks that contain appreciable amounts of sugar or materials that can be converted into sugar such as starch or cellulose. Sugar beets and sugar cane are examples of feedstocks that contain sugar. Corn contains starch that can relatively easily be converted into sugar. A significant percentage of trees and grasses are made up of cellulose, which can also be converted to sugar, although with more difficulty than required to convert starch.

The ethanol production process starts by grinding up the feedstock so it is more easily and quickly processed in the following steps. Once ground up, the sugar is either dissolved out of the material or the starch or cellulose is converted into sugar. The sugar is then fed to microbes that use it for food, producing ethanol and carbon dioxide in the process. A final step purifies the ethanol to the desired concentration.

Ethanol is also made from a wet-milling process. Many larger ethanol producers use this process, which also yields products such as high-fructose corn sweetener.

How is Methanol Made?

Methanol Production

Methanol is predominantly produced by steam reforming of natural gas to create a synthesis gas, which is then fed into a reactor vessel in the presence of a catalyst to produce methanol and water vapor. Although a variety of feedstocks other than natural gas can and have been used, today’s economics favor natural gas.

Synthesis gas refers to combinations of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen. While a large amount of synthesis gas is used to make methanol, most synthesis gas is used to make ammonia. As a result, most methanol plants are adjacent to or are part of ammonia plants. The synthesis gas is fed into another reactor vessel under high temperatures and pressures, and CO and hydrogen are combined in the presence of a catalyst to produce methanol. Finally, the reactor product is distilled to purify and separate the methanol from the reactor effluent.

How is Biodiesel Made?

Biodiesel Production

Biodiesel fuel can be made from new or used vegetable oils and animal fats, which are nontoxic, biodegradable, renewable resources. Fats and oils are chemically reacted with an alcohol (methanol is the usual choice) to produce chemical compounds known as fatty acid methyl esters. Biodiesel is the name given to these esters when they’re intended for use as fuel. Glycerol (used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, among other markets) is produced as a coproduct.

Biodiesel can be produced by a variety of esterification technologies. The oils and fats are filtered and preprocessed to remove water and contaminants. If free fatty acids are present, they can be removed or transformed into biodiesel using special pretreatment technologies (PDF 5 KB) Download Adobe Reader. The pretreated oils and fats are then mixed with an alcohol (usually methanol) and a catalyst (usually sodium hydroxide). The oil molecules (triglycerides) are broken apart and reformed into methylesters and glycerol, which are then separated from each other and purified.

Approximately 55% of the biodiesel industry can use any fat or oil feedstock, including recycled cooking grease. The other half of the industry is limited to vegetable oils, the least expensive of which is soy oil. The soy industry has been the driving force behind biodiesel commercialization because of excess production capacity, product surpluses, and declining prices. Similar issues apply to the recycled grease and animal fats industry, even though these feedstocks are less expensive than soy oils.

Based on the combined resources of both industries, there is enough feedstock to supply 1.9 billion gallons of biodiesel (under policies designed to encourage biodiesel use). This represents roughly 5% of on-road diesel used in the United States.

How is Natural Gas Made?

Natural Gas Fuel Production

Most natural gas consumed in the United States is domestically produced. Gas streams produced from reservoirs contain natural gas, liquids, and other materials. Processing is required to separate the gas from petroleum liquids and to remove contaminants. In addition, natural gas (methane) can also come from landfill gas and water/sewage treatment.

First, the gas is separated from free liquids such as crude oil, hydrocarbon condensate, water, and entrained solids. The separated gas is further processed to meet specified requirements. For example, natural gas for transmission companies must generally meet certain pipeline quality specifications with respect to water content, hydrocarbon dewpoint, heating value, and hydrogen-sulfide content.

A dehydration plant controls water content; a gas processing plant removes certain hydrocarbon components to hydrocarbon dewpoint specifications; and a gas sweetening plant removes hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur compounds (when present).

How is Propane Made?

Propane Gas Production

Propane is a by-product from two sources: natural gas processing and crude oil refining. Most of the LPG used in the United States is produced domestically. When natural gas is produced, it contains methane and other light hydrocarbons that are separated in a gas processing plant. Because propane boils at -44°F and ethane boils at °F, it is separated from methane by combining increasing pressure and decreasing temperature.

The natural gas liquid components recovered during processing include ethane, propane, and butane, as well as heavier hydrocarbons.

Propane and butane, along with other gases, are also produced during crude refining as by-products of the processes that rearrange or break down molecular structure to obtain more desirable petroleum compounds.

How are P-Series Alternative Fuels Made?

New Pentanes Plus "P-Series" Fuel Production

P-Series fuel is a unique blend of natural gas liquids (pentanes plus), ethanol, and the biomass-derived co-solvent methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF). P-Series fuels are clear, colorless, 89-93 octane, liquid blends that are formulated to be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFV’s). P-Series are designed to be used alone or freely mixed with gasoline in any proportion inside the FFV’s gas tank. These fuels are not currently being produced in large quantities and are not widely used.

How is Electricity Made?

Electricity Production / Generation

Electricity is produced from power plants located throughout the country, transmitted to substations through high voltage transmission systems, stepped down to lower voltages, and carried to homes and businesses through distribution systems.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) describes the electric vehicle infrastructure as being 98% in place. The remaining 2% involves developing the connection from the grid to the vehicle and determining how recharging vehicles might affect the grid.

Some utilities have developed special time-of-use meters and off-peak electric rates to separately monitor EV electricity use from the home and provide incentives to recharge at night when the overall load is down.

Electricity to power vehicles can also be made from renewable resources using solar or wind technologies.



Article Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

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Flex Fuel Vehicles & E85 Ethanol Blend Help Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil

Clean Cities Campaign for an American Fuel

The time is right for flexible fuel vehicle dealers and fuel retailers selling ethanol to unite. The results could mean better business for both and increased energy security for our nation.

Automotive dealers who sell flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) have a unique opportunity to help our nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil. FFVs can be fueled with either gasoline or E85 (an American alternative fuel that consists of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), the trick is educating consumers so that: #1, they want to purchase these vehicles and #2, they fuel with E85.

U.S. Department of Energy Sponsors Clean Cities Program with a Campaign to Increase Flex Fuel Vehicle Sales & Educate Consumers

Clean Cities wants to work with FFV dealers and E85 retailers to develop campaign partnerships that will increase vehicle and fuel sales. The strategy is to arm dealers with information about the benefits of ethanol-fueled vehicles; the dealers will pass that knowledge on to customers to help increase sales. Fuel retailers working in partnership with FFV dealers and Clean Cities coordinators can create promotional events and fueling incentives to increase sales of E85.

FFV dealers and E85 retailers can work with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program to initiate a campaign to increase sales for FFVs and E85. There are many benefits to participating in this campaign.



Article Source: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

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Alternative Fuel Sources - Moving Away From Gas

Alternatives to Oil and Fossil Fuels in the Form of Renewable Fuels

by Matthew Hick

With soaring gas prices and concerns over the effects fossil fuel use is having on the environment, researchers are scrambling to find alternative fuel options for America’s dependence on foreign oil. While others are being studied, there are currently several promising fuel options already in limited use across the nation:

Biodiesel:

One of cleanest, cheapest and easiest fuel options to implement, biodiesel, fuel can be made from vegetable and soy bean oils and animal fats, as well as recycled restaurant grease.

In its pure form (100%), biodiesel is a clean-burning fuel that emits very little air pollutants, and would help reduce dangerously high levels of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and sulfates in the air, by limiting the use of traditional petroleum products.

Switching the average consumer to biodiesel fuel may be one of the easiest and cheapest transfers among all the alternative fuel sources available. Most cars and trucks built since 1994 are designed to already accept biodiesel fuel with little or no modifications. No new or special pumps are needed to make it available to the public, and according to a recent study by the United States Department of Energy, current U.S. stockpiles of soybean and other usable foodstuffs are currently available to produce nearly 2 billion gallons of biodiesel. That’s just 5% of America’s annual fuel usage.

Ethanol:

Once considered the alternative fuel of choice, ethanol has taken a back burner to other options in recent years as critics contend that it takes more energy to make it than Americans will save using it. Still, research continues to find ways to make this fuel option easier to make. Ethanol is a clear, colorless fuel that is made by distilling ground corn, and other high-sugar plants (such as sugar beets, grasses and even some fast-growing trees), into grain alcohol using a wet-milling process.

Methanol:

Also known as wood alcohol, methanol can be used in an 85% blend (85% methanol mixed with 15% gasoline) in flexible fuel vehicles. Blended with gasoline to enhance the octane and provide a cleaner fuel, methanol is produced by reforming natural gas to create a synthetic gas fed into a reactor to produce methane and water vapor. While the technology showed promise at first, most car manufacturers eventually stopped producing flexible fuel vehicles when concerns rose over contaminated ground water produced during the methanol production process.

Electricity:

A completely clean fuel, interest in using electricity to fuel cars is rising. While storage capacity is small in most current models, limiting the amount of miles an electric car can drive before needing to recharge, solar and wind power may be a "recharging" option in the future, making the electric car more accessible and usable for the average driver.

Hydrogen:

Hydrogen is used to grow fuel cells that can be converted into electricity for cars. Although Hydrogen emissions are low, critics contend that since it is made from burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and nuclear energy, it isn’t a viable large-scale alternative for lowering the country’s gas consumption.

While alternatives due exist for our country’s reliance on fuel, more research is needed to find the best source to replacing our dependence on fossil fuels.



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