In partnership with Mecklenburg County LUESA Air Quality and Solid Waste Divisions, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities

Sponsored by the Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small Business at UNC Charlotte, The Environmental Corner is designed to serve as an environmental management and pollution prevention resource

February 2007

Ethanol

  As a small business owner, you may have a delivery service, or a company fleet or you may want a more efficient personal vehicle.  For any of these reasons, take the time to read about ethanol and its potential as an alternative fuel.During the State of the Union address, January 24, 2007, President George W. Bush discussed fuel consumption in the US and mentioned alternative fuel sources to gasoline including ethanol.   He discussed ways to produce ethanol from wood chips, grasses, agricultural wastes and other biomasses. Ethanol from these products is called Cellulosic ethanol. Ethanol is also known as ethyl alcohol, or grain alcohol.  President Bush’s goal is to grow the use of alternative fuels such as ethanol to 35 billion gallons by 2017.  According to the Washington, D.C.-based Renewable Fuels Association, the nation produced an estimated 4.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006.Currently there is a miss conception that if you want to have a green vehicle you need to give up on performance. Because ethanol has a high octane number this misconception is false.Check out the specific Performance Rating of Ethanol.

  Today the world is dependent on energy to power growth. As a small business owner, your choice of energy usage can determine future availability of natural energy resources and prevent adverse environmental effects. Using energy efficiently and considering alternative fuel sources provides a way to conserve energy and improve quality of life. Research into and use of renewable energy sources like Sun, wind, geothermal, hydrogen, ocean, bio-mass power offer more choices as energy sources. Solar energy power is the focus of this newsletter and may be one way for small businesses to become more energy efficient.

 What is Ethanol?

  Ethanol is being produced domestically in the US mainly from corn. In Brazil ethanol is made from sugar cane, it is produced at low cost without any subsidies and at a very competitive price to petrol. In Spain ethanol is made from grain. Below is the table which shows ethanol yield in gallons from each crop.  Different crops yield varying amounts of ethanol to be used for fuel.  As you can see the US’s current source for ethanol may not be the best source for ethanol.

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 Ethanol Blends E85 and E10

  E10 is a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline, many car manufactures allow use of E10 in their cars. Some car manufacturers even recommend use of E10 because it adds 2-3 octane numbers to the fuel, which also helps to keep the engine clean.  By using E10 in your car, it is possible to reduce use of gasoline up to 10%. We recommend that you check with your car manufacture to make sure that your car can use E10. [More Information]

  E85 is a blend of 85% of ethanol and 15% of gasoline. Only FFV (Flexible Fuel Vehicles) can run on the E85. Currently there are close to 3 million FFVs on the road.   You can consult your owners manual to see if your car can run on E85 blend.   The FFVs have logos indicating FFV or E85 capable on your car or fuel. You can verify that your vehicle can run on E85 by checking your car manufacturer [Check].  Although E85, a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, has not yet found widespread use, the nation is hungry for ethanol as an additive in regular gasoline. If you currently have a vehicle which can run on E85 and you can find gas station with E85  [Search ].

 Ford to Deliver 20 E85 Hybrids for Fleet Testing

  Ford Motor Company is producing and will deliver 20 new E85 flex-fuel hybrid research vehicles for use in fleets in six different states. Deliveries will begin this spring.Ford displayed the first Ford Escape Hybrid E85 scheduled for delivery this spring at the Washington Auto Show, where the automaker also unveiled its Edge with a HySeries fuel cell plug-in series hybrid drive.

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 Ethanol and Clean Air

  Below is the table which shows the emissions of the vehicles which run on two ethanol fuels one names E85 and the other names E10.  The table compares these two ethanol fuels with gasoline with respect to potential air pollutants.   

Ethanol Emissions as Compared with Gasoline Emissions    

(Source: EPA Fact Sheet EPA420-F-00-035)

Some additional facts about ethanol clean air facts                                                                                                                                   

*The use of E10 reduces greenhouse gas formation by 12-19% compared to conventional gasoline.                                                               

*In 2004 ethanol use in the U.S. reduced CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 7 million tons, equivalent to removing more than 1 million cars from the road.

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Motorsports

 How cool are Biocars?

  Any interest in a 1000 horsepower E85 turbocharged Viper? I thought so

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Future Biofuels

  Ethanol is alternative fuel that can be found today, but ethanol is more of the first generation of biofuels. Two giants BP and DuPont announced partnership for development of advanced biofuels. BP can also be considered a leader in the biofuel developments [More Info]

  In fact DuPont was visited by President Bush day after his State of the Union [ Report]. DuPont also told President Bush about their latest development in biobutanol, next genereration biofuel which has lower vapor pressure, more tolerant to water, it can use current gasoline supply and distribution centers. Biobuthanol can be produced at current ethanol producing facilities.

  Biobuthanol also does not require any upgrades to the car, unlike ethanol. It can replace gasoline up to 100%, not just 85% like  ethanol [More]

  “Developing biobutanol, which has properties that are closer to gasoline, will help to accelerate the adoption of biofuels in the transportation fuels industry,” said John Ranieri, DuPont Biofuels vice president and general manager.

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Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small Business

The Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business provides non-regulatory, client-confidential pollution prevention assistance to small businesses in the greater Charlotte region. The EAO is designed to assist regional businesses in their efforts to voluntarily prevent pollution. The EAO staff can provide timely assistance for pollution prevention planning, including information about industry-specific case studies, waste-specific case studies, and new technologies. The office provides links of resources to needs between the region's business community, government, municipality, and university. If there is a particular issue or question you would like to see in an upcoming edition, please send an e-mail to EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu

Contact Information:

Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business:

9201 University City Blvd. 258 Cameron Building, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28233-0001

Phone number: 704-687-3968 Fax number: 704-687-3115

Email: EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu

Services:

• Assistance with Air Permits - Assistance for small businesses in completing paperwork for EPA air permits.

• Educational Materials - Educational pamphlet, brochures, flyers, and other materials to relate facts on pollution prevention.

• Educational Outreach - Develop educational outreach campaigns and presentations for the public or employee training.

• University Resources - Library information, faculty expertise, student projects and research at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

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