Let's talk about biobutanol

[Rodent + 1,424]

Watch out ethanol! 

Still corn based, so I'm not sure what the corn grower crowd has to say about this.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/epas-new-super-fuel-could-spell-trouble-for-ethanol

BP is looking to roll out production in the next couple of months. Apparently it is not as corrosive as ethanol, so says the EPA.

Other benefits, in the words of the original article:

• "higher energy content" than most gasoline alternatives such as ethanol.
• It has lower Reid Vapor Pressure than ethanol, which means lower fuel volatility and emissions.
• It also provides for "Increased energy security" because it can be produced "domestically from a variety of feedstocks, while creating U.S. jobs."
• reduces carbon dioxide emissions
• Biobutanol can be shipped in steel pipelines with gasoline and diesel, unlike ethanol which must be shipped via plastic pipelines (so it's not)
• Packs more power than ethanol, more closely resembling gasoline
• Ethanol makes cars less efficient when added to gasoline as it is less energy dense

 

What say you all? 

[ducks]

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

Yet the proposal refers to blending in the biobutanol into gasoline to produce a 16% additive mixture; there is no discussion of using biobutanol "straight," as a stand-alone fuel.  No reason is given for that approach.  It would seem to me that if biobutanol or any other alcohol is a great fuel, it should be able to run at 100%.  

Ethanol and methanol are both 100% fuels.They don't get used that way for reasons that remain obscure.  There has been some discussion about certain synthetic rubbers and silicone seals not standing up to the alcohols, but that becomes a factor to be dealt with in the manufacturing of the engine plant. 

Biobutanol strikes me as something that is going to be a big money earner down the road.  Meanwhile I am developing a biomass solid fuel as a drop-in replacement for industrial furnace fuels, including coal, wood, sawdust, woodchips, and straw furnaces. As the feedstock is free, all I have is processing costs to format. Should be interesting.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Give biobutanol a chance as a fuel and see how it works. 

Here's an old article, for some background on why I am certainly not opposed to finding alternatives to gasoline for transportation:

Oil is too Precious to be Used as Transportation Fuel

An oil executive once observed that burning oil for energy is like burning Picassos for heat. Oil is extraordinarily valuable as the basis for so many products we use every day that the thought of simply burning it ought to be unthinkable. So versatile are oil molecules that they can be transformed into substances that serve as clothing, medicines, building materials, carpet, skin care products, sporting goods, agricultural chemicals, perfumes, and myriad other products.

... In the United States 71 percent of the petroleum products consumed are used in transportation. If the country were able to run its transportation system entirely without oil, the United States would not only cease to import oil, but would have significant surplus oil production. Of course, such a change could only take place over many years. But the advantages to such a transition are so numerous that we should not dismiss it as too difficult or costly.

Only 5 percent of all oil is used to produce petrochemicals--chemicals which form the basis for the almost miraculous materials and substances that we now take for granted. By ceasing to burn the bulk of our oil to move goods and people, we could sustain the production of these products for a very long time. 

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

9 hours ago, Jan van Eck said:

Ethanol and methanol are both 100% fuels.They don't get used that way for reasons that remain obscure. 

Could ICEs be converted cheaply and easily into engines running on alcohol? If not, here's one reason. If yes, then it's really strange why alcohol is not more widely used and on its own. But there is the oil industry, of course. They do make a lot of money from fuels and are notoriously slow to change.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Marina Schwarz

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

1 hour ago, Marina Schwarz said:

Could ICEs be converted cheaply and easily into engines running on alcohol? If not, here's one reason. If yes, then it's really strange why alcohol is not more widely used and on its own. But there is the oil industry, of course. They do make a lot of money from fuels and are notoriously slow to change.

Take a gander at Brasil.  All the autos there can run interchangeably on either, and motorists routinely pull up to the pumps and check the prices, do some quick math, and select their fuel, either straight alcohol or straight gasoline.   No conversion necessary.

 

That said, remember that certain rubbers and sealants may have been used in the specific engine's construction outside of Brazil that would lead to a different result.  Apparently some tubing gets attacked by alcohol and you cannot use that stuff, so a motorist desiring flexibility would have to pull out the offending stuff and install the good stuff. 

Out in the US Midwest you have these pickup trucks that can run on E85, which is 85% alcohol. Why they did not go to E100 capability is beyond me.  Might be a need for a squirt of gasoline vapor for starting issues when cold, I dunno.  Will alcohol vaporize at 40 below? 

[Marina Schwarz + 1,576]

That's really interesting stuff. The conspiracy theorist in me says "It's the Big Oil lobby." Of course.

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

9 minutes ago, Marina Schwarz said:

That's really interesting stuff. The conspiracy theorist in me says "It's the Big Oil lobby." Of course.

Nah.  There is not enough corn grown out there to whack the big consumption markets in California and the East Coast. The Lobby ignores Ethanol, and grudgingly puts it into gasoline because they are forced to.  Stick around to when cellulostic alcohol hits, then you will see serious squawking!

[gabtodd 0]

sorry, dont know what to say