Today's Date: Tuesday, October 07, 2008
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EmailTransportation: Continued
November 30, 2007Page 7 of 15
- Biofuel - Converting biomass into liquid fuel for transportation is a natural extension of the biomass processes used in electricity generation. Biofuel commercialization is currently moving in two directions. One focuses on creating ethanol from sugar fermentation and biobutanol from starch fermentation, while the other focuses on engineering biomass to mimic the chemical structure (and energy output) of petroleum.
- Ethanol- Ethanol is a liquid fuel produced from fermenting sugar found in biomass.
- Corn-Based Ethanol- Corn-based ethanol is produced from the fermentation and distillation of sugars found in the vegetable part of the corn plant. It is considered relatively inefficient, as energy costs of materials are high and energy output is low. Corn production is both land- and energy-intensive, and common industrial agriculture practices rely heavily on fossil fuels to manufacture corn at such high intensities. Despite widespread government support for corn-based ethanol production, there is relatively little support for infrastructure development to distribute this kind of biofuel.
- Sugarcane Ethanol - Sugarcane ethanol is made from the cane itself, as well as the waste -- bagasse -- left over from harvesting. The cane and bagasse are ground down, fermented with yeast and distilled to create ethanol. This is a more efficient process than creating ethanol from starch-based biomass, as the starch needs to be converted to sugar before it can be processed into ethanol.
- Cellulosic Ethanol - Cellulosic ethanol uses almost the entire biomass of a plant - lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose - to produce biofuel. Ultimately, cellulosic ethanol achieves a higher sustainability and lower environmental impact than traditional corn or sugarcane ethanol. It is also cheaper to produce than corn or sugarcane ethanol, since its feedstock consists of nearly all plant biomass. Cellulosic ethanol is produced from plant waste, which means food supplies are not diverted for fuel production. This is a concern with both sugarcane- and corn-based ethanol. There are currently a handful of demonstration plants in the U.S. that are producing good results, but which require continued investment to scale up late-stage development.
- Biobutanol - Biobutanol is a biofuel derived from the starch fermentaton of biomass. Its chemical makeup is more similar to petroleum than ethanol, and it achieves a higher energy density than ethanol. Biobutanol's primary benefit is its transportability. Unlike ethanol, biobutanol is neither corrosive nor hydrophilic, which means it can be transported across existing pipelines without eating them. Biobutanol's primary drawback is the inefficiency of its production process. Typical biobutanol fermentation yields only a small amount of useable liquid fuel -- less than 5 percent -- and it is very energy-intensive.
- Synthetic Biofuel - Synthetic biofuel mimics the chemical structure of petroleum to achieve petroleum's energy intensity without its carbon emissions. By engineering feedstock to act like petroleum, synthetic biofuel overcomes the compatibility problem faced by other biofuels. No new distribution infrastructure or automobile parts are needed for synthetic biofuel to become part of the energy mix. However, it is only produced by a handful of companies and is not yet available on a commercial scale.
Corn-Based Ethanol BioFuel Energy, LLC Iroquois Bio-Energy Company Sugarcane Ethanol Ethos >Farmacule BioEnergies Cellulosic Ethanol Verenium Range Fuels Mascoma Iogen Corp. Biobutanol Green Biologics Synthetic Ethanol LS9 Amyris Biotechnology SunEthanol
- VIPV - Vehicle integration of PV cells to provide complete power is a long way off. However, a niche consumer industry has developed to begin providing this technology as a supplement to ZEVs and PHEVs. Integrating thin-film panels on EVs could power on-board energy systems or provide immediately available starting power for drained batteries. Ultralight research VIPV vehicles do exist, though they resemble airplanes more than cars and fit only one person, uncomfortably.
- Green Vehicles - Green vehicles are closely associated with the technology used to drive them. Often, the propulsion technology's inventor and the vehicle's manufacturer are the same company. Here's a quick rundown of some of the most important and interesting green-vehicle manufacturers.
| Green Vehicles | |||
| Tesla Motors | ZAP! | Th!NK | Aptera |
| Venture Vehicles | Venturi | Reva Electric Car Company | |