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December 2010, Week 2

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Subject:
Re: biomass, corn stover, and the new wave of synthetic biology
From:
Ed Woolsey <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements
Date:
Thu, 9 Dec 2010 15:23:53 -0800
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (40 lines)
Lee:
	No worries.  I always enjoy some discussion on the subject.  This is 
one of those topics where you’ve always needed to follow WHO pays for these 
studies, and, the strings that come attached, attached to so many of our 
academics today.  With most of these AQ tests there were always “agendas”.   
I fear that this is one of the main reasons that the enviro community is so 
skeptical of ethanol. 
	Ethanol does not have the energy (btu’s) per gallon of gasoline.  
73,000 vs 115,000. or about 30% less…so Gerald…I’m not sure how you would 
drop 10% or Lee…you would drop…30-40%.   9X115,000 plus 1x73,000 for 
E10 and 10x115,000 for straight gasoline.  I’m calling BS….ok…a little BS.    
Gasoline is REFORMULATED for cold weather conditions.  The use of  lighter 
components (volatile that start easier) would lower the total btu’s in your 
winter blend.  Or, gasoline companies would have an economic incentive to 
dump  lower grade gasoline and boost it more than 10%vol.  Perhaps we need 
to monitor the blends more.
Other related issue is the use of ethanol octane…110 vs gasoline’s 85 or a 
little higher.  Octane is an indicator of how efficiently the fuel combusts.  
Because ethanol has a higher octane you can use it in the higher efficiency 
engines. (diesel)  Ethanol likes 16 to 1 and the current engines are about 8.5 
to 1.  Ethanol is short shifted big time.  Boosting the compression ratio for the 
fuel results is something like 25% greater fuel efficiency. (If anyone’s 
interested they can look it up or I can find it somewhere)  Oh, and the 
reduced efficiency leads to what???? yes...more pollutants. 
Short story long….what we should be using is about 80%ethanol 20% water 
mixture in a higher compression engine…tuned for the fuel.  Then lets see that 
AQ study….ethanol will smoke any fossil.  (pun intended) e

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