Bioethanol

What is Bioethanol
Bioethanol is an alcohol made
by fermentation, mostly
from carbohydrates produced
in sugar or starch crops such
as corn or sugarcane. Cellulosic biomass,
derived from non-food sources such as trees
and grasses, is also being developed as
a feedstock for ethanol production

http://www.ecosmartfire.com/media/images/bio/what-is-ethanol-ma
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 Contd.
The principle fuel used as a petrol substitute is bioethanol

Bioethanol fuel is mainly produced by the sugar or cellulose

fermentation process

Ethanol is a high octane fuel and has replaced

lead as an octane enhancer in petrol

Bioethanol is an alternative to gasoline for flexifuel

vehicles
 Bioethanol Production
• Wheat/Grains/Corn/Sugar-cane can be used to
produce ethanol. (Basically, any plants that composed
largely of sugars)
• Bioethanol is mainly produced in three ways.

• Sugar ethanol

• starch sugar ethanol

• cellulose and hemicellulose ethanol

 Bioethanol Production
• Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis
– ~77% of sulfuric acid is added to the dried biomass
to a 10% moisture content.
– Acid to be added in the ratio of 1/25 acid :1
biomass under 50°C. 
– Dilute the acid to ~30% with water and reheat the
mixture at100°C for an hour.
– Gel will be produced and pressed to discharge the
acid sugar mixture.
– Separate the acid & sugar mixture by using a
chromatographic column .
 Feedstocks
• Sugar is required to produce ethanol by
fermentation.
– Plant materials (grain, stems and leaves) are
composed mainly of sugars
– almost any plants can serve as feedstock for ethanol
manufacture

• Choice of raw material depends on several

factors
– ease of processing of the various plants available
Crops used in Bioethanol production
– prevailing conditions of climate Brazil sugar cane
– landscape and soil composition USA corn
India sugar cane
– sugar content wheat
Europe and barley
Contd.
Ethanol can be produced from a variety of feedstocks such as
sugar cane, bagasse, sugar beet, switchgrass, potatoes, fruit,
molasses corn, stover, wheat, straw, other biomass, as well as
many types of cellulose waste and harvestings

Agricultural feedstocks are considered renewable because

they get energy from the sun using photosynthesis

Cornfield in South Sugar cane harvest

Africa Switchgrass
 Bioethanol Properties
 Colourless and clear liquid
 Used to substitute petrol fuel for road transport
vehicles
 One of the widely used alternative automotive fuel in
the world (Brazil & U.S.A are the largest ethanol producers)
 Much more environmentally friendly
 Lower toxicity level

source :
southdakotapolitics.blogs.com
 Application
• transport fuel to replace gasoline
• fuel for power generation by thermal combustion
• fuel for fuel cells by thermochemical reaction
• fuel in cogeneration systems
• feedstock in the chemicals industry

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 Advantages
• Exhaust gases of ethanol are much cleaner
– it burns more cleanly as a result of more complete combustion
• Greenhouse gases reduce
– ethanol-blended fuels such as E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline)
reduce up to 37.1% of GHGs
• Positive energy balance, depending on the type of raw stock
– output of energy during the production is more than the input
• Any plant can be use for production of bioethanol
– it only has to contain sugar and starch
• Carbon neutral
– the CO2 released in the bioethanol production process is the
same amount as the one the crops previously absorbed during
photosynthesis
 Advantages
• Decrease in ozone formation
– The emissions produced by burning ethanol are less reactive with
sunlight than those produced by burning gasoline, which results in a
lower potential for forming ozone
• Renewable energy resource
– result of conversion of the sun's energy into usable energy
– Photosynthesis -> feedstocks grow -> processed into ethanol
• Energy security
– esp. Countries that do not have access to crude oil resources
– grow crops for energy use and gain some economic freedom
• Reduces the amount of high-octane additives
• Fuel spills are more easily biodegraded or diluted
to non toxic concentrations
Disadvantages and Concerns
• Biodiversity
– A large amount of arable land is required to grow
crops, natural habitats would be destroyed
• Food vs. Fuel debate
– due to the lucrative prices of bioethanol some farmers
may sacrifice food crops for biofuel production which
will increase food prices around the world
• Carbon emissions (controversial)
– During production of bioethanol, huge amount of
carbon dioxide is released
– Emission of GHGs from production of bioethanol is
comparable to the emissions of internal-combustion
engines
Disadvantages and Concerns
• Not as efficient as petroleum
– energy content of the petrol is much higher than bioethanol
– its energy content is 70% of that of petrol
• Engines made for working on Bioethanol cannot be
used for petrol or diesel
– Due to high octane number of bioethanol, they can be
burned in the engines with much higher compression ratio
• Used of phosphorous and nitrogen in the
production
– negative effect on the environment
• Cold start difficulties
– pure ethanol is difficult to vaporise
Disadvantages and Concerns
• Transportation
– ethanol is hygroscopic, it absorbs water from the air and thus
has high corrosion aggressiveness
– Can only be transported by auto transport or railroad
• Many older cars unequipped to handle even 10%
ethanol
• Negatively affect electric fuel pumps by increasing
internal wear and undesirable spark generation
 Ethanol Controversy
• Google image
Is it justifiable?
..to use agriculture land to grow energy crops instead of food crops
when there are so many starving people in the world. In the
developed countries that is not a problem, but in the developing
ones where we have a large number of people living below the
poverty this may lead to a crisis.
 Ethanol Controversy
• Is burning biofuel more environmentally friendly
than burning oil?
– Fact that producing biofuel is not a "green process“
– requires tractors and fertilisers and land
– With the increase in biofuel production, more forests will
be chopped down to make room for biofuel, ↑ CO2

• Better alternative suggested by scientists..

– steer away from biofuel and focus on reforestation and
maximising the efficiency of fossil fuels instead
 Comparison of Bioethanol and Biodiesel
Bioethanol Biodiesel
Process Dry-mill method: yeast, sugars and Transesterification: methyl esters and
starch are fermented. From starch, it is glycerin which are not good for engines,
fermented into sugar, afterwards it is are left behind.
fermented again into alcohol.
Environment Both reduce greenhouse gas emissions as biofuels are primarily derived from
al Benefit crops which absorb carbon dioxide.
Compatibility ethanol has to be blended with fossil Able to run in any diesel generated
fuel like gasoline, hence only compatible engines
with selected gasoline powered
automobiles.
Costs Cheaper More expensive
Gallons per 420 gallons of ethanol can be generated 60 gallons of biodiesel per acre
acre per acre soybeans
cost of soybean oil would significantly
increase if biodiesel production is
increased as well.
Energy provides 93% more net energy per produces only 25% more net energy.
gallon
Greenhouse- 12% less greenhouse gas emission 41% less compared to conventional
gas than the production and combustion of gasoline.
Emissions regular diesel
(GHG)
 Social impacts

– Created jobs for locals (mainly in rural areas)

– Brazilian sugarcane industry has a particularly
poor record in respecting worker’s rights
– Expansion in sugar cane cultivation may
increase food prices. This would leave the poor
with a harder survival.
– Although the ethanol industry has greatly
increased the wealth of the sugar and alcohol
sector’s industries, the poor have to be the one
handling the negative impacts.
 Future development
• For bioethanol to become more sustainable to
replace petrol, production process has to be more
efficient
– Reducing cost of conversion
– Increasing yields
– Increase the diversity of crop used
• As microbes are use to convert glucose into sugar
which is ferment in bioethanol
– Microbiology and biotechnology will be helpful in the
genetic engineering