Ethanol’s use as a transportation fuel can be traced back to Henry Ford. In the 1908 Model T, the carburetor was adjustable to allow the vehicle to run on ethanol fuel. Ford’s vision to “build an vehicle affordable to the working family and powered by fuel that would boost the rural farm economy” was never realized due to rising taxes that kept ethanol from catching on as an affordable alternative to the well-marketed, lower cost gasoline.
Oil shortages during WWI and WWII rekindled interest in alcohol-based fuels which were mixed in a 20/80 ratio with gas. When oil prices dropped after the WWII, ethanol was once again too expensive to consider as a fuel alternative.
Since the oil crisis in the 1970’s ethanol has been recognized as a beneficial renewable alternative fuel source. Ethanol assisted in the phase out of lead in the early 1980’s , clean air programs in the 90’s, and other environmentally sound efforts. Consequently, ethanol demand has risen from 200 million gallons per year 20 years ago to over 2 billion gallons in 2000.
Fuel ethanol is made primarily from corn through either wet milling or dry milling processes. Both processes include essentially the same steps – preparing the feedstock, fermenting simple sugars, recovering the alcohol, and recovering residual non-alcohol materials.
Lower energy requirements, sophisticated automation, low cost enzymes, advanced yeast strains, and the advent of molecular sieves have cut production costs in half while improving yields. Recent publicity, based on twenty year old data, stated the energy use to produce ethanol was greater than the energy generated by its use. More current research shows that it takes 35,000 BTUs of energy to turn a bushel of corn into a gallon of ethanol. A gallon of ethanol contains at least 77,000 BTUs .
Ethanol and gas combinations including E10 (10% ethanol) and E85 (85% ethanol) are growing in popularity with a number of states requiring E10 use in state-owned fleets and providing producer and price incentives for ethanol development and use. E85 is far cheaper than regular gasoline although only an estimated 5 million Fuel Flexible Vehicles (FFV’s) are on the road in the United States.
As gas prices rise, ethanol and other bio fuels will play a more and more significant role in U.S. fuel use. An added benefit for North Dakotan’s and Minnesotan’s is the fact that E85 does not suffer from cold weather performance problems like frozen gas lines and moisture in the gas tanks.
Bio-Diesel, a new renewable fuel made from soybeans and crop residue, has the potential to also prove economically successful. Used in trucks, busses and tractors, bio-diesel is safe for all diesel vehicles. Bio-diesel has fewer harmful emissions compared to petroleum diesel and, like ethanol, is renewable. North Dakota’s first Bio-Diesel plant is being constructed near Minot.
The Cutting EdgeThe Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks is one of the leading research facilities in the world. It is held in high esteem in no small part because it works with private industry, government agencies, academic institutions and the research community to research, develop, demonstrate and commercialize innovative technologies.
Since its evolution from a federal entity to a private facility located on the campus of the University of North Dakota, EERC has worked with more than 800 clients in all fifty states and forty-seven countries. In 2004, 90% of its contracts were with nonfederal clients.
The EERC focuses its efforts in nine highly interrelated areas, giving the EERC the ability to approach a problem in a multidisciplinary manner, employing multiple focus areas and developing a team approach to problem solving. The nine focus areas are:On the training side, the Bismarck State College Energy program trains young people for careers in power plant technology. Five hundred (500) students per semester enroll in the program, which also has an on-line component. Jobs in power plants are among the best paying anywhere, and the BSC program is seen as contributing to economic development in the state by providing trained workers.