The Fuel of the Future Starch Ethanol vs

The Fuel of the Future: Starch Ethanol vs. Cellulosic Ethanol Tommy Underhill

Ethanol �Made by fermenting sugars into alcohol �Flammable �Used in thermometers, and alcoholic beverages �Commonly referred to as grain alcohol

History � Ethanol residues have been found on 9, 000 year old clay pots in China � First recorded production of alcohol from wine was in the 12 th century. � 1796: Johann Tobias Lowitz obtained pure ethanol by filtering distilled ethanol through charcoal � 1826: Samuel Morey developed the first engine that ran on ethanol � 1908: Henry Ford’s Model T was designed to run on ethanol or gasoline. � 1940’s: First Ethanol Plant was built in Nebraska � 1974: The Solar Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Act was the first legislation action to promote ethanol as fuel. � 1992: The Energy Policy Act � 2007: Energy Independence and Security Act

Ethanol Production �Starch Ethanol �Wet Milling �Dry Milling � Fermentation � Separation � Purification

Ethanol Production �Cellulosic Ethanol �Have to be Pretreated � Physical - grinding � Chemical – acids �Require the use of enzymes to break down cellulose � Cellbiohydrolases � Endo – β-1, 4 -glucanases � β-glucosidases �Fermentation �Separation and Purification

Funding �US government has given out numerous grants, loans, and tax incentives for the production and use of ethanol �Government spends $5 billion per year to subsidize ethanol production � 2007 : US department of Energy spent $385 million on six large scale ethanol plants and another $200 million on biorefinery plants. �Big Oil Contributions: �Chevron - $40 Million �BP – $500 Million �Exxon - $600 million

Environmental �Conventional ethanol reduces greenhouse-gas emissions 10 to 20 percent �Cellulosic range from 80 percent to completely CO 2 neutral �Cellulosic ethanol requires less care than starch ethanol

Political �http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=j 9 QQc. P_Y 1 II

Other Concerns with Starch Ethanol �Rising prices of corn and starch

Concerns with Cellulosic Ethanol �Price of Enzymes

Future �Competition with other ethanol sources such as Algae. �Competition with electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells �Sustainability

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