Bioethanol - mobility with a future
The future of bioethanol is proverbially "on the road". Bioethanol is already available as a fuel in several different forms today. Renewable, and safeguarding the climate, it helps to ensure that mobility has a future. Eighty per cent of all the ethanol production across the world is used in the fuel sector.
Bioethanol as a fuel for all internal combustion engines
In Europe today, some petrol already contains bioethanol, or ingredients manufactured from it. Generally, consumers are not even aware of the fact. European standard EN228 regulates what chemical properties the various grades of petrol may have, and what ingredients they may contain. It also permits the addition of bioethanol in various ways:
- as a powerful fuel component
To date, the primary use of bioethanol in Europe has been in the production of ETBE (ethyl tertiary butyl ether). ETBE is composed of around 47% ethanol and 53% isobutylene and is used as a petrol additive to enhance its anti-knock properties. It replaces among other things MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), which for example is banned in the USA. In Europe, MTBE is increasingly being replaced by ETBE, which is contributing to the distribution of a fuel produced from regenerative raw materials. Petrol in Europe is permitted to contain up to 15 vol.-% of ETBE. - as a direct additive
In accordance with EN228, every litre of petrol which comes out of a petrol pump at the filling station is permitted to contain up to 5 vol.-% of bioethanol. This fuel is called E5. All vehicles with internal combustion engines in Germany are cleared to use this fuel. In order to meet the EU targets on biofuels, it may be expected that the direct addition of bioethanol to petrol in the EU will rise sharply in the next few years. At the moment, the European fuel standard is being revised to permit a 10 vol.-% direct addition of bioethanol.
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Bioethanol in E85
E85 fuel blends - to which the CropPower85 manufactured by CropEnergies also belongs - contain a bioethanol proportion of around 85%, and can only be used in vehicles specially equipped to run on it, the so-called "flexible fuel vehicles" (FFVs). FFVs are vehicles of which - in Europe - the engines can be run both on traditional petrol and on petrol-bioethanol blends with a bioethanol proportion of up to 85% with a technically relatively simple modification. For the user, this means a unique flexibility since, depending on price and availability, he can choose between different types of fuel. This means that mobility is guaranteed even during the transition phase, during which there will be no nation-wide network of filling stations selling E85, because it will still be possible to fill up with ordinary petrol. There are already car manufacturers selling flexible fuel technology vehicles in Germany, and many more will follow in 2008.
For technical reasons, it is not advisable to use 100% bioethanol as fuel in our temperate climatic regions. This is the reason that E85 is used in Europe. The addition of petrol improves cold-starting characteristics, especially in winter. The employment of bioethanol as E85 on a countrywide basis has the greatest possible potential to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
It is also encouraging to hear that automotive manufacturers are to increase their marketing in Germany of flexible fuel models. This move is a component part of the Road-Map agreed in November 2007 between the oil industry, the medium-sized oil concerns, the agricultural industry, and the ministries involved regarding further promotion of biofuels.
