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Ethanol

Sustainable, climate-friendly and versatile - especially as a petrol substitute

Ethanol

Ethanol is part of the solution!

The most urgent challenge facing humanity requires swift and consistent action: Man-made climate change! Reducing CO2 emissions, as prescribed by the EU's "Renewable Energy Directive", requires massive efforts from all parties involved. The transport sector is still 95% based on fossil fuels. Electromobility is slowly gaining momentum, but it will be decades before a significant share is achieved. Sustainable ethanol made from renewable raw materials is already helping to reduce greenhouse gases and will continue to be an important part of the solution in the future. Super E10 - with 10% ethanol content, introduced in Germany in 2011 - has been the reference fuel for petrol engines since 2015. But "normal" super petrol E5 has also contained up to 5 % ethanol for many years.

Other areas of application for our ethanol include the beverage, food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. There are further applications in the chemical industry. Here, the demand for high-purity alcohol that is as CO2 neutral as possible is increasing.


Climate protection through ethanol

In addition to strict sustainability guidelines on the origin of biomass, the "Renewable Energy Directive" already requires that renewable ethanol saves at least 50% CO2 over the entire production process compared to fossil fuels. At CropEnergies, we have achieved savings of over 70% thanks to our highly efficient production plants, and we will gradually increase this figure through further efficiency improvements and the increased use of waste and residual materials. But the reduction in greenhouse gases is not the only advantage of European ethanol. It has a significantly higher octane rating than petrol, which means that the higher the ethanol content in petrol, the lower the emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides due to better combustion. E10 is now available in 19 EU countries and the UK and saves around 3 million tonnes of CO2 per year in Germany alone. In the future, higher blends of ethanol in fuel will be possible, and newer petrol engines are already approved for fuel with 20% ethanol (E20).

The Porsche bioconcept cars of the Four Motors racing team led by racing drivers Tom von Löwis of Menar and Smudo (of the band "Die Fantastischen Vier") have been running on E20 from CropEnergies since 2016. They impressively demonstrate that ethanol combines both power and climate protection.

View projects.

Climate protection: E10 fuel for clean mobility Status: 2019 Download (PDF, 299 KB)

Advantages European ethanol

Our ethanol is produced exclusively from European biomass. Local raw materials - normally 200 km around the plants - avoid long transport routes and create jobs and added value in rural areas. Fossil oil reserves are conserved and dependence on oil-producing countries is reduced. In addition, during ethanol production, one ton of GMO-free protein feed is produced for every ton of ethanol produced, thus reducing the need for imports of protein-rich animal feed.

Benefits of European bioethanol Download (PDF, 517 KB)

Ethanol production: circular economy

Our ethanol is produced exclusively from European biomass. Local raw materials - normally 200 km around the plants - avoid long transport routes and create jobs and added value in rural areas. Fossil oil reserves are conserved and dependence on oil-producing countries is reduced.

 

In addition, during ethanol production, one tonne of GMO-free protein feed is produced for every tonne of ethanol produced, thus reducing the need for imports of protein-rich animal feed.

Das Icon verdeutlicht ein Abholzungs-Sägeverbot.

The raw materials used must not come from areas with high carbon stocks or high biodiversity.

Das Icon verdeutlicht einen Geschäftsvertrag-Handschlag.

Independent experts check the origin of the raw materials and their processing as well as the calculations of greenhouse gas savings at regular intervals in accordance with a state-approved certification system.

Das Icon verdeutlicht organisches Pflanzenwachstum.

A special feature of ethanol production is the use of all resources. During production, only the starch or sugar content is required for the ethanol. The remaining components of the initial resources are processed into protein feed, liquefied CO2, gluten or other products.

Das Icon verdeutlicht ein Zertifiziertes Band bzw. Siegel.

Our quality assurance with modern process control technology and our own analysis laboratories starts with the raw materials used and only ends with the tank or tank trucks that are only used for ethanol.


You can find more information about ethanol here:www.bdbe.de or www.epure.org.

Do you have any questions or comments? Contact

CropEnergies AG
Phone: +49 621 71 41 90-00
Fax: +49 621 71 41 90-04
E-Mail: info@cropenergies.de

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