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National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition

(NEVC)

(E85 Refueling Location Search - USA)

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(Be sure to check out NEVC's numerous resources, low cost membership to help support their organization, products, and more!)

Ethanol Fact Book

(2007 version; opens as a .pdf)

The Ethanol Fact Book is available on Ethanol.org and it is distributed through the Ethanol Across America campaign...

...As note in the October issue of EthanolToday, "the Ethanol Fact Book addresses issues regarding the ethanol tax incentive, energy security and oil import reductions, economic impacts and benefits to the U.S. Treasury, greenhouse gas reduction and environmental benefits, and advancements in cellulose conversion technologies." The article went on to quote Doug Durante, Executive Director of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition (CFDC), "Ethanol is a complex and multi-faceted issue that needs to be viewed in its entirety. Its value is truly the sum of its parts, and this fact book clearly defines the energy security, economic, environmental, and national benefits derived from our ethanol industry."

Be sure to download your free copy of the Ethanol Fact Book today!

Question: Is the focus of corn use in ethanol production heavily impacting food prices? Here are two websites that express their view on the situation. You decide...

Balanced Food and Fuel: http://www.balancedfoodandfuel.org

 Title: Ethanol Distillation Facts

Author: Simon Oldmann

Article: Due to the crazy rise of fuel price and the instability of the fuel market more and more people and trying all kind of alternative fuels, some people are just fed up with spending all their hard earned money to some countries that change the fuel price, usually with reasons that have almost nothing to do with fuel production cost. During the last 3 years there has been a constant and very sharp rise in the price of fuel, some of it was because of the "Katrina" disaster but most of it because of the fuel producing countries controlling this market.

People started understanding that in time the yearly spending on fuel is going to grow to a monster like sum and that it would be nice to cut down these prices as soon as possible, some business saw this trend getting stronger and stronger. Today thee are a lot of solutions for alternative fuel use and production, most of the kits and solution found on the market are definitely working, safe and cut an incredible cost of fuel consumption.

This move to alternative fuel has got some big businesses thinking and suddenly we get a lot of advertisement for self making ethanol and ethanol distillation at home to sell to ethanol users. Since ethanol use is actually being promoted by official the production of the ethanol and ethanol distillation for the public may prove a little more complicated than the privet manufacturing and selling of ethanol, you have to remember that these are still dangerous materials you are working with and that bigger production will ultimately result in bigger machines and much more of these materials use.

There is no wonder that some fear that individuals will experiment with ethanol distillation, imagine someone storing gallons of dangerous explosive materials on their property and the unprofessional way of dealing with these materials. The quality of the final product is also in question, with no formal body governing and regulating the quality this may prove a dangerous product to use, and certainly to try and manipulate. The individual trying to produce ethanol will also need to go through the American Society of Testing and Materials that will show they way to make the right kind of product safely and how to use and keep the materials involved in the proper and safe way.

The self manufacturing and production of ethanol and the process of making ethanol from an ethanol distillation is not something a reasonable person will do, it involves getting permits and going through many check and regulation testing that it is simply not worth the time and effort by an individual, the making of ethanol will eventually result in some find of problem that will probably leave a very bad taste in the mouth of the person who gave this a shot.

For the individual this is a true revolution in the fuel market, you can just get a kit, study the making or buying ethanol basics and you will soon be a part of this revolution, you will probably discover that it is very possible to cut the raging fuel costs and spend it on nicer things, and that in a short time you will be completely independent of gas stations and gas use. The idea of making this a home business is not a very smart move, the licenses and taxes, permits and checks of your distillation station alone leaves you with a low chance of actually making it as an individual.

In any case a person considering to go into the ethanol distillation business would do good to first try and live with ethanol in the first place, so join the alternative fuel revolution and start using ethanol today.

About the author: Simon Oldmann is an avid writer and a green activist, he has been writing about Ethanol use since the growing popularity of Ethanol these last years.

 Title: Alternative Fuel Station, Now Open

Author: Tracy Mitchel

Article: Just a couple of days ago, two of the newest alternative fuel stations have just been opened for public use. And it was the Governor's E85 Coalition as well as the Denver Metro area officials who were very much enthusiastic about the whole affair. The event was held at the Hill Petroleum Sinclair Oil Station which can be found in the Arvada region in the state of Colorado.

According to the organizers and business people behind the mentioned fueling station, the Hill Petroleum Sinclair Oil Station would be selling E85. If you did not know, E85 is actually a blended mixture of some eighty five per cent of ethanol and the rest of the fifteen per cent is made up of unleaded gasoline as well as biodiesel. But the organizers did not disclose what kind of products (other engine additives, spare parts, Cadillac auto parts, accessories, or other add-ons) would be available in the mentioned filling station.

Colorado's Governor, Bill Owens, exclaims, "Coloradans are getting more choices at the pump, and many citizens are purchasing vehicles that can use E85. These cleaner burning fuels stimulate economic development for our rural communities and help promote energy independence."

It took the business owner some $100,000 to actually make the existing ordinary fuel station into one that also offers E85 as well as biodiesel. Troy Hill, the vice president of Hill Petroleum, further explains, "We are eligible for state and federal tax credits and the E85 Coalition also provided support. Our family business, open since 1982, is excited to offer alternative fuels at the retail pump for the first time. We are now able to meet the market demand for these fuels."

If more and more gas station owners are willing to make such an investment in E85 and biodiesel, owners and users of flexible fuel vehicles, or FFVs, would surely have a grand time using their vehicles. There would also be no need to go poring over announcements and business addresses just to find that one gas station that offers such inexpensive fuels.

About the author: Tracy is a 29 year old researcher and writer from Dallas, Texas with extensive experience in writing auto-related articles and covering automotive related events. She is currently a contributing writer for a leading automotive e-zine.

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Title: Are Flex Fuel And Biodiesel Viable Options?

Author: Mike Eggert

Article: Once thought of as only a dream, Flex fuel vehicles are fast becoming a reality. The high cost of gasoline and fuels like Diesel have prompted auto makers around the world to start building automobiles that will burn more than one type of fuel. For example, the country of Brazil for over 10 years now have been producing there own Ethanol product and are almost completely independent of Middle Eastern oil. It seems now the big three auto makers in this country are behind producing and building more automobiles that will run on E-85 ethanol or gasoline. This is good far all of us, not only will ethanol cost less, it will make the United States much less dependent on that black gold that has been coming into the US from those middle eastern country's. And as an added bonus, the air we breathe will be much cleaner.

Ethanol in itself is not new, E15 and on a small scale E85 have been around for some years. The production was not at a point where auto makers got to excited about it, and as a result only a token amount of vehicles were produced that would burn the E85 ethanol, although most automobiles could and still today burn the E15 ethanol. The E15 and the E85 is the percent of ethanol that is added to gasoline to make the product. Ethanol can be made from several different sources, in this country most of our ethanol at this time is made from corn. In the future other products will be used in the making of ethanol that should also help get the cost down for all Americans. GM has said the cost to convert automobiles that were not already flex fuel to be some where around $500.

American companies are starting to produce more ethanol. This will help get more cars rolling off the assembly line, and get some of those big gas guzzlers off the road. Toyota is another company that seems to have a lot of interest in the flex fuel vehicles. They seem to be working very hard to catch up. Things will not happen over night, it will take some time to change the thinking of some of our politicians and get them behind ethanol and flex fuel vehicles. Once the ball gets rolling things can only get better for all of us.

There is another fuel out there for the folks who burn diesel. It's called BIODIESEL. This product is a combination of animal fats and diesel fuel. Again like the ethanol product it contains a small amount of diesel and a large amount of the animal fats. This product can and is being made by some people to burn in their own vehicles, making the fuel from byproducts of oil from many of their local restaurants. Most automobiles need a conversion kit, but the high mileage they receive per gallon is worth the investment. As far as places across the country that sell Biodiesel, there are only a few at this time, but they are gaining every day. Watch for this product to become more popular and thus increasingly available in the future as things get rolling. I guess the high price of fuel has helped in some way. Only time will tell.

About the author: For all your biodiesel information and tips, visit http://biodiesel.factslink. com

Title: Biodiesel, What Is It?

Author: Mark Allen

Article: Biodiesel, What Is It? By Mark Allen

In today's world, one can hardly escape the subject of fuel prices and fuel supply. For a number of different reasons people have turned from standard petroleum based fuel sources and looked for a reliable alternative-fuel. Biodiesel is one such fuel that experts and enthusiasts have embraced as not only their idea of a fuel of the future, but is also their choice for a fuel for today. But, what is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a fuel containing some of the same traits as conventional diesel fuel. Biodiesel is made from high quality vegetable oils through a manufacturing process that can be done on a large scale - such as a refinery, or on a small scale - such as a home Biodiesel kit. The primary use for Biodiesel right now is as a substitute for petroleum based diesel fuel.

In different parts of the world, different plants are used as the source for the vegetable oil that is made into Biodiesel. Theoretically, any vegetable grown can be broken down and turned into Biodiesel, but right now most Biodiesel producers use one primary crop as their source. In America, the primary crop grown for Biodiesel production is corn. Corn, being one of the more common crops grown in American, provides a readily available supply of vegetable matter for Biodiesel manufacturers. In much of Europe, rapeseed is used in the production of Biodiesel . And, in Southeast Asia the primary plant grown for the manufacture of v is Soybeans. After going through the manufacturing process, there is little difference in the properties of Biodiesel made from one plant over another.

The process used to manufacture Biodiesel from pure vegetable oil is called ester interchange. In the process the vegetable oil is combined with a much smaller amount of Methanol. Methanol can be manufactured by the fermentation of starch or sugar and it can also be produced from natural gas. The vegetable oil and methanol are placed in a small quantity of an alkaline catalyst and it is in this process that the chemical makeup of the vegetable oil is altered. The result is a clean burning fuel with a viscosity (flow properties) approximating that of standard diesel fuel. During this process, approximately 90% of what is manufactured is Biodiesel fuel, while the remaining 10% is in the form of the glycerine that was broken down from the vegetable matter. This glycerine can also be used in other applications in the chemical industry, making the manufacture of Biodiesel practically waste-free.

The current uses for Biodiesel are mainly limited to that of being a cleaner burning replacement for petroleum based diesel fuel. Biodiesel can be both economically viable and highly efficient for most mobile applications. There will be some performance and usage differences between diesel and Biodiesel and they will vary from vehicle to vehicle as expected. It is possible for most modern diesel engines to burn standard Biodiesel. Currently, Biodiesel is also marketed as a Biodiesel/Ethanol mix or a Biodiesel/Diesel mix.

Still a young industry by any measure, Biodiesel is on it's way to becoming one of the brightest lights in the search for a viable alternative-fuel.

About the author: Mark Allen is an avid supporter of the search for a viable alternative-fuel. More information at www.BiodieselPlans.info

Interesting post: Biodiesel Jet Takes Off

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