SAE Update - February 2023 - 2

COmmEnTAry
Higher ethanol blends support the
transition to a low-carbon future
By BrIAN WEST, retired
from Oak Ridge National
Laboratory. For more of his
background, see " About
the Author " at the end of
this article.
Significant reduction of
greenhouse gases is a worldwide
goal, and it is imperative that
multiple parallel efforts be
pursued for success. While
electric vehicles (EVs) are lauded
for having zero tailpipe emissions,
it is important to understand
there are limitations to focusing
on only one technology. Biofuels
have already saved millions of
tonnes (MT) of greenhouse gas
(GHG) in the United States and
greater use of these clean fuels
should be embraced for sustained
and increased contribution to this
objective.
The United States is home to
some 280 million light-duty
vehicles and consumes around
140 billion gallons of motor
gasoline per year (Bgpy). " Motor
gasoline " here refers to gasoline
fuel containing 0-15% ethanol.
There is an impassioned
(perhaps unrealistic) belief
among many advocates that EV
sales will overtake gasoline
2
February 2023
100
105
110
80
85
90
95
20
Denatured Fuel
Ethanol ASTM
D4806
Denatured
Fuel Ethanol
ASTM
D4806
Data from Stein, et al., SAE 2012-01-1277
40
60
Ethanol Content (vol %)
FIGURE 1: Octane number versus ethanol content for three base gasolines.
Neat fuel grade ethanol also shown.1
vehicle sales in the next few years.
While many regulators and vehicle manufacturers
have made bold statements about transitioning to an
all-EV future, the reality is that limitations on raw
materials, charging infrastructure, consumer
preferences and other factors will very likely restrain
this revolution. In the meantime, millions of new
vehicles with spark ignition (SI) internal combustion
engines will be produced; roughly half of the vehicles
sold today will still be on the road in 20 years.
I believe it is imperative that multiple
complementary technologies be utilized in parallel to
help curb GHG emissions and mitigate risk associated
with any single solution. The U.S. agriculture and
ethanol industries currently produce about 16 billion
gallons of ethanol annually, with recent lifecycle
modeling showing ethanol cuts GHG emissions by 44UPDATE
80
100
Research
Octane Number

https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/articles/ethanol-vs-petroleum-based-fuel-carbon-emissions https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/articles/ethanol-vs-petroleum-based-fuel-carbon-emissions

SAE Update - February 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAE Update - February 2023

SAE Update - February 2023 - Cov1
SAE Update - February 2023 - Cov2
SAE Update - February 2023 - 1
SAE Update - February 2023 - 2
SAE Update - February 2023 - 3
SAE Update - February 2023 - 4
SAE Update - February 2023 - 5
SAE Update - February 2023 - 6
SAE Update - February 2023 - 7
SAE Update - February 2023 - 8
SAE Update - February 2023 - 9
SAE Update - February 2023 - 10
SAE Update - February 2023 - 11
SAE Update - February 2023 - 12
SAE Update - February 2023 - 13
SAE Update - February 2023 - 14
SAE Update - February 2023 - 15
SAE Update - February 2023 - 16
SAE Update - February 2023 - 17
SAE Update - February 2023 - 18
SAE Update - February 2023 - 19
SAE Update - February 2023 - 20
SAE Update - February 2023 - 21
SAE Update - February 2023 - 22
SAE Update - February 2023 - 23
SAE Update - February 2023 - 24
SAE Update - February 2023 - 25
SAE Update - February 2023 - 26
SAE Update - February 2023 - 27
SAE Update - February 2023 - 28
SAE Update - February 2023 - 29
SAE Update - February 2023 - 30
SAE Update - February 2023 - 31
SAE Update - February 2023 - 32
SAE Update - February 2023 - 33
SAE Update - February 2023 - 34
SAE Update - February 2023 - 35
SAE Update - February 2023 - 36
SAE Update - February 2023 - 37
SAE Update - February 2023 - 38
SAE Update - February 2023 - 39
SAE Update - February 2023 - 40
SAE Update - February 2023 - 41
SAE Update - February 2023 - 42
SAE Update - February 2023 - 43
SAE Update - February 2023 - 44
SAE Update - February 2023 - 45
SAE Update - February 2023 - 46
SAE Update - February 2023 - 47
SAE Update - February 2023 - 48
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