US does not have infrastructure to consume more ethanol
The US does not have the infrastructure to meet the federal mandate for renewable fuel use with ethanol but could meet the standard with significant increases in cellulosic and next-generation biofuels, according to a Purdue University study.
The report’s authors used US Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data to determine that the United States is at the "blending wall," the saturation point for ethanol use. Without new technology or a significant increase in infrastructure, Tyner predicts that the country will not be able to consume more ethanol than is being currently produced.
The federal Renewable Fuel Standard requires an increase of renewable fuel production to 36 billion gallons per year by 2022. About 13 billion gallons of renewable fuel was required for 2010, the same amount the report predicts is the threshold for US infrastructure and consumption ability.
The study contends that there simply are not enough flex-fuel vehicles, which use an 85% ethanol blend, or E85 stations to distribute more biofuels. According to EPA estimates, flex-fuel vehicles make up 7.3 million of the 240 million vehicles on the nation's roads. Of those, about 3 million of flex-fuel vehicle owners aren't even aware they can use E85 fuel.
There are only about 2,000 E85 fuel pumps in the United States, and it took more than 20 years to install them. In order for the US’ infrastructure to match the numbers in the federal mandate, the study's authors say 2,000 pumps a year would need to be installed through the year 2022. They also note that E85 needs to be substantially cheaper than gasoline to entice consumers to use it because E85 gets lower mileage.
The report says that advances in the production of thermo-chemical biofuels, which are created by using heat to chemically alter biomass and create fuels, would be necessary to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard. Those fuels would be similar enough to gasoline to allow unlimited blending and would increase the amount of biofuel that could be used.
The US Department of Agriculture funded the research for the report.
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