Ethanol Market Research Articles

Acid-based hydrolysis processes for ethanol from lignocellulosic materials: A review

Bioethanol is nowadays one of the main actors in the fuel market. It is currently produced from sugars and starchy materials, but lignocelluloses can be expected to be major feedstocks for ethanol production in the future. Two processes are being developed in parallel for conversion of lignocelluloses to ethanol, “acid-based” and “enzyme-based” processes. The current article is dedicated to review of progress in the “acid-based-hydrolysis” process. This process was used industrially in the 1940s, during wartime, but was not economically competitive afterward. However, intensive research and development on its technology during the last three decades, in addition to the expanding ethanol market, may revive the process in large scale once again. In this paper the ethanol market, the composition of lignocellulosic materials, concentrated- and dilute-acid pretreatment and hydrolysis, plug-flow, percolation, counter-current and shrinking-bed hydrolysis reactors, fermentation of hexoses and pentoses, effects of fermentation inhibitors, downstream processing, wastewater treatment, analytical methods used, and the current commercial status of the acid-based ethanol processes are reviewed.

A Strategy Brief on US Ethanol Markets and Policies

The ethanol market in the United States is undergoing a rapid increase, affecting many sectors of the national economy. Consensus among all stakeholders is that priority must be given to the development of cellulosic ethanol and other technologies capable of delivering a safe and effective biofuel, to address the growing US energy security dilemma. The development of a new biofuels market that will combine ethanol production from traditional and innovative crops with new alternative fuel technology presents exciting opportunities and challenges. This paper examines the current developments in the ethanol market - both economic and political - and attempts to show where the synergies lie between US producers' best strategies and achieving energy security.

Estimating the Welfare Effects of U.S. Distortions in the Ethanol Market Using a Partial Equilibrium Trade Model

In this paper the impact of distortions on U.S. imports of ethanol from Brazil are calculated. This is achieved by using two-stage least squares to estimate a partial equilibrium trade model based on annual data from 1975 to 2006. From this the derived export supply and import demand elasticities are used to derive "back-of-the-envelope" measures of the static and cumulative deadweight losses, assuming the distortions are not eliminated. The results presented support the hypothesis that the U.S. and Brazil would reap gains from trade if distortions in the U.S. ethanol market were eliminated.

Brazil and Japan give fuel to ethanol market

Rising oil prices and apprehension about global warming are prompting governments to rethink their energy supply policies.

アジアにおけるバイオエタノール市場の動向と将来展望

To know the current situations on ethanol utilization, a detailed survey was made on its demand and supply in Asian countries such as Japan, China, India, Thailand, Korea, Philippine, and Pakistan. As a result, it was clarified that ethanol market has been developed and commercialized already in China and Thailand. It was found to be due to a sudden increase in the crude oil price and recent motorization progressed by an economic development, together with plentiful feedstocks available in these developing countries.In Japan, however, utilization of ethanol fuel is under consideration through the empirical car testing for targeting the practical use by 2012, while in Korea, a progress is only for testing production of ethanol from the imported grains. In India, Philippine, and Pakistan, ethanol fuel production program has just initiated recently. In China, ethanol fuel production has been developed in the north-east granary region with using maize mainly. Whereas in Thailand, ethanol fuel production has been also progressed to stimulate local economics in rural districts, and now ethanol produced mainly from molasses has been sold in a vicinity of Bangkok. In the near future, a large-scale ethanol production is being expected on the sugar cane industry basis.

Peaking of World Oil Production and Its Mitigation

Publisher Summary The world has never faced a problem like the peaking of oil. Previous energy transitions—such as wood to coal or coal to oil—were gradual and evolutionary; oil peaking will be abrupt and revolutionary. Satisfying the increasing oil demand not only requires continuing to produce older oil fields with their declining production but also requires finding new ones, capable of producing sufficient quantities of oil to both compensate for the shrinking production from older fields and provide the increase demanded by the market. A number of options exist that can be applied to lessen oil dependence and reduce economic vulnerability to oil price increases. They include reduction in energy demand, methods to increase oil production, and the introduction of alternative fuels that can substitute for oil in key market applications. The implementation of mitigation strategies will require an intense effort over decades. There are a number of factors that could conceivably impact the peaking of world oil production. Among the upsides, or factors that might ease the problems of world oil peaking, is the possibility that the pessimists are wrong again and peaking does not occur for many decades. Alternatively, Middle East oil reserves turn out to be much larger than publicly stated or a number of new super-giant oil fields are found and brought into production well before oil peaking occurs.

Impacts of the Brazilian Ethanol Program on the World Ethanol and Sugar Market: An Econometric Simulation Approach

The sugar market in Brazil is closely related to the ethanol market. Although the Brazilian government has abolished all sugar market intervention measures, it still retains control over the ethanol-gasoline blend ratio. In this study, we investigate the implications of a change in this blend ratio on the world ethanol and sugar markets－particularly in terms of production, consumption, exports and imports－by applying a newly developed World Ethanol-Sugar Market Model. Our simulation suggests moderate impacts on world ethanol and sugar markets.

Potential synergies and challenges in refining cellulosic biomass to fuels, chemicals, and power.

Lignocellulosic biomass such as agricultural and forestry residues and dedicated crops provides a low-cost and uniquely sustainable resource for production of many organic fuels and chemicals that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy security, improve the economy, dispose of problematic solid wastes, and improve air quality. A technoeconomic analysis of biologically processing lignocellulosics to ethanol is adapted to project the cost of making sugar intermediates for producing a range of such products, and sugar costs are predicted to drop with plant size as a result of economies of scale that outweigh increased biomass transport costs for facilities processing less than about 10,000 dry tons per day. Criteria are then reviewed for identifying promising chemicals in addition to fuel ethanol to make from these low cost cellulosic sugars. It is found that the large market for ethanol makes it possible to achieve economies of scale that reduce sugar costs, and coproducing chemicals promises greater profit margins or lower production costs for a given return on investment. Additionally, power can be sold at low prices without a significant impact on the selling price of sugars. However, manufacture of multiple products introduces additional technical, marketing, risk, scale-up, and other challenges that must be considered in refining of lignocellulosics.

Effects of an Oxygen Requirement for Fuel in Midwest Ethanol Markets and Local Economies

This article examines the effects of an oxygen content requirement for fuel in several midwestern states. Ethanol could dominate the midwestern oxygenate market with federal incentives for ethanol blending or a generalized ban on MTBE; otherwise, price incentives would shift between ethanol and MTBE. Several states would share in the ethanol output expansion, but the largest increases would likely occur in Iowa and Minnesota. A benefitcost analysis of the oxygen requirement suggests that gains for consumers, producers, and local economies would more than offset lost federal tax revenues. Ethanol processing has become a substantial source of corn demand. Corn use for ethanol grew from almost nothing in 1980 to about 6% of total corn demand at the end of the 1990s. This demand expansion is good news from the viewpoint of input suppliers because it occurred while the corn export market had been stagnant. However, the ethanol industry has received intense criticism since the industry was started in the aftermath of the Arab oil embargoes. First, federal and state governments gave exemptions to gasoline excise taxes for ethanol processing, using the infant industry protection argument and citing the need for imported oil substitutes (Gill)--opposition to the subsidies motivated some of the criticism. Second, the ethanol sector provided new competition for petroleum processors and livestock producers in the feed market-unwanted competition also has motivated some of the criticism. The concerns of ethanol's opponents have evolved with the industry. When the industry started in the late 1970s, ethanol did not have a favorable energy balance, but after gaining experience with plant design, corn-ethanol processing now

Sugarcane for energy – recent results and progress in Brazil

Ethanol is being used as a fuel in the transportation sector in Brazil and in a few other countries. It started to be used in significant amounts in Brazil in a blend with gasoline in 1975 and as a neat fuel in automobiles in 1980. The first use continues and all gasoline sold in the country contains 24% ethanol. The second use showed a rapid evolution, covering more than 90% of the new cars produced in 1989; after a shortage of supply in that year the number of new neat ethanol automobiles decreased very fast, reaching less than 1000 cars by 1997–98. By 1999 a modest reverse of this trend had occurred. Considering both types of use, ethanol demand has stabilized since 1995, but at present some decline in demand is foreseen for new neat ethanol cars for several years in the first decade of the 2000s. The government has an interest in maintaining the use of this alternative fuel because of several merits, e.g., the large number of jobs created in the field and the significant amount of hard currency saved on oil imports. On the other hand, most of the subsidies provided to ethanol producers have been removed because they have been in existence for a long time. Some subsidies are still in force, such as the over-price paid to producers in some states where it is understood that they are not capable of competing with the major producers of the South/Southeast region. There is enough evidence that through the “learning by doing” process ethanol fuel producers are learning how to bring down costs and they already have the ability of competing with gasoline, which is heavily taxed to cover the sales of some petroleum products at prices below production costs. Technology has improved and further progress may be made, allowing a reduction in the ethanol fuel production cost. Nevertheless, oil prices for several years up to 1999 also declined, making the competition between gasoline and ethanol difficult. By 1999, with the rebound in oil prices, the federal government reinvigorated its interest in the ethanol market through some political initiatives. Such evidence of interest and the present increase in oil price may offer the opportunity required to restart large scale production of neat ethanol automobiles. The electricity market is opening up space for the use of large amounts of biomass residues, obtained during ethanol processing, as a fuel in steam boilers. The interest is growing and more modern technologies can be used, allowing the production of up to 6000 MW of electricity using the sugarcane residues, bagasse and barbojo. Another technology which is under consideration is the development of suitable re-formers to allow the use of ethanol in fuel cell-powered vehicles. Considering the significant success of ethanol as an automobile fuel and for electricity generation this paper tries to make an assessment of the future trend. It is very useful to recognize that during the last 40 years, average sugar prices (the only alternative market for ethanol from sugarcane) have been continuously declining, while average gasoline prices have moved in the opposite direction. This trend helps commercial competition between the two fuels. In addition, the potential economic value of a renewable fuel through carbon emission certificates can impact positively on ethanol. Significant carbon abatement results from the use of ethanol derived from sugarcane due to the very favorable energy balance of the entire process.

Clean air and renewable fuels: the market for fuel ethanol in the US from 1984 to 1993

Ethanol made from corn has become an increasingly important fuel additive in the US over the past decade. The market for ethanol has grown from 550 million gallons in 1984 to approximately 1.5 billion gallons in 1995. Recent clean-air legislation has mandated the use of cleaner burning fuels in the US in specific regions and seasons. The fundamental role of fuel ethanol is changing from a gasoline substitute and octane enhancer to being one of a number of possible clean-air additives. In addition to these changing market conditions, the institutional structure surrounding the ethanol market has changed. While there is a uniform national subsidy for ethanol use, each state has its own supplemental subsidy level which varied from zero to over $0.40 per gallon. Recently, many state subsidy levels have been declining, but significant incentives still remain (including the federal $0.54 per gallon incentive). This paper explores the economic characteristics of the US ethanol market. The market supply and demand for ethanol are estimated econometrically. The results highlight the importance of the state and federal incentives and mandates, along with transportation costs, in making corn-based ethanol an attractive alternative to gasoline. Further investigation using a probit model to predict whether a state has an ethanol market or not reinforces the results of the supply–demand market model. The implications of the market characteristics for current and future US ethanol policy and clean-fuels use are discussed.

Competition and Entry in Small Airline Markets

Competition and Entry in Small Airline Markets

Ethanol fuel as an octane enhancer in the US fuel market

Ethanol from corn is an important US renewable energy source. In 1986, about 3·3 billion liters of ethanol were used, primarily as a gasoline extender. With lead phasedown, ethanol (octane rating of 113-16) is being considered as an alternative octane source. First, octane requirements following enactment of lead phasedown regulations are determined. Competing octane sources are then analyzed under various oil price, corn price and policy (subsidies, import tariffs) scenarios. At corn price levels of $59.05–68.90 Mg and oil prices of $16–26 per barrel, a subsidy of $0.07–0.105 per liter would be necessary for ethanol to compete with other octane enhancers. Potential demand for ethanol could approach 10.7 billion liters per year. A tariff of $0.035–0.071 per liter on imported ethanol (net of subsidy) would be necessary to protect this potential market for US corn-based ethanol.

Ethanol market rebounds after bad year

Ethanol market rebounds after bad year