Biofuel in the United States
As of 2005[update], it was somewhat more expensive than fossil diesel, though it is still commonly produced in relatively small quantities, in comparison to petroleum products and ethanol fuel.
The demand for bioethanol fuel in the United States was stimulated by the discovery in the late 90s that methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), an oxygenate additive in gasoline, was contaminating groundwater.
[5] Flex-fuel vehicles are assisting in this transition because they allow drivers to choose different fuels based on price and availability.
The growing ethanol and biodiesel industries are providing jobs in plant construction, operations, and maintenance, mostly in rural communities.
The reassessed statutory requirements also incorporate new criteria for both renewable fuels and for the feedstocks used to produce them, including lifecycle greenhouse gas emission thresholds.
That requirement aims to ensure that at least 11.1 billion US gallons (42×10^6 m3) of renewable fuels will be sold in 2009, in keeping with the targets established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA).
A 2022 study found that land use change emissions resulting from the RFS2 were likely large enough to preclude corn ethanol from complying with the 20% greenhouse gas reductions required of "conventional biofuel" under the EISA.
[14] The demand for ethanol fuel in the United States was stimulated by the discovery in the late 1990s that methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), an oxygenate additive in gasoline, was contaminating groundwater.
[20][29][30] Regarding energy policy, President-elect Barack Obama pledged during his electoral campaign to significantly reduce oil consumption, with measures that among others include mandating all new vehicles to have FFV capability by the end of 2013.
[32] In 2006, Fuel Bio Opened the largest biodiesel manufacturing plant on the east coast of the United States in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Widespread production by this route has a postulated potential (see Olah reference above) to offer methanol fuel at a low cost and with benefits to the environment.
[34][36] In 1996, a new FFV Ford Taurus was developed, with models fully capable of running on either methanol or ethanol blended with gasoline.
[38] The momentum of the FFV production programs at the American car companies continued, although by the end of the 1990s, the emphasis shifted to the E85 version, as it is today.
[39] In 2005, California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, terminated the use of methanol after 25 years and 200 million miles of successful operation, to join the expanding use of ethanol driven by producers of corn.
[45] Our current production of ethanol is about 5 billion US gallons per year (19×10^6 m3/a), but it requires 20% of the United States' corn crop and only replaces 1% of its petroleum use.
The American Biogas Council believes 17.9 billion diesel gallon equivalents of RNG can be produced each year from the existing US waste stream.
The project will expand the United States’ southern regional agricultural sector by utilizing sweet sorghum and energy cane to produce butanol, gasoline, isoprene and byproduct chemicals.
Developers believe the project eventually will contribute significantly to improving rural prosperity and job creation in the southern region of the United States.
[54] Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a bill in May 2008, that will require all diesel fuel sold in the state for use in internal combustion engines to contain at least 20% biodiesel by May 1, 2015.
The United States Department of Energy has announced [57] that it has selected six university-led advanced biofuels projects to receive up to $4.4 million, subject to annual appropriations.
Applying microbiology to biomass conversion, the University of Maine will study the use of bacteria to create biofuels from regionally available feedstocks, such as seaweed sludge and paper mill waste streams, while the University of Toledo will attempt to use pellets containing enzymes to efficiently convert cellulosic biomass into ethanol.
Until recently, the idea of extracting ethanol from farm waste and other sources was barely clinging to life in the recesses of university campuses and federal labs, because production problems, as well as the need to bring together a vast team of specialists.
Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) has invested heavily into building approximately 100 corn-ethanol production plants, known as bio-refineries, and churns out about one-fifth of the country's ethanol supply.
ADM is in a unique position to utilize unused parts of the corn crop, and convert previously discarded waste into a viable product.
[63] Meanwhile, DuPont, the chemical giant, is attempting to figure out how to construct a bio-refinery fueled by corn stover—the stalk and leaves that are left in the field after farmers harvest their crop.
[65][66] Diversa Corporation, a biotech company based in San Diego, examined how biomass is converted into energy in the natural environment.
They have found that the enzymes inherent in the bacteria and protozoa that inhabit the digestive tracts of the household termite efficiently convert 95% of cellulose into fermentable sugars.
By reenacting this natural process, the company created a cocktail of high-performance enzymes for industrial ethanol production enablers.
Currently, these expensive enzymes cost about 25 cents per gallon of ethanol, although this price is very likely to decline by half in the coming years.
Green Plains Renewable Energy claims to be the fourth largest ethanol fuel producer in North America (as of February 2012).
