USE OF ALCOHOLS, BIOFUELS AS AUOTOMOTIVE ENGINE FUEL

Sumit Taneja1, Perminderjit Singh2, Abhishek Sharma3, Gurjeet Singh4

1,3
Assistant Professor - Mechanical Engineering, Manipal University Jaipur, 303007, India
2,4
Professor - Mechanical Engineering, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh 160012, India
1
Corresponding Author Email id: sumit4088@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Ever depleting reserves of fossil fuel have propelled researchers across the globe to look for
alternative fuels. Also ever increasing pollution forces the engineers to develop cleaner
technology and more efficient engines to meet the stringent demand of the modern
automobile emission norms. To address both the above said issues, the present day researches
focus on fossil fuel compensation with Biofuel additives like alcohols for gasoline engine.
The combined effect of alcohol blending and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) can
significantly improve the performance and emission of an SI engine. Recently, the use of
ethanol for automotive engines has gained more importance, as it can be used in both SI and
CI engines and reduces the engine emissions. Even the bioethanol derived from bio-wastes,
known as second generation ethanol can be used as an alternative fuel for SI engines. It also
helps in the proper disposal of tonnes of bio waste which otherwise lies unused and pollutes
the environment. Effect of ethanol blending on Engine performance parameters like BSFC,
BTE, EGT and engine emissions like CO, HC, NO x and CO2 is discussed in detail. Ethanol
gasoline blends result in reduced CO and HC emissions whereas NOx emissions are
sometimes reported higher. In this context, this article presents detailed information about the
ethanol fuel, its synthesis, its utilization in SI engine and its influence on engine performance
parameters.

Keywords: Automotive fuels; Ethanol gasoline blends; Exhaust emissions; SI Engine

performance

1
1.0 INTRODUCTION: NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS

It is a well-known fact that the fossil fuels like coal and crude oil reserves are depleting very
fast and will not last for too long. Thus there is a pressing need to find newer alternative fuels
that can be used for various day to day activities like cooking food, running our vehicles,
generating electricity and providing energy security to our future generations, driven by
numerous factors like cost, availability, performance and exhaust emissions etc. Also new
suitable ways are needed to be developed for using these alternative fuels.

Another serious problem of present age is the continually increasing environmental

pollution which leads to various respiratory diseases and badly affects the human health. This
environmental pollution is primarily due to the burning of fuel like wood etc. for cooking
purpose, for industrial applications and burning of petroleum products in automobiles.
Rapidly increasing vehicles on the roads hugely contribute to this menace called air pollution.
Globally many big cities are already struggling with this problem as the elevated level of
pollution is posing serious health concerns and making them unlivable.

This forthcoming energy crisis coupled with the continually rising environmental
pollution caused by the fossil fuels becomes the most serious problems of the present time
and necessitates the development and use of clean alternative fuels particularly for vehicular
engines. These two issues are deeply interlinked and can be jointly addressed to a great extent
by adopting a single solution. Using cleaner alternative fuels in vehicles will on one hand
reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and on the other hand will help in minimizing the
environmental pollution too. In developing countries like India, the foreign exchange
expenditure incurred on import of the crude oil, fluctuation in its prices and its perilous
exhaust emissions all combine together to make it an even bigger critical issue required to be
judiciously addressed. Thus now a days, researchers are putting huge focus to develop
cleaner fuels for future automobiles that can help solving these twin problems of energy
security and environmental pollution [Schifter et al., 2011; Sharma et al., 2015]

2
1.1 MAJOR ALTERNATIVES AUTOMOTIVE FUELS

Developing an altogether newer alternative fuel takes long time and requires lot of research
thus engineers have been experimenting with a simple idea of using suitable additives which
can be added to the petroleum based fuels in smaller quantities without drastically effecting
its properties and combustion behaviour. The major additive fuels presently under
consideration are ethanol, methanol, propane and natural gas. Alcohols like methanol and
ethanol are termed as renewable fuels which can be derived from natural bio products
whereas natural gas is a non-renewable fossil fuel in gaseous form but present in ample
quantity.

Renewable fuel includes both gaseous and liquid fuels as well as the electricity derived
from renewable biomass energy sources. Compared to the fossil fuels, most renewable fuels
are capable of achieving significant lifecycle greenhouse gas emission reduction. In the
United States, increased usage of renewable fuels has reduced its dependence on imported
crude oil and fostered the development of domestic energy resources, while simultaneously
providing reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which influence climate change [Hamid et
al., 2004]. Following are the main alternative or additive fuels:

 NATURAL GAS
Natural gas is undisputedly one of the best alternative fuel currently available and has
considerable benefits when compared to diesel or gasoline in terms of the cleaner
exhaust, lower price, higher octane number and reduced maintenance. But because of
the lower density of compressed natural gas (CNG), its volumetric efficiency is low.
CNG as an automotive fuel possesses low flame speed thus takes more time for
complete combustion. This can be nullified by advancing the ignition timing but this
result in lower pressure rise in the engine cylinder. Hence it is mandatory to optimize
the spark timing so that ignition occurs properly. Also for lean air-fuel mixtures, CNG
exhibits poor combustion characteristics.

 METHANOL
Methanol can be produced from charcoal or natural gas while ethanol is produced
from corn, cane sugar, molasses, starch, potato and wheat. Methanol is an aggressive
material which causes the corrosion and degradation of metallic components of fuel
supply system thus the addition of methanol as an oxygenate to gasoline to increase
octane rating because is not permitted.

3
  ETHANOL
Ethanol or ethyl alcohol is one of the most prominent alternative fuels which can be
used in Spark Ignition engine particularly as an additive into the gasoline. Use of
ethanol in the engine is marked by lower emission along with improved efficiency,
power output and fuel economy [Hassan et al., 2001].

 ETBE
ETBE stands for ethyl tertiary butyl ether. This is a chemical compound produced by
the chemical reaction of ethanol and isobutylene (a byproduct of petroleum refining).
ETBE possesses superior combustion characteristics as compared to other ethers like
high octane value, low volatility, lower hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions
and superior drivability. ETBE and Ethanol are the oxygenate used in the
‘reformulated gasoline’ mandated in ozone non-attainment zones in United States.

 PROPANE

Propane is obtained as a by-product of petroleum refining or natural gas processing.

Propane is a low energy fuel often used for central residential heating, portable stoves,
barbecues and oxy-gas torches. Propane with excessive propene is not suitable for use
as an automotive engine fuels.

Some of the prominent alternative fuels being used in Gasoline engine in India are:
 LPG
 CNG
 Ethanol Gasoline Blends
 LNG and Enriched Biogas

Liquefied Petroleum Gas was the pioneer alternative fuel that India had adopted in its quest
to have clean air in metro cities. Gasoline engine of commercial vehicles were retrofitted with
LPG conversion kits or dual fuel engine kits thereby reducing pollution. LPG is generated as
a by-product during the processing of crude oil or natural gas. LPG is primarily a mixture of
propane (57%) and Butane (41%). Due to its higher octane rating, lower carbon-to-hydrogen
ratio and its ability to form homogeneous mixture it burns much cleaner and produces lower
emissions than gasoline. Moreover minimal carbon deposit on spark plug and other parts
increase their service life. It proves more economical than gasoline but at the cost of slightly
reduced power. Safety is an issue with LPG and its storage also occupies a lot of boot space.

4
Compressed Natural Gas is established as a very successful alternative automotive fuel
across the world. Natural gas has very low energy density thus it is compressed to 1/200 of its
volume to form CNG and can be easily obtained from gas and oil wells. It is primarily
composed of Methane gas (85%). Some attractive features of CNG as an automotive fuel are
low noise, less maintenance, low exhaust emissions, drivers comfort and it is not prone to
adulteration It is very lighter thus mixes with air easily. Supreme Court of India in 2002
mandated all heavy commercial vehicles operating in NCR Delhi to be converted to CNG.
That was the turning moment for CNG adoption in India and it significantly reduced
pollution. Many car manufacturers are selling CNG versions of their famous cars in India. In
spite of the higher refilling time, CNG offers many benefits like
- Reduced CO, NOx and particulate emissions
- No visible tail pipe emissions
- Higher octane value of CNG reduces engine knocking problems

Ethanol-Gasoline blends use an alcohol called ethyl alcohol or ethanol produced by the
fermentation of the starch present in crops or cellulosic biomass materials. It’s a renewable
fuel having properties very closely resembling gasoline. It can be easily mixed in gasoline
and gives very low emissions. National Biofuel policy dated 29 Nov 2011 proposed 5%
ethanol blending in gasoline because of its numerous benefits like
- It’s renewable; Burns clean and reduce import of fossil fuels.
- Lower blends don’t need any physical modifications in engine.
- Gives decent engine performance with minimal power loss
National biofuel policy 2016 mandated 10% ethanol blending in gasoline however due to
limited availability of bioethanol, it is still not achieved and being pursued.

Liquefied Natural gas is obtained when natural gas is compressed to1/600 of its original
volume. It exists as liquid and is an even better fuel than CNG in terms of energy density.
India is currently aiming to become a gas based economy with main focus on LNG. LNG
fired power plants are replacing coal fired ones due to lower cost, clean burning and reduced
pollution. Long term purchase agreements of LNG are signed with gulf countries for feeding
power plants and for supply as piped cooking gas to households due to its higher heating
value, safe usage and lower storage space requirements. Research on its use as automotive
fuel is in early stages but has huge potential. India is currently aggressively pushing towards a
LNG based economy [Sharma et al., 2015].

5
Ethanol is emerging strongly as the most suitable additive to gasoline. Sustained efforts for
gradual phasing out of the leaded gasoline, led to ethanol becoming popular as a high quality
octane booster fuel additive. Ethanol has higher oxygen content thus it burns more
completely and pollutes less. United States has been successfully using E10 (10% ethanol by
volume in gasoline or petrol) since 2001, to reduce its imports. No physical changes in the
gasoline engine are needed for using E10 fuel. Brazil also has been using 15% of ethanol
with petrol since 2003 [Hamid et al., 2004].

Automobile manufacturers recommend ethanol blends in gasoline for their vehicles

due to its benefits like: enhanced gas mileage, reduced knocking, improved starting qualities
and better acceleration. Ethanol blends even produce lesser toxic engine emissions on
combustion. E-10 unleaded is approved for warranties by all the automobile manufacturers
marketing their cars in USA. In fact Daimler-Chrysler, USA highly recommends the usage of
oxygenated fuels like ethanol blends due to their improved performance qualities and clean
air benefits [Clean Fuel Development Coalition, 2002].

Additional benefits of using Ethanol are:

 Ethanol is an excellent cleaning agent and keeps the engine cleaner in new vehicles.
For older vehicles, sometimes it loosens up the residues deposited in the car’s fuel
supply system. These loosened particles occasionally get collected in the fuel filter
from where they may be removed by simply replacing the fuel filter.
 All the alcohols have a natural ability of absorbing water. Thus the condensation of
water is arrested in the fuel supply systems so it gets no chance to collect and freeze.
E10 thus eliminates the need of using ‘gas-line antifreeze’ in winters.
 Ethanol is an excellent fuel both for the newer as well as the old technology engines.
Automobile engine older than 1970 having non-hardened valve seats might require a
lead substitute to be added to the ethanol gasoline blends for preventing the premature
wear of the valve seat. Valve burning is significantly reduced in engines where
ethanol blends are used as the ethanol burns cooler than the normal petrol. That’s the
reason why many racing cars use alcohol as fuel.
 Use of ethanol in the engine is characterized by lower exhaust emission along with
improved efficiency, power output and fuel economy [Environment Australia, 2002].

6
2.0 ETHANOL – THE FUEL

Ethanol is a flammable, volatile, colorless liquid which is the intoxicating agent in liquors
and is also used as a transportation fuel or solvent in syrups. It is often referred as grain
alcohol or ethyl alcohol. It is a colorless clear liquid having a very mild characteristic smell
that boils at 78º C and freezes at -112º C. On burning, ethanol produces a pale blue flame
with considerably high energy and no residue, thus proving it an ideal fuel. It is an alcohol
formed by the fermentation of corn or sugarcane.
Ethanol is used for a wide range of purpose, right from producing medicine,
synthesizing chemical products to fueling our vehicles, lamps and heaters. It is exactly the
same alcohol which is used in the beverage alcohol but it meet the fuel-grade standards.
Ethanol meant for use as a fuel is first denatured by mixing little bit of gasoline into it, thus it
becomes unfit for drinking by humans.

2.1 HISTORY – Transition from Alcohol to Fuel

Ethanol is famous as an intoxicating drink since ancient times. In U.S. around late 1800s,
ethanol was often used as a spirit or lamp fuel with annual sales exceeding 25 million gallons.
The US government imposed taxes on ethanol during the civil war, which devastated the
ethanol industry. Ethanol fuel flourished nicely after the lifting of taxes in 1906 until the
crude oil came. The first use of ethanol as an automotive fuel happened in early 1900s when
petrol supplies were short in Europe. Henry Ford’s Model T along with other early 1920s
vehicles in United States was designed originally to run on alcohol fuel. Both Germany and
U.S. armies used to rely on ethanol for powering their vehicles in world war. Post second
World war, the crude oil prices crashed that reduced the use of ethanol. After this, a limited
usage of ethanol went on till the oil crisis came in early 1970s [Clean Fuel Development
Coalition, 2002]. In 1973, the OPEC countries blocked shipments of crude oil to USA
causing gasoline shortage by raising crude prices. This action warranted attention as United
States depended hugely on imported oil. This shifted the focus once again towards additive
fuels like ethanol. Gasoline containing ethanol at that time was named ‘gasohol’. Afterwards,
as gasoline got plentiful, the ethanol-blended gasoline was introduced for increasing the
octane ratings with the name ‘gasohol’ being dropped in favour of names like ‘E-10
Unleaded’.

7
2.2 Why Ethanol Now?

Ethanol production and use had grown appreciably in US during the 1980s and 1990s.
Increase in the use of ‘E-10 Unleaded’ gasoline occurred as this fuel performed very well in
the automotive engine and was priced lower than the traditional gasoline.

Major reasons for the elevated production and usage of ethanol globally include:
1. Ethanol is a renewable fuel and can be easily replenished using naturally
occurring crops like corn, wheat, rice, sugarcane etc.
2. Ethanol decreases the dependence of a nation on imported oil, thus lowers the
trade deficit. It serves as a dependable source of energy if foreign supplies get
interrupted.
3. Increased demand of grains for making the ethanol stabilizes the corn price.
4. Ethanol improves the air quality as the carbon monoxide emissions reduce due to
its oxygenating nature. Also lead and other carcinogens get removed from the
gasoline.
5. Vehicle owners are benefitted by the elevated octane in fuel that lowers knock of
engine. Also Ethanol fuel blends absorb moisture thus keep the fuel system clean
[Clean Fuel Development Coalition, 2002].

Means of using Ethanol as Fuel

Ethanol is an excellent fuel and may be used as a transportation fuel in the following three
primary ways:

1. As a blend, having 10 parts of Ethanol in 90 parts of the unleaded gasoline,

designated as ‘E-10 Unleaded’.
2. As a constituent of the reformulated gasoline, either directly or indirectly as ethyl
tertiary butyl ether (ETBE).
3. As a primary fuel having 85 percent ethanol blended with 15 percent unleaded
gasoline known as ‘E-85’.

Ethanol when added to the gasoline enhances the octane level; reduces the exhaust emissions
and prolongs the future availability of crude oil [Clean Energy, 2005].

8
3.0 ETHANOL – THE GLOBAL SCENARIO

Many countries have been using biofuels like ethanol as energy sources, including India. In
2011, USA and Brazil were the top ethanol producers globally producing 53 and 21 billion
liters of ethanol respectively and amounting to 87% of global production of 85 billion
liters. Strong government incentives to biofuels have helped ethanol industries grow in many
countries like Brazil, France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, China, Canada, India, Thailand,
Australia and few Central American countries.

United States not only produces the maximum ethanol globally but also consumes the most.
Ethanol’s use as a fuel goes back to 1896 when Henry Ford designed his first car, the
‘Quadricycle’ to run on pure ethanol. Most cars in U.S. run on blend of up to 10% ethanol
and manufacturer design them to even accommodate high ethanol blends. Portland, Oregon in
2007 became the first city in USA to mandate 10% ethanol in all gasoline. In 2010, E.P.A.
granted the sale and use of E15 blend for cars manufactured in or after 2007.

Brazil’s ethanol industry is more than 30 years old. It boasts of the world’s most successful
bio-fuel program, producing ethanol from sugarcane. Since 1977 Brazil made it mandatory to
use E15, a blend of 15% ethanol in gasoline which requires just minor adjustments on normal
gasoline engine. Now the ethanol blends used nationwide are mandatorily instructed to
possess 18% to 25% ethanol (E18 to E25) and these are used by all the regular gasoline cars
as well as the flexible-fuel vehicles.

Europe also has the largest bioethanol consuming nations like Sweden, France and Spain.
Sweden was pioneer in whole Europe in terms of using ethanol as a fuel, although Sweden
mostly imports this ethanol. All the Swedish fuel station are mandated to supply minimum
one alternate fuel. Sweden’s every fifth car, at least partially is driven on alternate fuel,
mainly on ethanol. Sweden had the highest, 1200 ethanol stations in Europe by 2008. France
showed enthusiasm in using E30 fuel initially around 2001, but the conversion kits for
enabling petrol engines to consume E30 or higher fuel efficiently could not be legalized.
After the conversion kits were legalized around 2015, the use of E85 fuel grew rapidly in
France and prompted governments to even ban diesel from cities. By 2018, E85 was easily
available at all the gas stations in France and presently in 2019 it is still cheaper (up to 50%)
than petrol.

9
Germany had built up a widespread biofuel infrastructure initially but the E35 fuel
disappeared completely from the fuel stations after the tax incentives for biofuels were
withdrawn by the government in 2015. Biofuel is taxed equally as the regular fuel now.

Thailand has been using E10 fuel since 2004 on a large scale. From 2008 beginning Thailand
initiated the sale of E20 and it introduced flexible fuel vehicles by late 2010. Thailand is
presently converting its cassava stocks into ethanol fuel.

India has also mandated 10% ethanol blending in all commercially sold gasoline but due to
lower production it has been able to achieve only 5% blending successfully till 2019.

Australia derives its Ethanol from feed stocks like wheat starch, molasses and grain sorghum.
Australian legislations impose a 10% capping on the amount of ethanol in fuel blends.
Biofuel contribution in the total transport fuel energy mix in Australia in 2016-17 was just
0.5%. Total commercial bioethanol production in 2018 was 250 million liters.

USA and Brazil were the pioneering countries to experiment with ethanol as
automotive fuel. Gradually Canada, Sweden, France and India started taking clues from USA
and Brazil to use ethanol as transportation fuel. Ethanol working knowledge primarily
originated from USA and Brazil is worth many lessons.

3.1 USA’s Corn Based Ethanol

Ethanol is derived from the farm-grown raw products that are very abundant in USA. Sweet
corn is the grain primarily used for producing ethanol that supplies most of the raw material
required. In 1994, Ethanol production consumed around 500 million bushels of corn thus
creating a domestic market for corn which in turn adds around 5 cents a bushel for every 100
million bushel of corn consumed. Higher prices result in more income for farmers and less
reliance on government subsidy programs. Ethanol producers in USA use more than 700
million bushels of corn annually today.

The growth of domestic ethanol industry has led to a rapid rise in the number of farmer-
owned ethanol production facilities. US farmers have realized the additional benefits
resulting through ownership of ethanol manufacturing plants. Around 10 billion gallon of top
quality, high-performance ethanol fuel had been produced in the last two decades, using
around 5 billion bushel of corn.

10
Ethanol’s importance towards the agricultural sector in US can be easily understood by
following data:
• Ethanol making accounts for nearly 7% of the total corn usage in the United States
and represents the third highest usage of corn; next only to domestic livestock feed
consumption and exports.
• Ethanol stimulates the rural economy by raising the corn prices and the rural
income through the creation of value-added market for farmers.
• Ethanol accounts for 14 cents of the value of every bushel of corn sold by U.S.
farmers. It varies as per global demand and supply scenario and the crop prospects.
• Every 100 million bushel rise in the corn demand results into a hike of corn prices
by 4 to 5 cents per bushel.
• Every bushel of corn consumed for producing ethanol affect the prices of other
commodities as well, adding around 2 cent to the wheat price and 10 cents to the
soybean price per bushel.

Production of ethanol from corm no way means that lesser corn is available as food. Infact,
ethanol production leads to a number of protein-rich food and feed co-products. For instance,
an acre of corn farming, yielding 125 bushels produces around 300 gallons of ethanol, 189
pounds of corn oil, 320 pounds of sixty percent gluten meal and 1350 pounds of distiller’s
grains. Distiller’s grain is extensively used as a premium animal feed ration and is considered
a digestible, nutritional, cost-effective and palatable protein feed for sheep and cattle. Around
1.5 billion ton of distiller’s grain is also produced in United States per year [Clean Fuel
Development Coalition, 2002].

What’s in A Bushel of Corn: Food or Fuel?

Every bushel (8 gallons or 14 liters) of the corn produces 2.4 to 2.6 gallons (3.8 liters) of
ethanol, depending on the type of milling process used. It is only the starch of the sweet corn
that is utilized for making ethanol. Rest all portion of the corn kernel remains as such thus
leaving behind the protein and valuable co-products for being utilized in the making of food
for humans, livestock feed and numerous chemicals. This same bushel of corn used in
making ethanol can also simultaneously generate co-products shown in the accompanying
chart. Corn oil is used to produce food for humans. Also the 21% protein feed is utilized for
producing a high protein livestock feed [Clean Fuel Development Coalition, 2002].

11
The carbon dioxide produced can be used as a refrigerant and help crops grow rapidly in
greenhouses. Only starch from the sweet-corn (oxygen, hydrogen and carbon) is utilized to
derive ethanol effectively.

Fig. 1 Various co-products obtained from Ethanol production

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3.2 Brazil’s Sugarcane Based Ethanol

Brazil’s ethanol is primarily derived from sugarcane which has the lowest rate of
agrochemical use in agriculture across the world. Sugarcane exhibits the lowest soil erosion
rates in agriculture which is significant considering that desertification and erosion are two of
the world’s most serious problems, as 25% of the soil on the planet is decertified, as per the
United Nations data. Sugarcane plantation and processing is an activity having minimal
negative impact on water resources in Brazil that reflects another vital contribution
considering that about 10% of the world’s water supply is hopelessly compromised by
pollution and erosion, as per the United Nations [Clean Energy, 2005].

Sugarcane agri-business has become self-sustainable economic activity in Brazil

accounting for 3.5 million direct jobs and 1.5% of GDP. No competition exists between food
crop and energy crop. In fact biofuels have given farmers a big opportunity to raise their
productivity and income. Sugarcane farming area in Brazil was around 10% of the total area
under cultivation, which represents a tiny percentage of Brazil’s total fertile landmass of 850
million hectares. Sugarcane cultivation over the years has mainly expanded in unused low
fertile areas like the degraded pastures of the central Savannah area. Moreover the use of
Vinasse, a sugarcane by-product rich in sulphur, calcium and potassium, as a fertilizer has
hugely contributed in replacing nutrients in the soil.

The cost of deriving ethanol from the sugarcane in Brazil is way lower than that of
producing ethanol from wheat and sugar beet in Europe and from maize in United States. The
sugarcane plant requires a relatively dry climate for producing sucrose. In wet climate,
sugarcane absorbs water like a sponge thus lowering the sucrose formation. Brazil has
demonstrated how the area planted with sugarcane can be doubled without using agricultural
land. By using the degraded pastures and by substituting sugarcane for less profitable crops,
producers have doubled the sugarcane area and hence their income.

Huge plantation of sugarcane had many positive environmental impacts in Brazil.

Sugarcane has the lowest soil erosion rates and it needs very little amount of pesticide. All its
waste like sugarcane bagasse, leaves etc. are utilized for cogeneration. Because of ethanol’s
use as fuel, the air quality has significantly improved in Brazil due to the removal of lead-
based additives in gasoline and the reduction of greenhouse gases, contributing to a pollution
reduction of about 20% for the whole energy sector [ELLA, 2013].

13
ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF USING SUGARCANE TO PRODUCE ETHANOL

There are numerous benefits to environment if ethanol is made from sugarcane. Prominent
among these are

 Firstly, deriving ethanol from sugarcane is more energy efficient than from corn.
Producing ethanol from sugarcane creates about 8 times the amount of energy
consumed in producing it while producing ethanol from corn only creates about 3
times the amount of energy consumed in producing it.
 Second, sugarcane does not need to be irrigated unlike most of the corn currently
grown in USA. Thus there is no additional load on existing water resources for
sugarcane crop.
 Third, sugarcane needs relatively lesser amount of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and
herbicide. It thus protects soil from contamination and leads to economies in
sugarcane and ethanol production.
 Fourth, while most ethanol refineries in U.S. are natural gas or coal powered,
sugarcane based ethanol refinery may be powered by sugarcane Bagasse, a waste
biomass left after the refining of sugar. In fact, bagasse fueled refineries can generate
even more electricity than they require and can sell it back to grid thus generating
additional revenues.
 Fifth, while corn is planted and harvested only once in a year, the sugarcane may be
cut multiple times from the same stalk in a year in tropical climate. All of these points
in favour of sugarcane based ethanol are perfectly true for Brazil’s ethanol
[Goldemberg et al, 2008].
 Sixth, it provides energy security to the nation. Since Brazil is not self-sufficient in
producing adequate gasoline to meet domestic demand, it is very important to
complement the transportation energy mix with national sources. The bigger the share
of a domestically sourced fuel (in this case ethanol) in the energy matrix, the less
reliant the country is on fuel imports and the more resistant it is to external shocks.
Figure 1.2 shows how Brazil reduced its external fuel dependence hugely by
launching the second phase of ‘Proálcool’. Brazilian dependence on imported oil
(yellow line in Fig 1.2) decreased substantially as the hydrated ethanol production
increases considerably.

14
 Fig. 2 Brazilian dependence on Energy Imports [ELLA, 2013]

 Seventh, use of ethanol as fuel reduces GHG (Green House Gas) emissions. Recently,
the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared sugarcane ethanol
as an advanced biofuel as its use as a fuel results in a 61% reduction in CO 2 emissions
compared to gasoline. This is because the CO 2 released from the burning of ethanol in
vehicles is absorbed via photosynthesis by the sugarcane plants as they grew.
Furthermore, when compared to ethanol produced from other feed stocks, sugarcane
based ethanol demonstrates a very favourable GHG emissions balance. For instance,
the use of ethanol as fuel in Brazil instead of gasoline avoided the release of 35
million tonnes of CO2 in 2012 alone.

Fig. 3 Emissions avoided in Brazil in 2012 (million tonnes)

15
4.0 HOW TO MAKE ETHANOL: COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION

Ethanol can be derived from any crop or biomass having sugar or starch present in it.
Converting the starch present in the kernels of sweet corn into sugar and then converting this
sugar into ethanol is a complicated process that needs applying a combination of technologies
like engineering, chemistry and microbiology. Ethanol can be produced by adopting any one
of the given standard processes: Dry milling or Wet milling.

4.1 DRY MILLING

Most of the ethanol plants in United States work on dry milling process. The main steps
involved in the dry milling process are:
i. Milling: After proper cleaning of the corn grains or any biomass, it is firstly passed
through hammer mills, where it gets grinded into fine powder.
ii. Liquefaction: Then this finely milled powder is mixed with an enzyme called alpha
amylase and water in the cookers to liquefy the starch. Heat is given to enable the
liquefaction. Sulfuric acid is added in it for maintaining pH 7. Cookers having high
temperature stage of 120 to 150ºC and lower temperature (95ºC) holding period are
used. Higher temperature lowers the bacteria level in this mash.
iii. Saccharification: This mash is then cooled down and an enzyme called gluco-amalyse
is mixed in it for converting the starch into fermentable sugar.
iv. Fermentation: Now ‘Yeast’ is mixed in this mash for fermenting the sugar into
ethanol plus carbon dioxide. In a batch fermentation process, this mash remains in one
fermenter for around 2 days while in continuous fermentation process, the fermenting
mash passes through many fermenters until it gets completely fermented and then it
exits the tank.
v. Distillation: This fermented mash is known as ‘beer’ and possesses around 10 percent
alcohol along with all the non-fermentable solids of the corn and the yeast cells. The
alcohol is then separated from the solids and water by pumping this mash into a
continuous flow, multi-column distillation system. Now alcohol at 96% strength
leaves from the top of the last column whereas the residue mash known as ‘stillage’ is
shifted from this column’s base to the co-product processing zone.

16
 vi. Dehydration: This hydrous alcohol is then passed from a dehydration system. All the
remaining moisture also gets removed here. A molecular sieve is mostly used to trap
the last traces of moisture present in the ethanol. Pure alcohol obtained at this point is
referred as ‘anhydrous ethanol’.
vii. Denaturing: The Ethanol which is to be used as fuel can be denatured now, by adding
very little amount (2 to 5%) of gasoline, thus making it unfit for human consumption
[Clean Fuel Development Coalition, 2002].

4.2 WET MILLING

This operation is much more complex as the grain has to be separated into its components.
Unlike dry milling where the entire mash is fermented, here only the starch is fermented in
wet milling. The wet milling process is detailed in the flow chart shown in the figure 4.
Similar process is used for deriving ethanol from other feed stocks.

4.3 ETHANOL NOMENCLATURE

On the basis of the feedstock utilized for deriving ethanol, it is classified as First generation
or Second generation ethanol.

First Generation Ethanol: When ethanol is produced from the grains of a particular crop or
feedstock like corn or wheat or maize, it is referred as first generation ethanol. It is essentially
a feedstock dependent ethanol. Although the yield is very high but diverting the food crop for
energy raises a question mark which leads to ‘food vs. fuel’ debate.

Second Generation Ethanol: When ethanol is derived from available bio wastes like rice
husk, wheat husk, fruit pulp left after juice extraction, rotten fruits and vegetables, it is
referred as Second generation ethanol or 2G-Ethanol. Appreciable amount of starch is still
present in these bio wastes which can be utilized for deriving ethanol. Although this process
is more expensive and the yield is also low but it is preferred as no food crop is being
sacrificed here for producing energy.

For instance, India is one of the largest producer and exporter of sugar which is produced
from sugarcane. Sugarcane bagasse is left over as waste in this process but it carries huge
amount of starch which generally goes unutilized. Moreover bagasse is finally burnt off to
dispose it which further pollutes the surrounding air.

17
Now using this bagasse for 2G-ethanol production helps in waste disposal, protects
environment and generates revenue too. Sugar mills in India are now actively producing
ethanol from sugarcane bagasse also.

Fig. 4 Dry Milling Vs. Wet Milling Process

18
5.0 ETHANOL ECONOMICS

The production and use of ethanol leads to appreciable economic growth of a nation. Ethanol,
a renewable fuel made from biomass and agricultural products, when produced and used in a
country increases its economic activity, creates jobs for its people, stabilizes farm commodity
price and stimulates agriculture based GDP and boosts farm income. The ethanol industry has
contributed to the economy of USA in a very positive manner. United States economy has
expanded due to the creation of direct & indirect jobs and due to increase in corn prices and
rural income. A report by a panel of economists at Kellogg’s School of Business, North-
western University on the economic prospects of the ethanol industry in U.S. over a period of
seven years from 1996 to 2002 has concluded the following benefits:

 Approximately $ 51 billion will be added to the U.S. economy by Ethanol. The

services and goods bought by the producers of ethanol results in an increased demand
for other industries. This includes the purchase of feed stock, water, electricity,
natural gas, grains, communications, accounting and legal services.

 Ethanol production will lead to an increase in the farm income of corn producers by $
4.5 billion annually. Higher demand for the crop grown by farmers shall provide
market support for higher prices as well as income.

 Nearly 55,000 jobs are supported by ethanol industry. Ethanol making accounts
directly for about 6,000 jobs in fuel or food processing industry in 20 provinces.
Moreover, the money spent by the ethanol producers on purchasing goods and
services supports indirectly another 49,000 jobs on average.

 Gross household income shall enhance by $ 12.5 billion in the next seven years due to
ethanol production alone. Wages of $ 277 million are paid directly to employees by
the ethanol industry. This money earned is spent by the employees and their family,
which further creates demand for other goods and services. Additional $1.8 billion is
added annually to household income due to the indirect impact of ethanol production.

 About $ 555 million of net tax revenue is generated annually by Ethanol for US
federal treasury by personal and corporate income tax collection. Additional revenues,
generated by the taxes on the farm and household income provided by the ethanol
industry, help in offsetting the cost of the excise tax exemptions provided to support
ethanol-blended gasoline [Rex Weber and Nebraska Ethanol Board, 2002]

19
6.0 Utilisation of Ethanol Gasoline blends in SI Engine

Hasan MA (2001) studied the effects of using unleaded gasoline–ethanol blends (0 to 25%
ethanol in the increments of 2.5%) on a Toyota four cylinder SI engine emission and
performance. Blending ethanol in unleaded gasoline resulted in an increase in volumetric
efficiency, brake thermal efficiency and brake power by around 7%, 9% and 8.5%, while
brake specific fuel consumption decreased by 2.4%. Ethanol as an additive to gasoline
improves the performance of engine and lowers exhaust emissions. Author observed a 46.5%
and 24.3% reduction for CO and HC emission, respectively while CO 2 emissions increased
by 7.5%. Blend with 20% ethanol gave least exhaust emissions.

Rex Weber and Nebreska Ethanol Board (2002) have presented a complete case study of
Ethanol adoption in United States citing the various economic benefits US has reaped due to
Ethanol revolution. The discussion on ethanol production and gradual adoption illustrated
how US achieved energy security, reduced dependence on oil imports and how US economy
was hugely stimulated improving the life of millions of its people involved in ethanol
production financially. Ethanol industry also contributes huge tax revenue of US $ 555
million to the federal treasury annually.

Schifter et al. (2004) experimentally investigated the ways to reduce pollution in Mexico
using various fuel formulation and their emissions measurements. Authors tested the affect of
the physical properties and composition of gasoline on vehicles representing the actual fleet
of the Mexico. Fourteen fuel blends were made using commercial gasoline available in
Mexico. Oxygenate molecule (Ethanol or MTBE) and Reid vapor pressure were the
considered fuel parameters. United States Federal Test Procedure, FTP-75 was used to
measure total HC, CO, NOx and other toxic exhaust emissions. Substitution of MTBE by
ethanol decreased CO emission in the whole fleet by 26% without catalytic converter.

The effect of different compression ratios on SI engine performance and exhaust emissions
for various ethanol–gasoline blends was investigated by Yucesu et al. (2006). Experiments
were carried out at three engine speeds of 2000, 3500 and 5000 rpm and wide open throttle.
On increasing the compression ratio from 8:1 to 11:1, an increment of 8% was observed in
engine torque at 2000 rpm with E0 fuel. The highest increment of 40% was reported for E40
fuel at 13:1 compression ratio. On increasing the compression ratio from 8:1 to 11:1, the
BSFC of E0 fuel decreased about 10% and was least.

20
Durbin et al. (2007) reported the effect of ethanol content on the regulated and unregulated
exhaust emissions. Two variables namely Fuel volatility and oxygenate content were found to
be significant parameters affecting the vehicle exhaust emissions. For this study, twelve
California certified LEV vehicles were tested on a matrix of twelve fuels with different levels
of ethanol content (0%, 5.7% and 10 % by volume), T50 (195°F, 215°F & 235 °F), and T90
(295°F, 330°F and 355 °F).

Graham et al. (2008) performed statistical analysis of the variation in tailpipe emissions
because of the use of ethanol and includes the results of two reference studies. The first study
evaluated the impact of two lower ethanol blends E10 and E20 on evaporative and tailpipe
emissions from a direct injection petrol engine vehicle and three multi-port fuel injection
petrol vehicles operating at two different temperatures. The results showed that E10 usage
resulted in 16% decrease in CO emissions; 9% increase in NMHC and 15% benzene
emissions with no significant changes in CO2, NOx, N2O & CH4 emissions.

The emission and performance behaviour of a one cylinder AVL SI engine was analysed by
Schifter et al. (2011) experimentally to study the effects of burning ethanol-gasoline mid-
level blends, carrying 0-20% ethanol. Blends having up to 10% ethanol showed marginal
effect in combustion rate.. The increase in the fuel consumption was observed to be lesser
than predicted by the reduction in the energy content of the blended fuel, showcasing a
positive influence of ethanol on the combustion efficiency which counteracts the net heating
value reduction. Increasing the ethanol content in the fuel leads to a progressive reduction in
HC and CO although NOx emissions increased. The maximum computed reductions in the
emissions were 19% and 52% for HC and CO respectively for 20% blended fuel.

The combustion behavior of bio-ethanol in a direct injection gasoline engine was studied by
Turner et al. (2011). Authors observed that Bio-ethanol has a strong potential as an
alternative to petroleum gasoline and investigated the combustion performance by fueling
engine with various blending-ratios of bio-ethanol/gasoline (0 to 100% ethanol) with respect
to different spark timing (19 to 39 ̊ b TDC). It was concluded that advantages of adding
ethanol to gasoline are increased efficiency and reduced engine-out emission which result
from the improved evaporation behaviour of the blended fuel because of ethanol addition that
in turn raises the vapour pressure in lower ethanol blends. It is further related to the
availability of more oxygen in the ethanol molecule which raises flame speed, resulting in
improved efficiency along with combustion stability.

21
Effect of inlet air temperature on the emissions, combustion efficiency and thermal efficiency
of HCCI engine was investigated by Maurya et al. (2011) who performed experimental study
on a HCCI engine. HCCI engine has ultra-low emission and high efficiency. Authors
investigated the emission and combustion behavior of a HCCI engine, obtained by modifying
a twin cylinder engine powered by ethanol. Tests were conducted by varying the inlet air
temperature (120 to 150 ̊C) and air–fuel ratios (ƛ= 2 to 5). Results indicated that air fuel ratio
and inlet air temperature significantly affect the peak in-cylinder pressure and its position, gas
exchange efficiency, heat release rate and thermal efficiency. All stable HCCI operating
conditions emitted very low NOx (<10 ppm) but HC, CO emissions were higher.

Zhuang et al. (2013) suggested that gasoline could be leveraged by ethanol by using a new
strategy called “ethanol direct injection plus gasoline port injection” (EDI+GPI). The
common technique of utilising ethanol as a fuel, like blending ethanol and gasoline do not
makes the best advantage of ethanol’s potential towards improving the engine performance.
Ethanols as a fuel possess higher latent heat of vaporization and octane number w.r.t.
gasoline, which permits high compression ratio and hence leads to the high thermal
efficiency. Tests were performed on a single cylinder YBR250 petrol engine, updated to
operate on EDI + GPI with EER (ethanol/gasoline energy ratio) varying from 0% to 60.1%.
The total heating energy of two fuels was kept constant. Results demonstrated significant
leveraging power of ethanol by the increased thermal efficiency and reduced NOx. The NOx
emission reduced due to the lowered in-cylinder peak temperature. However, CO emissions
enhanced with the rise in EER.

A detailed study on comparison between two important oxygenated additives used in gasoline
i.e. Ethanol and MTBE (Methyl tertiary butyl ether) was presented by Anderson et al. (2014).
MTBE has a tendency to contaminate underground water thus a MTBE ban eventually
became an ethanol mandate in United States in 2007 But authors concluded Ethanol to be a
better and cleaner fuel than MTBE as ethanol blending significantly reduced the CO, HC and
NOx emissions w.r.t. MTBE.

Sharma et al. (2015) investigated the effect of EGR on the emissions of a variable
compression ratio SI engine operating with three different ethanol gasoline blends and the
results were compared with that of pure gasoline. Compression ratio, ethanol blending
percentage and exhaust gas recirculation were the input parameters studied coupled with
varying engine loading to analyse the emission reduction.

22
Singh et al. (2019) performed an experimental based comparative study on the use of two
alternative fuels viz butanol and ethanol as additives in a variable compression ratio SI
engine. Ethanol and butanol was mixed in gasoline to prepare three blends each having 5%,
10% and 15% alcohols and their emission and performance behaviour was compared with
pure gasoline. Use of butanol blends resulted in significantly lower CO and NOx emissions.

Iodice et al. (2018) performed an experimental based comparative study on the use of two
alternative fuels viz butanol and ethanol as additives in a variable compression ratio SI
engine for the cold transient phase while using the chassis dynamometer test. Emissions and
fuel consumption was computed as a function of oxygen percentage of the ethanol gasoline
blend. Decrease in the cold emission parameters was associated with the precise percentage
of ethanol content in blends. Authors used three blends for investigation namely E10, E20
and E30.

Taneja et al. (2019) analysed the improvement in the engine emissions obtained by the use of
gasoline ethanol blends along with exhaust gas recirculation on a variable compression ratio
SI engine. Ethanol was thoroughly mixed in gasoline to prepare three blends having 5%, 10%
and 15% ethanol. Use of the dual strategy resulted in significantly lower CO and NO x
emissions. The break thermal efficiency of the engine increased and the bsfc was found to
reduce by around 7% reflecting a positive influence of the usage of twin approaches.

Koegl et al. (2019) analysed the formation of soot in a DISI (direct-injection spark-ignition)
spray for ethanol-mixture with stratified EGR operating condition. Tests were carried in a
constant volume chamber equipped with a spark ignition system. Result showed that soot is
primarily formed in the spray front because of the droplet combustion. Result of soot volume
fraction confirmed an increase in sooting tendency for E20 fuel compared to pure isooctane.

Hsieh et al. (2020) focused their study on the engine emissions in an SI engine using different
variants of ethanol-gasoline (E0, E3, E6 and E9) at different loads. Results pointed that with
an increase in the engine loading the particle number concentration also increase; however,
with rise in the ethanol content of blend, it decreased. E6 fuel reported the least CO levels for
each engine loading. Average reduction in the CO emissions was 42%, 66%, and 83% for E3,
E6 and E9 blends respectively. An average reduction of 78%, 87%, and 89% in hydrocarbons
(HC) levels was observed for E3, E6 and E9 blended fuels, respectively. Average reduction
in the CO emissions was 42%, 66%, and 83% for E3, E6 and E9 blends respectively.

23
7.0 Conclusion and Recommendations for further work

Our surrounding environment is becoming filthier day by day with air pollution increasing to
such dimensions that most big cities like New Delhi, Jaipur etc are witnessing a mist
throughout the day. Air quality has become so poor that it has started adversely affecting
human health causing respiratory diseases. One big contributor to this pollution is the toxic
vehicular emission coming out of their engines. Thus need of the hour is replacing fossil
based fuels with cleaner alternative fuels.

Ethanol is such a renewable fuel having properties very close to gasoline and can be
mixed in gasoline to form blended fuels giving much lesser toxic emissions. Many
researchers have already demonstrated the good results of ethanol blending upto 30% in
gasoline as discussed earlier. In nut shell, ethanol addition in gasoline is found to enhance gas
mileage, reduce knocking, improve starting qualities and better acceleration. Ethanol blends
even produce lesser toxic engine emissions on combustion. Past researches clearly conclude
that the use of ethanol in the SI engine is characterized by lower exhaust emission along with
improved efficiency, power output and fuel economy. Ethanol also stimulates the economy of
a country thus uplifting the quality of life of the people involved in ethanol production. Thus
ethanol is concluded as a premium gasoline additive fuel for use in the automotive engines. In
the same line, some of the scope for future is outlined below:

 In future, Ethanol blending at elevated levels above 30% can be tested to achieve even
better fossil fuel compensation. The pros and cons of this need further research.

 Second generation ethanol derived from bio wastes can be used in future. This will also
ensure proper disposal of bio waste materials.

 The emission characteristics of Ethanol blended fuels can further be improved by using
the exhaust gas recirculation. However its consequences on engine performance need
further research.

 Use of pure Ethanol as fuel for SI engine can be investigated in future. The physical
modifications required in the engine to allow use of pure ethanol needs to be studied in
depth.

 Spark timing can also be varied to obtain the desired combustion and performance
characteristics while using the ethanol blended fuels in the spark ignition engine.

24
The comparative study among different alcohol based alternative fuels commonly used in
automotive engines is given in Table 1

Table 1 Comparison Study of Different Alternate Fuels

Gasoline Methanol Ethanol Butanol

Chemical formula C2-C14 CH3OH C2H6OH C4H9OH

H/C ratio 1.795 4 3 2.5
O/C ratio 00 0.7 0.5 0.2
Oxygen content (%) 00 50 34.7 21.6
Research octane number 95 129 106 96
Stoichiometric air/fuel ratio 15:1 6.5:1 9:1 11:1
LHV (MJ/kg) 43 20 27 29
3
Density@20ᵒC (kg/m ) 744.6 792 791 810
Enthalpy of vaporization (kJ/kg) 373 1100 840 430
Boiling point (ᵒC) 32.8 64.7 78.8 117

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