04 September 2008
Students Seek Ways to Boost Biofuel-Powered Vehicle Efficiency
Minnesota study concludes 10 percent ethanol fuel does not harm cars
Mankato, Minnesota — Graduate students at Minnesota State University in Mankato are turning their passions for cars and motorcycles toward research to boost the efficiency of vehicles powered by biofuels or batteries.
In March, the Minnesota Corn Growers Association and the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council gave a grant to the university that is being used to help students measure vehicle emissions and produce data recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to a university press release. Local manufacturers of small-engine products welcome the in-state capacity to perform emission testing required by EPA.
The students' work is part of the university’s Minnesota Center for Automotive Research. The work supports the state's stringent 2007 renewable-energy standards and its goal of producing 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025.
In January, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty created an energy security office within the state's Commerce Department and asked a group representing government, business, academia and nonprofit organizations to draft a plan for achieving the state's clean-energy goals.
The university said that while the EPA “recognizes” that 10 percent ethanol is acceptable as a fuel, automakers have asserted that vehicles on the road today are not capable of accommodating higher ethanol percentages. But earlier in 2008, a one-year state study concluded that gasoline blended with up to 20 percent ethanol does not harm vehicles and fuel pumps currently in use and provides as much power as 100 percent gasoline.
In 2008, Minnesota is expected to produce 1 billion barrels of ethanol, putting nearly $5 billion into Minnesota's economy and providing 18,000 jobs. A decade ago, Minnesota produced just one-tenth of that amount, according to the state's Agriculture Department.
Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska together account for more than 50 percent of the maize (corn) grown in the United States, according to the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. The state also is a major producer of soybeans and of biodiesel truck fuel made from soy.
While biofuels cannot meet all of America’s demand for energy, these energy sources "do have a place" in America because they produce lower vehicle emissions, the university's Brian Jones told America.gov. Jones is head of the Center for Automotive Research where students are performing fuel studies and designing engines for corporate and government clients.
Jones said the belief that using maize to produce ethanol diverts it from human food use is a "misconception" because ethanol is produced from field corn used primarily as livestock feed and cannot be digested by humans in its raw form. Ethanol production uses only the starch portion of the corn kernel, which is abundant and of low value. The byproduct, called distillers grains, can be used as a substitute for a portion of the maize in livestock feed, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
Jones also said ethanol plants are becoming more efficient, making its production a viable alternative to oil production.
However, Kenneth Green argues in a paper published in July by the American Enterprise Institute, a policy research organization, that emphasizing ethanol is not a good response to America's energy crisis because the country "cannot make enough of it to replace a significant portion of motor oil."
In “Ethanol and the Environment,” he says ethanol could make America less secure because of year-to-year crop production volatility.
Jones and his graduate students are looking at other agricultural products that may be used to produce ethanol such as sugar beets, which are widely grown in western Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, and a tall, native grass called switchgrass.
