Ethanol as a Disjunctive Combustible for the Wheels - Term Paper Example

Production of ethanol as an alternative fuel for vehicle Name Institution Subject Instructor Date Abstract In the past century, the development of the world has been significantly driven by the use of energy especially fuel. Economic growth and enhancement of the welfare of the society today is determined by the accessibility, reliability and adequacy of the energy services. Nevertheless, fossil fuels comprising of natural gas, coal and oil forms the basis of supply of global energy and forms two critical undesired effects. Essentially, the over reliance on fossil fuels presents a vulnerability of the world energy system to conditions that may have implications on the price and availability of the resources of fossil. This means that challenges do exist as regards the security of the energy sector and especially fuels. Secondly the exploitation of the fossil fuels present a major threat to the global climate due to the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the exploitation of resources , their use and conversion to carriers of final energy from the carriers of primary energy. This project provides a solution to cheap alternative to petrol for fuel supply. 1 Introduction In recent times, the East Timor government policy and the public at large have focused their attention on the use of bio-fuels in the sector of transportation. The government is determined to solve the aforementioned challenges and at lower costs and in a sustainable way. The government has embarked on the analysis of the alternative fuels, their production and also their delivery, including their utilization efficiency in personal transport. However, there exist major implementation bottlenecks for use of bio-fuels as regards personal transport. Climate change and the security of the fuels are factors that present an enormous agenda to the policy makers. A major undertaking involves providing fuel services to everyone especially the rural areas in a reliable and adequate manner and at the same time reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the environment in way that doesn’t endanger economic growth. While the situation is by now challenging, the circumstances are speculated to become worse due to the increase in demand of energy in countries which are facing tremendous economic growth such as East Timor. The East Timor transportation sector plays a very significant role in the mentioned challenge as a result of it’s over reliance on fossil fuels and the speculated rise in mobility demand. The increase of such trends calls for an increase in the development of alternative fuels to satisfy the ever rising demand in a way that is sustainable (Cheesman, 2005). These alternative sources of fuels need to satisfy many complex necessities, including the availability of clean, sustainable, affordable and accessible sources of fuels. Many technologies have emerged as fuel alternatives in East Timor more so with regard to bio-fuels and especially ethanol. 1.1 Energy consumption in East Timor The pace of growth in East Timor is slower than the production of the domestic energy, as exports have increased production and have slightly displaced the consumption on the domestic front. Moreover, the increment in export and production of gas and oil has maintained a steady progress over the last decade. Reports from government departments indicate that the diesel demand has grown at a rate of 3% higher than that of gasoline which records a growth of 1.2% (EWB, 2010). New cars running on gasoline have been on the rise in East Timor regardless of the growing consumption of diesel fuel. Fuel prices reached astronomical highs in 2008 but they have fallen significantly today contributing to the constrain of medium term increases in biofuel production. Figure 1 crude oil production(Cheesman, 2005). 2 Ethanol Bio-chemical productions Process The production of bio-ethanol involves use of various raw materials. Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol is done through hydrolysis followed by fermentation. Another process used in production of ethanol is thermo-chemical with subsequent fermentation and gasification. Biomass consists of extractives, cellulose, ash, lignin and hemicelluloses. Cellulose exists mainly in wood and plants and is present in industrial and domestic wastes (Mascia, Scheffran and Widholm, 2010). Approximately 40 to 50% of dry wood is contained in fibers of the cellulose and enhances the wood strength. Elements contained in cellulose include anhydroglucose a pure organic polymer and are firmly held by molecules of big straight chains. cellulose has minimal accessibility to hydrolysis of enzymes and acids and it doesn’t dissolve in most solvents (Mascia, Scheffran and Widholm, 2010). Hemicellulose consists of elements including xylose, glucose, arabinose, manose and residues of galacturonic acid which is a mixture of monosaccharides which are polymerized. Production of ethanol from lignocellulosics consists of four main processes which include the following: Treatment of the lignocellulosics. The process of hydrolysis is performed Fermentation occurs The product is distilled after being separated. Figure 2 Production process (Cheesman, 2005). 2.1 Process of production of ethanol from sugarcane Sugarcane is a major raw material in production of ethanol. The local communities in Codo area in East Timor should be encouraged to plant sugarcane in plenty for use in the processing of ethanol. The varieties of sugarcane to be planted in the area should correspond to the prevailing soil and climatic conditions of the locality in order to make the resistances of the sugarcane to many diseases and also to increase the productivity of the sugarcane. Subsidies should be provided by the government to the people in form of reduced prices for the farm inputs especially fertilizers. Tractors for the preparation of the sugarcane farms should be provided and fuelled free of charge. Moreover, harvesters are ought to be provided for the harvesting of sugarcane at subsidized rates to the farmers. The juice obtained from sugarcane is processed to produce ethanol and sugar. The first stage in the processing involves purification of the juice from sugarcane, boiling and evaporation. The second stage comprises of molasses isolation from the crystals in centrifuge and the crystallization of sucrose. The distillation and fermentation process produces ethanol from sugarcane juice. Varying processes of filtering the juice is first mixed with yeast and fermented until when it's ready which finally produces hydrous ethanol. Blending of gasoline and hydrous ethanol produces anhydrous ethanol. Ethanol produced from 1000 kilograms amount to about 85 litres. Figure 3 Production process from sugar cane (Cheesman, 2005). 2.2 Use of Bio-ethanol fuel in transportation. Ethanol is described as grain alcohol or ethyl alcohol and has the form C2H5OH chemically. There is a long history of bio-ethanol as an alternative fuel for powering vehicles. It was first used in France and Germany in 1984 and Brazil has used this fuel from the year 1925. Ethanol use as a fuel was applied intensively in the U.S.A and Europe during early 1900s, though its production and subsequent use declined with time. In the 1980s production and use of ethanol as an alternative source of energy resurfaced (Mascia, Scheffran and Widholm, 2010). Ethanol has high vaporization heats, higher speeds of flame, has flammability heats that are broad and has a higher number of octane. These properties enable ethanol to have a high ratio of compression and reduced burning time hence a preference over gasoline. Internal combustion engines which apply spark ignition mode are more suited to higher octane fuels such as ethanol. However ethanol has lower luminosity of flame, decreased vapor pressure, lower density of energy and it's quite corrosive. As an alternative fuel, ethanol can be used in many ways. Firstly, it can be combined with gasoline and secondly it can be used as a fuel directly with no additions. 2.3 Property of ethanol fuel Property of fuel Ethanol Heat of vaporization (MJ/Kg) latent 0.91 (MJ/Kg) heating value on the lower side 26.7 Number of octane 108 Temperature of auto ignition in Kelvin 606 4 Cost of ethanol production. Fuel prices in East Timor are determined by the market place competition of various players in the industry. These prices are usually determined from the cost of delivery of fuel and other costs such as taxes, the number of competitors and the margins. The exchange rate of the East Timorn dollar also plays a major role in the determination of the prices of fuel although the local or rural setups have higher prices of fuel than the urban or the cities. This occurs due to costs of storage and transportation, lack of competition and volumes of volume that are low. Despite of this, prices for ethanol are quite cheaper compared to other fuels and the residents of Codo area will benefit from low ethanol prices. Ethanol production costs in East Timor, depends mainly on production volumes, the cost of the feedstock materials and the revenues generated from by products. An important factor in the determination of the ethanol plant profitability is the return of the factory for ethanol has an alternative fuel. This return for ethanol for each litre of fuel was recorded at 50 cents in 2008. The competitiveness of ethanol as an alternative fuel depends mainly on the crude oil wholesale prices and presents diesel and petrol competition as an energy source. Nevertheless the price of ethanol per litre is lower than that of diesel and petrol. Today, the price of a litre of ethanol is $ 0.65 per litre. 4.1 Purchasing costs Cost of feedstock from molasses A tonne of molasses feed stock produces 280 litres of ethanol and it costs an estimated $ 80-100$ including the storage costs. The ethanol plants need to be set up close to the sugar mills to reduce the transportation costs. 4.2 Costs on labor Employment estimation for the labour in an ethanol factory is a capacity of 2.4M litres per person. Computing a rough estimate of the wage per person in a year at 58000 dollars and 14% on the costs produces 0.028 litres of cost of labor per Costs of operation for every litre of ethanol produced are estimated at 7.5-9.3 cents. 4.3 Costing process Before the initiation of the project it's necessary to determine the various development stages in the design of the plant or the process. Evaluation of the entire project helps to decide whether to carry on with the project or not. This should be coupled with a feasibility study on the financial and economic status of the project. If a project can raise the starting capital then financial feasibility is alright and if it's profitable then it's feasible economically. Firstly, the investment on capital sum is calculated for all the cost of the equipment. Secondly, the operating costs both fixed and variable are computed and from these the internal rate of return and the net present value are determined. Current equipment cost= original cost * present time index value Original cost of the index value obtained 4.4 Investment on the total capital This involves the determination of the total cost of the equipment to be installed. This would involve a detailed study on all the equipment to be installed to become operational. Current cost = original cost * index at present time Index of the base year (original) Table 1 Operation cost per unit equipment Name of the equipment United States dollar Capacity Quantity Mixer 3500 1500kg/hr 1 Drying drum 5200 1500kg/hr 1 Treat tank for dilute acid 6000 4.0 m3 1 Grinding 2500 1500kg/hr 1 Tank for steam pretreatment 6000 3.5m3 1 Tank for fermentation 3000 4.0m3 Condenser 8500 2m2 2 Column for distillation 4500 2m2 2 Total cost of equipment 39200 Table 2 Variable costs of operation Description of item Cost Raw materials 2742030 1.Repair and Maintenance 270778 2.Costs for utilities (water and electricity) 118237 3.Labor for operation 604800 4.Suplies for operation 45129.67 5.Supervisors 60480 Sum of production costs (direct) 3841454.67 Fixed costs of operation Description of item Cost in $ Rent (land and building) 26197.72 Costs of depreciation 601728.67 Local taxes 120345.79 Cost of insurance 30086 Sum of fixed charges 778358.91 4.5 Payback period of the bio-ethanol plant Feedstock and molasses cost forms 70-80% of the yearly costs of a typical ethanol industry. This shows the significance of raw materials besides cost of capital and rate of capital utilization as a critical driver of the payback time of the proposed ethanol plant at Codo area in East Timor. The residents of Codo should be encouraged to plant sugar in large amounts to facilitate this and the government should give incentives to promote the establishment of the plant. The payback period of the proposed ethanol plant at Codo area is 5 years. The major determinants for the payback period include interest on raw materials i.e molasses, market price for ethanol, interest on capital and the costs of capital. Payback period =  Percent profit =  % Rate of Return =  Over head cost of the plant = $ 128000 Cost of manufacturing = Variable costs + over head cost of the plant + fixed costs of operation = 3841454.67 + 778358.91 + 128000 = $ 4747813.58 Sum costs of production = General expenses + Cost of manufacturing = 564480 + 4747813.58 = $ 15312293.58 Fixed costs =Over head costs of the plant + cost of fixed charges = 128000 + 176629.96 = $ 304629.96 Expenses for the general nature = 564.480 Costs of depreciation = 601728.67 A litre of ethanol costs $ 0.65 in East Timor today and the plant produces 3 million litres of ethanol per year Annual revenue = 0.65 *30000000 = $ 19,500,000 Sum of annual cost of production = 15312293 Annual gross profit =19500000-5312293 =14187707 Tax on Gross profit = 0.22 * 14187707= 3121295.54 Net Income = 14187707-3121295.54 =11066411.46 % profit =  =  = 0.722 = 72.2% % rate of return =  =  = 0.589 Period for payback =  =  = = 1.33 years The estimated payback period of the project is 2 years. 4.6 Estimation of prices of ethanol (East Timorn dollars per litre) Year Price of petrol with exercise rebate Price of fuel without the exercise rebate Price of export 2000-2001 0.71 0.54 0.51 2001-2002 0.66 0.49 0.67 2002-2003 0.71 0.50 0.57 2003-2004 0.86 0.48 0.45 2004-2005 0.94 0.55 0.40 2005-2006 1.05 0.67 0.55 2006-2007 1.00 0.62 0.58 2007-2008 0.98 0.60 0.56 5 Reliability and appropriateness of the product In the year 2008-2009, the amount of ethanol produced in East Timor was approximately 77 million litres of biodiesel and 83m litres of ethanol which constitutes a small proportion of the petrol consumed which was approximately 19,251 million litres. In the same period, East Timor consumed approximately 17,028 litres of diesel. Road transport accounts for 75% of the East Timor energy consumption of the overall sector of transport. A transport fuel presents a significance part of the economy of energy and therefore biofuels have attracted immense attention from the political arena. Prices of oil have continued to skyrocket and this has prompted interest in alternative source of fuels for vehicles. The substitution of biofuels with petroleum-based oils also has contributed greatly to the decrease in release of green house gases to the atmosphere thereby contributing to the air quality improvement. The government of East Timor has continually offered subsidies to the production of biofuels to encourage more production of the same. Ethanol is one of the major biofuel used in East Timor. It has received immense support from the federal government through rebates, exercise duty exemptions and also via capital grants. Research into the production of ethanol started in 1980 when the government introduced licenses and provision of exercise free duties to any spirits distillation of materials used in the preparation of ethanol for use in the transport sector. However, the production of ethanol on a large scale did not begin until 1992 when Mahindra group installed grain processors at one of its largest mills. A few years later, the government of East Timor gave 25 million East Timor dollars towards giving subsidies to the ethanol production industry. The yearly program offered 0.18 dollar to a liter of ethanol produced per 35000 litres of ethanol produced per year. Ethyl alcohol or Ethanol is utilized as a fuel for engines with spark-ignition mode as gasoline blended or purely on its own. Gasoline contains more energy content than ethanol despite the fact that the octane rating of ethanol is higher than that of gasoline. Ethanol is characterized as anhydrous or hydrous and has 95% purity. Additionally, if ethanol is processed further it produces ethanol that is anhydrous and which has high purity. Production of ethanol in East Timor mainly comprises of the fermentation of glasses and involves glucose decomposition into CO2 and ethanol, followed by distilling and heating of ethanol. Some industries produce ethanol from starch and sugars in waste water aiding in starch and gluten production. Crops used in production of ethanol include sorghum, maize potatoes, rye and wheat and processes involved in production is either wet milling or dry milling process. Dry milling process involves crushing the grain and mixing the content with water to produce a mash. Secondly, dextrose is formed by conversion of starch through the addition of enzymes. Advanced processing provides the dehydration of solids and the concentration of ethanol and therefore producing livestock feed with high level of grain proteins. Wet milling process involves using sulphuric acid and water to break down the grain and thereafter processing to produce starch, fibre, germ and gluten. Dry and wet milling process constitutes technologies of the first generation. Nevertheless, wood, crop waste and grasses which constitute cellulosic material have been used to produce ethanol. These processes are used for commercialization of ethanol production through technologies of the second generation. 6 Conclusion The production and use of bio-fuels has increased significantly presently. The production of ethanol in particular is critical to the development of alternative sources of energy in Codo area in East Timor. The students from this locality have been facing serious challenges for transportation to school which has necessitated the design of this project. The project aims to develop a cheaper fuel to promote low prices of fuel hence promoting cheaper costs for transportation of students to school. Parents or local groups can organize themselves into groups to enable them hire transport for their students at a cheaper cost using the proposed low cost ethanol fuel References Cheesman, O., 2005. The environmental impacts of sugar production. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.], CABI International. EWB., 2010. Engineers Without Borders. General Books. Mascia, P. N., Scheffran, J.,and Widholm, J. M., 2010. Plant biotechnology for sustainable production of energy and co-products. Berlin, Springer. Read More

These alternative sources of fuels need to satisfy many complex necessities, including the availability of clean, sustainable, affordable and accessible sources of fuels. Many technologies have emerged as fuel alternatives in East Timor more so with regard to bio-fuels and especially ethanol. 1.1 Energy consumption in East Timor The pace of growth in East Timor is slower than the production of the domestic energy, as exports have increased production and have slightly displaced the consumption on the domestic front.

Moreover, the increment in export and production of gas and oil has maintained a steady progress over the last decade. Reports from government departments indicate that the diesel demand has grown at a rate of 3% higher than that of gasoline which records a growth of 1.2% (EWB, 2010). New cars running on gasoline have been on the rise in East Timor regardless of the growing consumption of diesel fuel. Fuel prices reached astronomical highs in 2008 but they have fallen significantly today contributing to the constrain of medium term increases in biofuel production.

Figure 1 crude oil production(Cheesman, 2005). 2 Ethanol Bio-chemical productions Process The production of bio-ethanol involves use of various raw materials. Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol is done through hydrolysis followed by fermentation. Another process used in production of ethanol is thermo-chemical with subsequent fermentation and gasification. Biomass consists of extractives, cellulose, ash, lignin and hemicelluloses. Cellulose exists mainly in wood and plants and is present in industrial and domestic wastes (Mascia, Scheffran and Widholm, 2010).

Approximately 40 to 50% of dry wood is contained in fibers of the cellulose and enhances the wood strength. Elements contained in cellulose include anhydroglucose a pure organic polymer and are firmly held by molecules of big straight chains. cellulose has minimal accessibility to hydrolysis of enzymes and acids and it doesn’t dissolve in most solvents (Mascia, Scheffran and Widholm, 2010). Hemicellulose consists of elements including xylose, glucose, arabinose, manose and residues of galacturonic acid which is a mixture of monosaccharides which are polymerized.

Production of ethanol from lignocellulosics consists of four main processes which include the following: Treatment of the lignocellulosics. The process of hydrolysis is performed Fermentation occurs The product is distilled after being separated. Figure 2 Production process (Cheesman, 2005). 2.1 Process of production of ethanol from sugarcane Sugarcane is a major raw material in production of ethanol. The local communities in Codo area in East Timor should be encouraged to plant sugarcane in plenty for use in the processing of ethanol.

The varieties of sugarcane to be planted in the area should correspond to the prevailing soil and climatic conditions of the locality in order to make the resistances of the sugarcane to many diseases and also to increase the productivity of the sugarcane. Subsidies should be provided by the government to the people in form of reduced prices for the farm inputs especially fertilizers. Tractors for the preparation of the sugarcane farms should be provided and fuelled free of charge. Moreover, harvesters are ought to be provided for the harvesting of sugarcane at subsidized rates to the farmers.

The juice obtained from sugarcane is processed to produce ethanol and sugar. The first stage in the processing involves purification of the juice from sugarcane, boiling and evaporation. The second stage comprises of molasses isolation from the crystals in centrifuge and the crystallization of sucrose. The distillation and fermentation process produces ethanol from sugarcane juice. Varying processes of filtering the juice is first mixed with yeast and fermented until when it's ready which finally produces hydrous ethanol.

Blending of gasoline and hydrous ethanol produces anhydrous ethanol. Ethanol produced from 1000 kilograms amount to about 85 litres.

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