1E 85 AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL IN AUTOMOBILES

ABSTRACT

The term alternative fuel refers to methanol, denatured ethanol, and other alcohol mixtures containing 85 percent or more (or such other percentage, but not less than 70 percent, as defined by the Secretary, by rule, to provide for requirements relating to cold start, safety, or vehicle functions) by volume of: 1) methanol, denatured ethanol, and other alcohols with gasoline or other fuels; 2) natural gas, including liquid fuels domestically produced from natural gas; 3) liquefied petroleum gas; 4) hydrogen; 5) coal-derived liquid fuels; 6) fuels (other than alcohol) derived from biological materials; 7)electricity (including electricity from solar energy); and 8) any other fuel the Secretary determines, by rule, is substantially not petroleum and would yield substantial energy security benefits and substantial environmental benefits.

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INTRODUTION
The future of petroleum products looks bleak as many estimates show that most of the oil reserves will end in the next four or five decades depending on the usage and production. This is not a comforting sign as almost everything we do has a root which leads to a petroleum product using machine. We live in a society which depends on oil , and with the oil reserves set to deplete a worldwide panic is observed, there is a desperate search for a fuel which is as close to petroleum but and yet it should last forever. This has given rise to the search for the alternative fuels. The automotive industry is a multibillion dollar industry with millions of employees and thousands of manufactures. Ever since the 1900s when ford motors launched the model T the automotive industry has been a lucrative industry. The automobiles have changed over the years and all the latest technologies are implemented but what remains same is the fuel used, the auto industry has thrived on two fuels petrol (gasoline) and diesel. Now there is a desperate need for a fuel which should have all the properties of diesel and petrol and yet should last forever. Unless an alternative fuel is not found in the near future the automotive industry will heading toward an abrupt end.

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ALTERNATIVE FUELS
All the research has done over the years give us a handful of alternative fuel to gasoline and diesel. They are 1. Alcohols 2. Hydrogen 3. Natural gas 4. Vegetable oils 5. Electricity 6. Coal derived liquid fuel.

THE ALCOHOLS

Methanol and ethanol are the alcohols considered to be potential transportation alternative fuel. Methanol and ethanol make good candidates for alternative fuels in that they are liquids and have several physical combustion properties similar to gasoline and diesel fuel. These properties are similar enough so that the same basic engine and fuel system technologies can be used. Both methanol and ethanol have much higher octant rating than gasoline which allows alcohol engines to have much higher compression ratio, increasing thermal efficiency. However, a significant drawback to methanol and ethanol relative to gasoline is that they have lower energy density, i.e. .it takes nearly two gallons of methanol and one and a half gallons of ethanol to equal one gallon of gasoline in terms of energy generated

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E 85 OR ETHANOL 85
E 85 is a blend of between ethanol and gasoline or diesel. In e 85, 85 % of the composition is made up of ethanol and 15 % of gasoline is added. This is done to infuse some if the properties of gasoline and also to overcome some of the drawbacks of pure methanol such as very low vapor pressure.

PRODUCTION OF EHTANOL

Fuel ethanol is produced by several methods. The most common is the dry mill process that accounts for 75% of current production. Dry mill plants typically produce ethanol as the primary product with animal feed (called Dried Distillers Grains with Soluble, DDGS) and carbon dioxide as co-products. In dry milling the entire corn kernel is ground and used as the feed stock for ethanol production. In wet milling, the corn is first separated into its components: starch, fiber, gluten and germ. These plants produce ethanol as one of several food industry products including corn oil, corn syrup, and corn sugar. After fermentation the alcohol is distilled to 190 proofs to reduce the water content. Afterward, molecular sieve technology is used to remove the remaining water. For use as a fuel, ethanol is made unfit for drinking by addition of a denaturant. ASTM gives requirements for fuel ethanol and acceptable denaturants for use in automobile engines. Fuel ethanol is permitted by ASTM to contain 1.76% to 5.0% denaturant. Beginning on January 1, 2009, the 2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act allows a full ethanol production credit only so long as the denaturant content is no more than 2%. Because of measurement difficulties, the Internal Revenue Service is temporarily allowing credits as long as the denaturant(s) do not exceed 2.5% of the volume of the fuel ethanol. The allowable denaturants are: 1 2 3 natural gasoline, gasoline components, or Unleaded gasoline.

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The ethanol content, after denaturing, is to be a minimum of 92.1% at the time of blending with gasoline and the water content of the fuel ethanol is to be less than 1%. ASTM also specifies prohibited denaturants:

1
2 3 4 5 6

hydrocarbons with an end boiling point above 225 oC, methanol not meeting ASTM D1152, paroles, turpentine, ketenes, and Tars.

These substances are said to have potentially extreme adverse effects on fuel stability, automotive engines, and fuel systems. Since the typical boiling range of gasoline is 90 oC to 200 oC [9], the first prohibited denaturant listed above indicates that denaturants for fuel ethanol are intended to be very much like gasoline.

BYPRODUCTS IN FUEL ETHANOL

Fermentation of corn starch produces ethanol and other compounds. Although ethanol is the dominant alcohol produced, a variety of others have been documented. Air emissions from a beer

brewer/dry-mill ethanol plant were monitored and a number of hydrocarbons were identified. Classes of compounds included tearing agents (lacrimators), respiratory irritants and odorants. Specific examples included formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, furfural, 2-Furancarboxaldeyde, acrolein, benzene, methanol, ethanol, glycerol, styrene, lactic acid and acetic acid. The complete list of compounds is given in Appendix B, although most of these have not been reported as constituents of fuel ethanol itself. The main byproducts of ethanol production are isopropyl and isobutyl alcohols, but also include methyl, amyl, iso-amyl, n-propyl
Glycerol (1, 2, 3-propanetriol), higher alcohols, ethers, acetic aldehyde and acids. The presence of pentoses leads to production of furfural (furan-2-carbaldehyde), which degrades rubber or elastomeric seals2. Production of the byproducts can reduce ethanol production by 10%. Because of competition among microorganisms, the longer that fermentation continues, the more equilibrium shifts toward the higher alcohols, aldehydes, acids or methane.

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For comparison purposes, the following literature on beverage alcohol production was reviewed as a related production activity might show insight into issues of fuel ethanol. In production

of beverages found acetyls (i.e., 1-1 dimethoxymethane) occurring in small quantities. The occurrence of acetyls began to be significant after 4 hours of fermentation and is related to higher acidity related to infections of acid-forming bacteria. Esters are formed from organic acids and predominantly ethanol. In the first hours of fermentation ethyl and methyl esters of acetic acid were produced. In later stages of fermentation esters of higher alcohols appeared (is amyl acetate, isobutyl acetate, and ethyl hexanate). Other compounds produced include 2-propanol, acroleine (in the form of acroleine diethylacetal), acetic aldehyde . Production of fermentation byproducts is important to beverage producers or consumers because volatile esters impart flavors, contaminants can be present in illegally produced alcohol, and reduction in some byproducts is needed for food-grade alcohol. Fan and Qian found a large number of flavor imparting compounds in increased concentration in five-year old Chinese Liquor which was aged in a clay vessel. In a study of contaminants of illegally-produced drinking alcohol, analysis Was performed for the ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, methanol, and ethylene glycol and lead contents [15]. A later summary of studies indicated analysis for ethanol, methanol, 1-propanol, iso-butanol and isoamyl alcohol were commonly analyzed in evaluation of these liquors

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VEHICLE PERFORMANCE IMPACTS USING E 85

When ethanol is used as a blending component in gasoline there are typically few discernable differences in vehicle drivability or performance to the driver of the current vehicle. Flexible fuel vehicles (ffvs) built to use E85 should experience very similar drivability as when using a gasoline powered vehicle, though the performance should be improved by 5% . The fuel efficiency in terms should be the same or slightly better using E85 in FFV. The life span of an ffv is as good as a vehicle running on gasoline.

VEHICLE EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS

The emission characteristics of E 85 is not well documented , however FORD tested 85 in their 1996 model Taurus ffv and found essentially no difference in tailpipe emission compared to a standard gasoline car. In this test, the engine emissions of hydro carbon and oxides of nitrogen were lower than gasoline, but ethanols lower exhaust gas temperatures were believed to decrees catalyst efficiency slightly so that tailpipe emissions were same.

The specific reactivity of ethanol exhaust emission has been measured to significantly lower than conventional gasoline and lower than from specially formulated gasoline.

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PROPERTIES AND SPECIFICATION

The properties of a fuel define its physical and chemical characteristics. A thorough understanding of the properties of fuel is essential to design and engineering of engine combustion system, vehicle fuel system, fuel storage and fuel dispensing system. Following are some of the important properties one has to consider before choosing it as a fuel for a vehicle, they are 1. Auto ignition temperature: minimum temperature of a substance to initiate self sustained combustion independent of any ignition source. 2. Boiling temperature : temperature at which transformation from liquid to vapour state occurs 3. Cetane number: the ignition quality of diesel fuel measured using an engine as specified by the astm. 4. Density :mass per unit volume 5. Flash point: minimum temperature of a liquid at which sufficient vapor is produced. 6. Freezing point: the temperature where a liquid can exist as both a liquid and a solid in equilibrium. 7. Heating value: the heat released when a fuel is combusted completely, corrected to standard temperature and pressure. 8. Latent heat of vaporization: the quantity of heat absorbed by a fuel in passing between liquid and gaseous phase. 9. Air fuel mixture: the exact air fuel ratio required to completely combust a fuel to water and carbon dioxide. 10. Viscosity : the resistance of a liquid to flow

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FUEL PROPERTY Density kg/l Boiling point Vapor pressure kpa Specific heat kj/(kg-k) Viscosity mpa-s Latent heat of vaporization kj/lg Heating value kj/l Flash point c Air fuel mixture Octane no

E 85 0.79-0.79 49-80 38-83 2.3 1.07-1.08 836 22.4-22.9 >gasoline 9.9 107

GASOLINE 0.69-0.79 27-225 48-103 2.0 0.37-0.44 349 30-33 43 14.7 88-100

Table : properties of E85 v/s gasoline

The heating values of E 85 is improved by addition of gasoline when compared to 100% methanol. It should take only 1.40 litres of E85 to make up for 1 litre of gasoline. The flash point is lowered to some very close to gasoline and the auto ignition temperature is lowered. On the other hand the octane number is only slightly degraded from pure ethanol.

MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY
Ethanol is widely acknowledged to be less aggressive towards metals and elastomers than methanol. But little research and development has been devoted to the specific problems posed by ethanol . ethanol tyipically has more water in it which may affect solubility of contaminants and corrosion potential. The metals recommended for use with ethanol include carbon steel , stainless steel, bronze . metals such as magnesium , zinc castings , brass and copper are not recommended.

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STORAGE AND DISPENSING

Storing and dispensing gasoline and diesel fuel does not present much in the way of engineering challenges since neither imposes significant constraints on materials and both are stored at atmospheric pressure. The favored method of storage for both gasoline and diesel fuel have been underground tanks made up of either steel of fiberglass.

Ethanol presents the same engineering challenging as gasoline. Ethanol is completely miscible with water and the presence of water can make ethanol more corrosive . carbon steel tanks will work well with ethanol storage

TANKS
Ethanol tanks can be made from stainless steel, carbon steel or fiberglass. The steel tanks are welded together while the fiberglass tanks are molded together . some steel tanks are coated internally with an epoxy to prevent corrosion. Ethanol is hygroscopic and will draw water vapor from air . to minimize water absorption and vapor emission , conservation vents are recommended for tanks holding ethanol. Conservation vents are usually configured to allow venting only when the venting in the tank exceeds 7 -21 kpa. Since the vapor space in ethanol tanks will be flammable more frequently than for gasoline , it is recommended to have flame arrestors.

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PIPING
Piping for ethanol can be stainless steel, carbon steel or fiberglass. Ethanol should not attack the zinc in the galvanized steel. Pipes can be connected using threads , welding, or solvents. For threaded pipe connections ,the preferred pipe dope is Teflon paste or Teflon tape, . bolted connections using gaskets should use a gasket that is compatible with ethanol . Cork gaskets are always avoided when using ethanol fuel because ethanol deteriorates cork rapidly.

DISPENSERS
Dispensers for gasoline and diesel fuels are usually made up of steel , cast iron , aluminum brass, bronze. All these metals should work with ethanol without any problem. Most dispensers use spin on type filters , similar in appearance and constructions to most common engine filters. Most use steel housing and paper filtering . The vehicles using ethanol as a fuel tend to have fine filters of their own to protect fuel injectors and other vital components from corrosion

LEAK DETECTION SYSTEM

Passive types of leak detection such as observation such as observation wells and collection sump where product is collected and analyzed directly should work effectively. Another type of active leak detection system that will work relies in changes in impedance in sensor wire that will get wetted with fuel.

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FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM

Most of this system are dry chemical using infrared detectors and work as effectively on ethanol vehicle fires as gas line vehicle fires. No special requirements are necessary for this system. All fire suppression systems should be checked after installations.

LIGHTENING PROTECTION
All ethanol refueling systems located outdoors should take lightening protection into account. Lightning strikes can damage the refueling system and potentially cause fire. Generic building codes are available for lightening protection and it should be followed.

CONCLUSION
With depleting natural resources we left with no choice but to look in a different path to satisfy the demands and as far as the transportation is considered surely there has to a big moment in the near future that sees most of the world switching to a alternate fuels in order to prolong the life of petroleum products and alcohols like M 85 and E 85 could very well be the kind of fuel we are looking for. Countries like the USA and EU have made an effort to introduce this alternate fuel into the system others should follow. Automotive giants like FORD,GM, MERCEDES, FIAT. Who have more than one model based on E 85 should try out launching thse cars into emerging car market like India and china.

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