Ethanol & Fuel Cells: Converging Paths of Opportunity

[JohnWxy]

http://www.ethanolrfa.org/objects/documents/129/rfa_fuel_cell_white_paper.pdf

This is a report on the use of ethanol as a source of hydrogen in fuel cell cars. This is a more practical approach than using free hydrogen (safer, cheaper - no major infrastructure to be built as is the case for free hydrogen). Very interesting reading!

excerpts (emphases my own_JW)

Ethanol is a hydrogen-rich liquid, which overcomes both the
storage and infrastructure challenges of hydrogen for fuel cell
applications. There are no technical barriers to the use of ethanol
in fuel cells. Because ethanol is far easier to transport and store
than hydrogen, fuel reforming – which uses a chemical process to
extract hydrogen from fuel – offers a practical solution to the
challenge of providing hydrogen to fuel cells onboard vehicles or
for remote or stationary applications. In addition, ethanol is easier
to reform than gasoline and most alternative fuels because of its
relatively simple molecular structure.


Ethanol and Fuel Cells: Converging Paths of Opportunity
Automotive applications

In California, industry and government teamed to form the
California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP) to conduct near-term
demonstrations of fuel cell vehicles. A major focus of the
partnership is to evaluate and demonstrate the viability of the
alternative fuel infrastructure technology for fuel cell vehicles.

The fuels assessment study released by the Partnership in October
2001 presented the following conclusions about ethanol as a fuel
for fuel cell vehicles:

· A “major advantage” of ethanol is its compatibility with
gasoline reformer technology and its flexibility to be used
neat (i.e., only ethanol) or in a range of gasoline/ethanol
blends.

· Flexibility, combined with ethanol’s compatibility with the
gasoline infrastructure, means that ethanol can be
optimized regionally and according to ethanol economics
and availability vs. gasoline. This is the only proposed fuel
cell vehicle fueling strategy that does not require the
commitment of major infrastructure investments to a
single fuel.

· An ethanol reformer could be simpler, more reliable, and
less costly than a gasoline/multifuel reformer, increasing
ethanol’s attractiveness as a neat fuel for fuel cell vehicles.
As the favorable cost, environmental, and energy security benefits
of using ethanol in fuel cells have achieved greater recognition,
industry has followed suit by taking action. For example:

· US DOE and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs
partnered with Caterpillar, Nuvera Fuel Cells, and Williams Bio-Energy to design,
fabricate, and demonstrate the nation’s first commercial ethanol-powered fuel cell
system. The 13kW ethanol-fueled PEM stationary fuel cell system will power
William’s security office and visitor’s center in Pekin, Illinois.

· PSA Peugeot Citroën has made biofuels one of its main avenues of research.
Produced from grain or sugar beet crops in the case of ethanol, or from oil-bearing
plants such as rapeseed and soybeans in the case of oil methyl esters, biofuels are
essentially renewable energy sources. In addition to their substantial contribution to
attenuating the greenhouse effect, these fuels offer environmentally friendly
performance, notably by reducing particle emissions.

Such liquid-fueled fuel cell vehicles will take most of this decade to commercialize.

Driving on Ethanol
· An ethanol fuel cell vehicle (FCV) will emit about 13% of the tailpipe pollutants compared with a gasoline vehicle and less than half the pollutants of even a gasoline hybrid vehicle.

· Greenhouse gas emissions from an ethanol FCV would be substantially less than even an
advanced vehicle using a gasoline internal combustion engine. The ethanol FCV contributions to greenhouse gases could be close to zero if cellulosic biomass is used for the ethanol feedstock.

· Unlike hydrogen and methanol, ethanol poses no unique or potentially “show-stopping” health and safety hazards.

· Unlike other fuel cell alternative fuels like hydrogen or methanol, ethanol has a very positive
environmental, health, and safety footprint with no major uncertainties or hazards.

Source: Based on 2001 California
Fuel Cell Partnership Study

This paper presents a vision of how ethanol and fuel cells can be combined to create significant
synergy, reaching markets and bringing benefits that are not achievable with any other fuel or
with any other power technology. In the pages ahead, we will describe these benefits and present
a roadmap for how these synergies can be developed in an effective and stepwise fashion
through contributions from the ethanol, fuel cell, automotive, and utility industries along with
support from state and federal governments. The basis or platform for this vision is the existing,
ongoing investment in ethanol and fuel cell markets, which has already been committed by
government and industry.

As outlined in this paper, we believe ethanol fuel cells merit a higher degree of focus of existing
government program resources because the societal benefits are broad and pervasive, such as
lowering emissions, improving air quality, increasing energy security, and creating economic
opportunities.

For private entities investing in fuel cells and ethanol production, a focus on ethanol fuel cells
will expand and diversify markets. With relatively minor further investment, ethanol used in fuel
cells will create substantial financial opportunity, energy independence, and environmental
progress for the US.

Ethanol: A “Flexible Fuel” Coming of Age

Ethanol produced from the starch in corn and other feedstocks has been successfully used for decades as a transportation fuel in the US and many other parts of the world. Ethanol’s technical features are strong – it is an energy-dense liquid so it stores compactly, and it contains 35 percent oxygen, so it aids in clean combustion. Because it is domestically produced, ethanol can directly displace imported oil and petroleum products, contributing to US energy security, and it provides economic support and alternative markets for agricultural crops. When ethanol is substituted for petroleum, the environmental benefits include lower CO2 and tailpipe emissions. And unlike other oxygenates, ethanol is not harmful to the environment in the event of a fuel spill or leak.

Because of these attributes, ethanol has a strong future as an alternative fuel or fuel additive for internal combustion engines. The demand for ethanol is growing and the ethanol industry has
responded with improved, more efficient production technology, greater production capacity, and a significantly broader distribution infrastructure that now includes most of the
pollution-challenged areas of the US.