Title:
Study on Logistic Barriers to the Use of Bioethanol as Fuel in Blend with Gasoline
Author(s):
Ortenzi, F., Genovese, A., Agostini, A.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
Directive 2009/30 / EC establishes that, as of 2018, new registered gasoline vehicles must be compatible with E10, i.e. with an ethanol content in the fuel up to 10%. At present, gasolines on the market in Italy have much lower ethanol content. Scope of this work is to investigate if this lower share is due to critical issues that need to be addressed along the logistic chain. Ethanol has solvent properties and is aggressive on materials; this requires the adoption of corrosion resistant materials to avoid rapid degradation of the same. Its strong affinity with water need an adequate control and management action must be taken to avoid water contamination. Also the volatility of ethanol is very different from that of gasoline and therefore also this aspect has to be considered along the supply chain and during combustion. From the point of view of performance and emissions, we found: • the kilometric consumption in liters will be increased in proportion to the volumetric percentage of ethanol in the fuel, while maintaining a similar consumption in mass, as ethanol has 30% lower energy content by volume; • engine performance is slightly increased, as ethanol has a high latent heat of vaporization with a benefit in terms of volumetric efficiency; • pollutant emissions do not present particular critical issues as vehicles running on gasoline/ethanol blends already comply with the current pollutant emission regulations for their approval; • evaporative emissions are increased and particular attention must be paid to keep them under control with proper preparation of the fuel, so that it complies with the regulations, especially as regards volatility. For the critical issues relating to the logistics chain, we can point out that: • ethanol is added in the final part of the logistics chain, directly before being transferred by tanker to avoid hydrophilic problems. The adaptation needed, in economic terms, would be in the order of magnitude of one million euros, still minimal for an oil refinery; • from the point of view of transport by road tanker, there are no criticalities as these vehicles are already compatible and there are no particular risks and / or conversion requirements. • about the refueling station, the criticality is hydrophilicity, so it is necessary to test the and adapt stations, especially the older ones. We conclude that, since ethanol used in transportation is a mature technology widely used worldwide from decades, there are no particularly complex obstacles to overcome that could prevent the use of this fuel. Probably the cause of such a low penetration of bioethanol in Italy is to be found in the lack of large domestic production, costs and sustainability concerns, especially concerning first generation bioethanol.
Keywords:
bioethanol, supply chain, distribution, supply, barriers
Topic:
Biomass, Bio-Based Products and Bioenergy Integration
Subtopic:
Market implementation, investments & financing
Event:
30th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
3CV.8.2
Pages:
533 - 538
ISBN:
978-88-89407-22-6
Paper DOI:
10.5071/30thEUBCE2022-3CV.8.2
Price:
FREE
