[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7814-S7816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
A COMPILATION OF INFORMATION ON ETHANOL ETHERS
Mr. KERREY. Mr President, I would like to note the release of a
recent publication that all members of Congress should read. This new
publication was produced by the Clean Fuels Development Coalition and
it includes a presentation of facts about ethanol-based ethers.
As we attempt to deal with the water contamination problems resulting
from leaking underground storage tanks, much of the debate is focusing
on methanol-based ethers, i.e. MTBE. While MTBE has played an important
role in reducing ozone throughout the U.S., the problems of water
contamination have lead many to advocate limiting or even banning this
product.
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During this debate a few of our colleagues have expressed confusion
about the technical characteristics of ethanol-based ethers, like ETBE.
Some have assumed that ethanol-based ethers have characteristics
identical to MTBE. As both the Senate and House examine this issue, it
is important to be aware of the significant differences between the two
products.
For example, ethanol is a renewable, biodegradable product. When
converted into ether, ETBE has many favorable characteristics in terms
of the way it reacts in soil, water, and air, when compared to MTBE. In
the event ETBE escapes into the atmosphere or our water supplies, it
can be cleaned up much more efficiently than MTBE. ETBE is far less
persistent than MTBE and remediation technologies have shown to be very
effective.
Understanding the attributes of ETBE is also important at a time when
every citizen is painfully aware of our dependence on imported
petroleum and the relationship of supply and price. It may be possible
to use ETBE in volumes up to 22 percent in gasoline. This addition of a
clean, domestic fuel could significantly impact our gasoline supply
situation, particularly in our most heavily populated and polluted
urban areas.
I have long been a supporter of ETBE and while there are a number of
technical and market challenges remaining before this fuel reaches full
commercialization, its promise is undeniable. The petroleum industry,
environmental groups, ethanol producers, and the auto industry have
long recognized the superior qualities of ETBE. For that promise to be
realized we need to ensure that ETBE is not included in any ban or
limitation of fuels that result from leaking underground storage tank
problems. I commend the Clean Fuels Development Coalition for their
continued support of this important fuel as well as my own state of
Nebraska which has more than a decade of experience in ETBE
development.
Mr. President, at this time I would ask unanimous consent that a copy
of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition fact book on ETBE be entered
into the Congressional Record.
ETBE FACT BOOK
The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information
Administration projects U.S. Oil imports could grow to nearly
60-70 percent of total U.S. Oil consumption by the year 2010
if new U.S. Policies are not adopted to reverse current
trends or if world crude oil prices decline. According to the
American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Is currently dependent
of foreign oil for 51.8 percent of its energy needs.
Currently, 46.7 percent of the imports come from OPEC
countries, with 19.1 percent originating from the Persian
Gulf region.
Historically, market prices have been the primary argument
driving the dependence on cheap crude oil imports and the
perceived aversion to the alternative fuels. The market price
of crude oil can be very misleading because it excludes
external costs associated with its use, such as environmental
and military costs. The actual cost of oil, including
external costs, is estimated to be over $100 per barrel or
about $3-$5 per gallon of gasoline, according to the U.S.
General Accounting Office.
R. James Woolsey, former director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, believes that the world's dependence on
oil from the Middle East and the Caspian Basin is one of the
three major threats to America's national security, along
with attacks from rogue nations and terrorism.
According to General Accounting Office estimates, at
current capacity, fuel ethanol and other oxygenates could
displace about 305,000 barrels of petroleum per day used to
produce gasoline. The total amount of petroleum that ethanol
could displace would be approximately 3.7 percent of
estimated U.S. Gasoline consumption in 2000. New presidential
and Congressional initiates envision tripling these
percentages by 2010.
Energy production and use accounts for 80 percent of air
pollution and 66 percent of the human contribution to global
warming. Gasoline obviously accounts for a majority of
energy, and specifically, oil consumption. Displacing
gasoline with a renewable, less toxic, CO2-
friendly, domestically produced fuel represents good
environmental policy.
Each bushel of corn used to produce ethanol is 100 percent
pure profit for the country. The ethanol industry makes $4.50
worth of products out of a $2.25 bushel of corn, doubling its
value, enriching the national economy and displacing foreign
oil. This improves the U.S. balance of trade payments by
several billion dollars, and increases the value of U.S.
Grain production. In the future, emerging cellulose
conversion technology will make it possible for the entire
country to function as a transportation fuel producer using
alternative energy crops--switchgrass in Montana, sorghum in
Oklahoma, sycamores in Louisiana, poplars in Vermont and
waste biomass in New York.
In addition to stimulating the economy, ethanol helps
reduce the federal deficit. The United States General
Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report stating that a
doubling of ethanol production would save the federal
government $500 million to $600 million annually.
Despite ethanol's benefits, it has had problems entering
the U.S. Gasoline pool. Due to difficulties with
transportation regional fuel specifications and a increase in
fuel vapor pressure, ethanol blends have been used mostly in
the Midwest. But there is a way to combine the benefits of
ethanol into a fuel additive that would be better accepted by
the nation's refiners--producing ethyl tertiary butyl ether,
ETBE.
By combining ethanol with isobutylene, which is derived
from natural gas liquids or petroleum products, ETBE offers
refiners, agriculture and policy makers another avenue to get
the benefits of ethanol into gasoline and minimize many of
its current obstacles.
The vast majority of ethanol is sold in the Midwest region
of the United States. Ethanol blends are doing a great job
reducing carbon monoxide and air toxic pollution. However,
the more populated cities on the East and West Coasts face
tougher emission standards that are primarily based on
reducing the vapor pressure of gasoline. ETBE has the lowest
vapor pressure of oxygenates available in the marketplace and
a high octane level. Compared to other additives, including
ethanol alone, it reduces more evaporative and tailpipe
emissions, and lowers toxics and carbon monoxide. The U.S.
Department of Energy found ``significant benefits'' to using
ETBE made from biomass, especially in California.
Each gallon of ETBE displaces a barrel of imported oil and
reduces the amount of oil that refiners use to make gasoline.
Each gallon of ETBE helps the U.S. reduce its $52 billion oil
import bill, stimulates the national economy and improves our
balance of trade. Turning lower-valued domestic natural gas
into high valued liquid fuel products can help areas of the
country that have suffered from America's dramatic decline in
crude oil production. American agriculture, working in
cooperation with domestic natural gas producers to produce
leaner domestic fuels, is a powerful combination of allies
and resources.
Making ETBE can stretch our domestic fuel supplies. Using
our natural gas resources and increasing the output of our
domestic refineries is an important part of our energy
security strategy. Using natural gas as a liquid in existing
vehicles will displace imports much faster than waiting for
consumers to switch to dedicated natural gas fuel vehicles.
Recent University of Nebraska-Lincoln studies indicate that
ETBE is several times less soluble than MTBE, and several
times more biodegradable. Compared with MTBE, ETBE, and/
ethanol mixtures are less likely to reach groundwater
supplies, and are more easily removed by natural attenuation
and bioremediation, according to preliminary study results.
As automakers continue to be burdened with reducing
emissions, their ability to provide car that are cleaner, yet
still guaranteed to perform, is challenged. ETBE helps
automakers get cleaner fuels that have lower sulfur, less
toxics and improved driveability index. While ethanol blends
help in this area, automakers prefer the use of ethers such
as ETBE.
The idea of ETBE is not new. In an effort to reduce the
dangerously high levels of pollution in Paris, the French
Parliament voted to have a renewable content standard for its
gasoline. The choice to meet the new renewable standard--
ETBE. Lyondell Chemical Company is the world leader in ETBE
production technology. Other companies have also produced and
sold ETBE in limited quantities in the United State. Amoco
produced and sold ETBE at its Yorktown, VA, refinery for
several years and marketed the blends on the East Coast.
Lyondell Chemical, formerly Arco Chemical Co., the world's
largest methyl tertiary butyl ether producer, has produced
ETBE several times at its MTBE plants in the U.S. In fact,
all of the MTBE plants in the United States could easily
produce ETBE with only minor adjustments to optimize
performance.
The use of MTBE in the reformulated gasoline program has
resulted in growing detections of MTBE in drinking water. The
majority of these detections to date have been well below
levels of public health concern. Detections at lower levels
have, however, raised consumer concerns about taste and odor.
The EPA Blue Ribbon Panel on Oxygenates considered the fuel
applications and technical characteristics of MTBE and other
ethers during public sessions in 1999. The panel concluded
that ETBE and other ethers have been used less widely and
studied less than MTBE. The panel's final report states that,
``To the extent that they have been studies, they (other
ethers) appear to have similar, but not identical, chemical
and hydrogeologic characteristics. The panel recommends
accelerated study of the health effects and groundwater
characteristics of these compounds. . .''
In response to anticipated questions abut the hydrogeologic
characteristics of ETBE, the Department of Chemical
Engineering at the University of Nebraska conducted
preliminary research into the behavior of ETBE in water. The
preliminary research suggests that ETBE's ubiquity properties
are less
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than half those of MTBE. In addition, a preliminary report by
the University notes that existing literature suggests a
faster degradation rate for ETBE than MTBE. The Nebraska
Ethanol Board and several federal agencies have proposed
additional research on the properties of ETBE.
Starting this year, federal Phase II reformulated gasoline,
RVG, must deliver a four percent to seven percent reduction
in NOX emissions relative to the 1990 baseline
gasoline. ETBE is particularly well suited for meeting this
requirement because ETBE can reduce aromatic content in RFG.
Automobile NOX emissions decrease with increasing
octane number and with decreasing aromatics content. ETBE
fills the bill on both counts.
ETBE's higher octane--110-112 (R+M)/2--enables an RFG
blender to substitute ETBE for aromatics, including benzene,
as a source of RFG octane. Reducing aromatics content, in
turn, reduces emissions of NOX and toxics,
while improving driveability performance.
For U.S. Refiners, this means more reduction--via
dilution--in the levels of aromatics, olefin, and sulfur, all
of which are undesirable in RFG.
Petroleum use for transportation will remain one of the
largest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
Through the year 2020, according to projections by the U.S.
Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration. In
2020, petroleum will account for 42 percent of greenhouse gas
emissions in the U.S., mostly for transportation use,
according to the report. Overall, carbon emissions from
energy use will increase at an average annual rate of 1.3
percent due to rising energy demand and slow penetration of
renewable, DOE said in its Annual Energy Outlook: 2000
report.
Because ETBE is made from renewable ethanol and natural gas
feedstock, it is superior in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. In addition, because the use of ETBE often
replaces aromatics from the gasoline pool, its ability to
reduce the harmful pollutants as well as greenhouse gas
emissions from gasoline are improved.
As a result of the addition of renewable ethanol, ETBE is
an oxygenated fuel. In addition, ETBE has a higher octane
rating and lower Reid vapor pressure, RVP, than its
competitor, MTBE. ETBE blended gasoline has several benefits:
The oxygen reduces carbon monoxide emissions.
The lower Rvp lessens pollution that forms ozone.
Simply through volumetric displacement, ETBE reduces
sulfur, toxic substance and other harmful elements of
gasoline.
The high octane rating reduces the need for carcinogenic
hydrocarbons used to increase octane such as benzene, which
cause cancers.
Due to ethanol's positive energy balance when produced from
grain (1 to 1.3) and cellulose (1 to 2), it reduces
greenhouse gases.
One of the primary reasons ethanol has difficulty competing
in the federal RFG program is that it increases the
volatility of gasoline. By turning ethanol into ETBE, this
concern is eliminated. ETBE's blending properties are an
excellent match for both engine and emissions performance,
much better than replacing MTBE with more alkylates.
Another issue with ethanol is transportation. Currently in
the U.S., ethanol blended gasoline cannot practically be
shipped to markets via pipelines--the most common method of
transportation for petroleum products. Gasoline blended with
ETBE is compatible with the current gasoline distribution
system, can be pipelined and stored with gasoline and will
reduce the transportation and storage costs associated with
ethanol usage.
ETBE can be blending at volumes of up to 17 vol%, with the
possibility of the maximum blending being increased to 22
vol%, while straight ethanol is capped at 10 vol% and MTBE is
limited to 15 vol%. This means that blending gasoline with
ethanol can stretch our nation's gasoline supply further.
The higher allowable volume of ETBE means:
ETBE blends may prove to be the most cost-effective means
of bringing the use of alternative fuels to the market place,
consistent with new environmental and energy policy, EPACT,
demands being placed on U.S. refiners.
ETBE blends contain more volume derived from renewable,
domestic energy sources.
While ethanol plays an important role in the federal RFG
program, its use is mostly confined to the few RFG areas in
the Midwest. Through ETBE, ethanol use could expand to play a
larger role in the RFG program as a whole.
If ETBE could capture only a small portion of the U.S.
Gasoline market--for example a percentage of the RFG demand
in the Northeast, where little of no ethanol is currently
used--the increase in ethanol used in gasoline would be
significant.
As much as 350 million gallons of new ethanol demand would
be created if just 60 percent of the oxygenates used in the
eight states of the Northeastern States for Coordinated Air
Use Management, NESCAUM, were to use ETBE.
Along with the increase in ethanol use comes a likely
increase in corn demand to produce the ethanol. More than 140
million bushels of corn would be required to meet the
aforementioned ETBE demand.
ETBE has been in commercial production in Europe since the
early 1990s. While France is the European leader for both the
production and consumption of ETBE, other European countries
are following. European policy makers prefer ETBE to MTBE
because of its overall greenhouse gas reductions that come
from its renewable ethanol content. ETBE is preferred over
ethanol by European refiners because of better logistics and
improved gasoline and drive ability quality.
In addition, more ether demand is expected with the new
European cleaner-burning fuel legislation taking effect in
2000 and 2005.
The Clean Fuels Development Coalition is a non-profit
organization dedicated to the development of alternative
fuels and technologies to improve air quality and reduce U.S.
Dependence on imported oil. The broad CFDC membership
includes ethanol and ether producers, agricultural interests,
automobile manufacturers, state government agencies, and
engineering and new technology companies. Since its beginning
in 1988, the coalition has become a respected source of
information for state, local, and federal policy makers as
well as private industry on a range of transportation,
energy, and environmental issues.
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