This paper describes the current Biomass Scenario Model (BSM) as of August 2013, a system dynamics model developed under the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The model is the result of a multi-year project at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It is a tool designed to better understand biofuels policy as it impacts the development of the supply chain for biofuels in the United States.
Filter by Category
Filter by Keywords
KDF Search Results
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 is an omnibus energy policy law designed to move the United States toward greater energy security and independence. A key provision of EISA is the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires the nation to use 36 billion gallons per year (BGPY) of renewable fuel in vehicles by 2022.* Ethanol is the most widely used renewable fuel, and increasing the allowable ethanol content from 10% to 15% is expected to push renewable fuel consumption to as much as 21 BGPY.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The present study experimentally investigates spark-ignited combustion with 87 AKI E0 gasoline in its neat form
and in midlevel alcohol−gasoline blends with 24% vol/vol isobutanol−gasoline (IB24) and 30% vol/vol ethanol−gasoline (E30).
A single-cylinder research engine was used with an 11.85:1 compression ratio, hydraulically actuated valves, laboratory intake air,
and was capable of external exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Experiments were conducted with all fuels to full-load conditions
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The present study experimentally investigates spark-ignited combustion with 87 AKI E0 gasoline in its neat form
and in midlevel alcohol−gasoline blends with 24% vol/vol isobutanol−gasoline (IB24) and 30% vol/vol ethanol−gasoline (E30).
A single-cylinder research engine is used with an 11.85:1 compression ratio, hydraulically actuated valves, laboratory intake air,
and was capable of external exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Experiments were conducted with all fuels to full-load conditions
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 is an omnibus energy policy law designed to
move the United States toward greater energy security and independence. A key provision of EISA is the
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which requires the nation to use 36 billion gallons per year (BGPY) of
renewable fuel in vehicles by 2022.1 Ethanol is the most widely used renewable fuel, and increasing the
allowable ethanol content from 10% to 15% is expected to push renewable fuel consumption to 21BGPY.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
This article summarises the compatibility of six elastomers – used in fuel
storage and delivery systems – with test fuels representing gasoline blended
with up to 85% ethanol. Individual coupons were exposed to test fuels for four
weeks to achieve saturation. The change in volume and hardness, when wetted
and after drying, were measured and compared with the original condition.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 was an omnibus energy policy law designed to move the United States toward greater energy security and independence.1 A key provision of EISA modified the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which requires the nation to increase the volume of renewable fuel blended into transportation fuels from 7.5 billion gallons by 2012 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Ethanol is the most widely used renewable fuel, and increasing the ethanol content in gasoline to 15% offers a means of getting significantly closer to the 36 billion gallon goal.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
Spark-ignition (SI) engines with direct-injection (DI) fueling can improve fuel economy and vehicle power beyond
that of port fuel injection (PFI). Despite this distinct advantage, DI fueling often increases particle number emissions, such that SI
exhaust may be subject to future particle emissions regulations. In this study, ethanol blends and engine operating strategy are
evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing particle emissions in DI engines. The investigated fuels include a baseline emissions
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
Ethanol offers significant potential for increasing the
compression ratio of SI engines resulting from its high octane
number and high latent heat of vaporization. A study was
conducted to determine the knock limited compression ratio
of ethanol - gasoline blends to identify the potential for
improved operating efficiency. To operate an SI engine in a
flex fuel vehicle requires operating strategies that allow
operation on a broad range of fuels from gasoline to E85.
Since gasoline or low ethanol blend operation is inherently
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The compatibility of elastomer materials used in fuel dispensers was assessed for a gasoline standard containing 0, 10, 17, and 25 volume percent of aggressive ethanol. Specimens of fluorocarbon, fluorosilicone, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), silicone rubber, neoprene and polyurethane were immersed in test fuels flowing at a rate of 0.8m/s for 4 weeks at 60oC and then dried for 20h at 60oC.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 was an omnibus energy policy law designed
to move the United States toward greater energy security and independence. A key provision of EISA is
the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) which requires the nation to use 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel
in vehicles by 2022. Ethanol is the most widely used renewable fuel, and a significant portion of the
36 billion gallon goal can be achieved by increasing the ethanol in gasoline to 15%. In fact in March
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The compatibility of selected metals representative of those commonly used in dispensing
systems was evaluated in an aggressive E20 formulation (CE20a) and in synthetic gasoline
(Reference Fuel C) in identical testing to facilitate comparison of results. The testing was
performed at modestly elevated temperature (nominally 60°C) and with constant fluid flow in an
effort to accelerate potential interactions in the screening test.
Based on weight change, the general corrosion of all individual coupons exposed in the vapor
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The Biomass Program is one of the nine technology development programs within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This 2011 Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) sets forth the goals and structure of the Biomass Program. It identifies the research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) activities the Program will focus on over the next five years, and outlines why these activities are important to meeting the energy and sustainability challenges facing the nation.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
Discussions of alternative fuel and propulsion technologies for transportation often overlook the infrastructure required to make these options practical and cost-effective. We estimate ethanol production facility locations and use a linear optimization model to consider the economic costs of distributing various ethanol fuel blends to all metropolitan areas in the United States. Fuel options include corn-based E5 (5% ethanol, 95% gasoline) to E16 from corn and switchgrass, as short-term substitutes for petroleum-based fuel.
Ethanol is a very attractive fuel from an end-use perspective because it has a high chemical octane number and a high
latent heat of vaporization. When an engine is optimized to take advantage of these fuel properties, both efficiency and
power can be increased through higher compression ratio, direct fuel injection, higher levels of boost, and a reduced need
for enrichment to mitigate knock or protect the engine and aftertreatment system from overheating.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.
The IPCC SRREN report addresses information needs of policymakers, the private sector and civil society on the potential of renewable energy sources for the mitigation of climate change, providing a comprehensive assessment of renewable energy technologies and related policy and financial instruments. The IPCC report was a multinational collaboration and synthesis of peer reviewed information: Reviewed, analyzed, coordinated, and integrated current high quality information.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is promoting the development of ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks as an alternative to conventional petroleum-based transportation fuels. DOE funds both fundamental and applied research in this area and needs a method for predicting cost benefits of many research proposals. To that end, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has modeled many potential process designs and estimated the economics of each process during the last 20 years. This report is an update of the ongoing process design and economic analyses at NREL.
A new addition to the growing biofuels resources list at AgMRC is a cellulosic ethanol feasibility template developed by agricultural economists at Oklahoma State University (OSU). The purpose of the spreadsheet-based template is to give users the opportunity to assess the economics of a commercial-scale plant using enzymatic hydrolysis methods to process cellulosic materials into ethanol. The OSU Cellulosic Ethanol Feasibility Template can be downloaded and modified by the user to mimic the basic operating parameters of a proposed ethanol plant under a variety of production conditions.
This paper examines the possibilities of breaking into the cellulosic ethanol market in south Louisiana via strategic feedstock choices and the leveraging of the area’s competitive advantages. A small plant strategy is devised whereby the first-mover problem might be solved, and several scenarios are tested using Net Present Value analysis.
The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 established specific targets for the production of biofuel in the United States. Until advanced technologies become commercially viable, meeting these targets will increase demand for traditional agricultural commodities used to produce ethanol, resulting in land-use, production, and price changes throughout the farm sector. This report summarizes the estimated effects of meeting the EISA targets for 2015 on regional agricultural production and the environment. Meeting EISA targets for ethanol production is estimated to expand U.S.