Entries from November 2007 ↓

The main aim and goal of Pacific Ethanol is to achieve dominance in the Western United State’s marketing as well as production of fuels that are renewable. Laying emphases on products that use clean burning corn-based ethanol, this company has more than twenty years of experience in the development of bio-fuels and are well placed to meet the surging demand for alternative fuels that are domestically sourced.

It is not just all business at Pacific Ethanol which also aims to have good neighborly relations with the community and its ethanol plants will provide benefits to the local economy by creating new jobs, directly as well indirectly. With more clean-burning fuel being churned out by Pacific Ethanol, it will also contribute to lesser air pollution and promote better environments.

Gasoline That Is Blended with Ethanol Would Comply With Clean Air Regulations

Pacific Ethanol recognizes that the market for ethanol in the United States has increased and with the prohibition in states all over the country against using Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, which was the fuel used to increase octane levels in gasoline, it has left ethanol as the only viable alternative additive that will ensure gasoline being compliant with state as well as federal clean air regulations.

Pacific Ethanol sells more than just ethanol and along with producing and selling alternative fuels it also sells byproducts though the focus is on corn-derived ethanol. This ethanol has many uses including being a fuel additive, a fuel by itself, a part of hydrogen fuel cells and a constituent of livestock feed. Pacific Ethanol has two strategically important production plants to cater to the West Coast’s ethanol requirements and these are situated in the California farm belt in the San Joaquin Valley and also in Oregon to serve the Pacific Northwest of the country. The company also has ambitious expansion plans and is thinking about constructing production units that would have 420 million gallon capacity. This in itself is an amazing fact to consider.

Pacific Ethanol has purchased a new and state-of-the-art grain receiving as well as processing and storage facility situated in Madera, California that takes up 137 acres of land for the purpose. This facility is able to store 50,000 tons of grain and also has a completely automated feed mill as well as two rail loops to take care of up to 164 rail cars at the same time.

Share This

Although there seems to be a new ethanol plant basically every minute, there are those which are still considered as being more major and more important than others, and so while we should not forget about the rest of them, we should still make sure that we pay closer mind to these ones in particular.

For instance, there is the matter that came up most recently, in regards to the fact that a new ethanol plant was going to be fueled by cow manure; it should be known first off however that the new ethanol plant facilities may have a big impact in regards to the growing debate over the value of ethanol – which, for those who do not know, is a liquid fuel that is distilled from food starches such as corn – as a supplement or alternative to gasoline.

Furthermore, it is considered that ethanol is actually going to turn into our major source rather than gasoline, and this is a matter that is one of great and significance importance, not only to us and where we live, but as a global matter.

More on the New Ethanol Plant

In regards further to the new ethanol plant however, the new plant is expected to extract methane from 1 billion pounds of manure – the product of about 500,000 cows – in order to be able to generate 100 million gallons of ethanol, plus ash-by product, each year. As well, methane will then be derived from the manure and will then be burned to generate the steam that is necessary for processing corn into ethanol.

Basically, by mining mountains for energy, there are then certain facilities, such as the Panda facility, which is expected to save the equivalent of a thousand barrels of oil a day that would otherwise be required in order to be able to fuel ethanol production.

It is quite easy to see the importance of ethanol, as well as how great it is going to be in the future, and how promising the future truly looks if we were to actually turn to ethanol as our major source of fuel. However, we can truly only wait to see what happens, and you never know, perhaps within that time there will be more options to choose from as well; just as ethanol came into place ahead of gasoline, as could another come in front of it.

Share This

For those who find it hard to swallow the increasingly high costs of gasoline there is hope yet in the form of being able to make this product on your own. If you have ever tried to make your own beer or wine, making ethanol should not be difficult since you can ferment any starchy or sugary food or even waste product into a mash that can further be distilled to produce 190 proof alcohols. One could use this ethanol in one’s car and there may not be any need to make changes to the vehicle since it may already be ready for using E85 ethanol.

Use Dry Corn in Sufficient Quantities

To begin making ethanol one would need dry corn which is readily available and some may even use sugar cane for this purpose. Make sure that you purchase the correct quantity. The corn will need to be ground and it may require a grain mill for this purpose and one should then add water and cook it at temperatures that will allow for liquefaction and add enzymes which will allow the starch in the corn to be converted into sugar. Mashing as well as fermenting is also required for making ethanol.

One should ensure, when making ethanol that all the water content is removed through a process called a molecular sieve which is really a strainer and it should be as fine as possible to get a finer end product. One may also use Zeolyte that is a granulated product, which soaks up the water and leaves the slightly longer ethanol molecules alone. To remove the water from the Zeolyte one may broil it on a backyard grill or dry it out in the sun. One may use a hydrometer to verify that the ethanol is actually 200 proof and if any water does remain, it will settle at the bottom when mixing it with gasoline.

There are ATF regulations that require that the alcohol be denatured and for this a meager two to five percent would suffice which should ensure compliance with necessary regulations and for this one can take the next step, which is to add gasoline to the ethanol in order to obtain E85. Before using this E85 in a car one should ensure that the vehicle is ethanol compliant. Following these simple steps should ensure that you have the ability to begin making your own ethanol, and thus become fuel independent.

Share This