Ethanol Blender Pumps, No Mandates, More

New "blender pumps" being produced for automobiles in Kansas, will allow the blending of ethanol into gasoline at controlled rates of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 85% by volume. They will permit the adjustment of ethanol proportional burn according to availability.

EPA allows either a 10 percent or an 85 percent mixture of ethanol and gasoline. E-10 is viewed as acceptable for all vehicles and E-85 is acceptable for flex-fuel- vehicles that have been specially manufactured with alcohol resistant tanks and fittings plus a means to reset the engine to efficiently burn the high octane alcohol fuel.

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At the Republican convention in St. Paul, the Republican Party decided to drop ethanol mandates from its platform, and to let the market set the amount of ethanol to be included in fuels. That is certainly one large step away from special-interest politics, and one that Al Fin applauds.

A number of new crops for biofuels are being tried out. One interesting crop is "false flax", or camelina sativa. Camelina seed contains 40% oil, and yields more oil than soybeans per acre. Camelina is frost tolerant, grows on marginal lands, and can be planted as a cover crop after harvesting wheat and other crops. Camelina oil is high in omega-3 fats, which also gives it a market as a human food.

New Mexico researchers plan a commercial demonstration of algae oil within 18 months. That is an ambitious schedule, but then New Mexico is apparently expecting great things out of algal biofuels for its state's economic future.

Bioenergy is acquiring greater prominence among policymakers and newsmakers. South Korea's Knowledge and Economy Minister recently emphasised the importance of bioenergy:

Knowledge and Economy Minister Lee Yoon-ho says that bioenergy or biomass will be considered the most important and useful among new sources of renewable energy for a significant time in the future. _Source

Bioenergy has been important to humans since the time the use of fire was mastered. By learning to produce bioenergy without stripping rainforests, wildlife habitats, and depleting food sources, humans will demonstrate a rite of passage.