AGE 85: Aviation Grade Ethanol used in piston engine aircraft. This fuel contains 85 percent ethanol along with light hydrocarbons and biodiesel fuel.
Ash: A co-product of biomass-fueled ethanol production. Ash can be used as a soil additive for farming, a bed lining for cattle pens, a paving filler for road beds and a strengthening agent in building materials such as cement and cinder blocks.
Biodiesel: A renewable fuel in which soy oil is blended with standard diesel fuel and other additives. Biodiesel does not contain ethanol, but research is underway to develop diesel blends with ethanol.
Biomass: Plant matter such as trees, grasses, agricultural crops or other biological material such as cattle manure.
Carbon dioxide (CO2): a gas co-product of ethanol production used for beverage carbonation, refrigeration of food products (dry ice), and food preservation. It is also used as a shielding gas for welding and can be injected into difficult or aging oilfields for enhanced oil recovery.
Carbon monoxide (CO): A deadly gas produced from the tailpipe when cars burn gasoline. Ethanol in unleaded gasoline helps reduce carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 30 percent.
Clean Air Act: In 1990, Congress passed amendments to the Clean Air Act, which set minimum standards for air quality in America's cities. Cities with excessive amounts of carbon monoxide and ozone must develop programs to battle air pollution.
Clean fuels: Fuels such as E-10 Unleaded that burn cleaner and produce fewer harmful emissions compared to ordinary gasoline.
Co Products: Other products made by ethanol plants as a result of ethanol production. Depending on the type of ethanol facility, co-products can include livestock feed, corn sweeteners, corn oil, carbon dioxide and other value-added products.
Distillation: The process of separating and purifying a liquid by successively boiling it and then condensing its vapors.
Distillers grains with solubles (DGS): a highly concentrated, high-protein livestock feed produced during ethanol production from the leftover fiber, protein and fatty oils of corn kernels.
Dry mill: An ethanol production process in which the entire corn kernel is first ground into flour before processing. In addition to ethanol, dry mills also produce dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) which is fed to livestock; and carbon dioxide which is used in food processing and bottling. Most new ethanol plants are dry mill facilities.
E10: a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. E10 is a fuel additive that reduces engine knocking and promotes cleaner air. E-10 Unleaded is approved for use by every major automaker in the world.
E85: a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 is a fuel alternative that burns more cleanly than gasoline. It is used in Flexible Fuel Vehicles.
E diesel: A blend of ethanol and diesel fuel plus other additives designed to reduce air pollution from heavy equipment, city buses and other vehicles that operate on diesel engines.
Enzymes: A protein used to break down starches (carbohydrates) into complex sugars (dextrins) or simple sugars (glucose).
ETBE: Ethyl tertiary butyl ether—a fuel derived from ethanol that offers advantages in terms of lower volatility and blending.
Ethanol: A clean-burning, high octane, renewable fuel made from grain or other biomass sources. Ethanol can be used as an effective octane-boosting fuel additive or as a stand-alone fuel.
Feedstock: A raw material used for industrial processing.
Fermentor: A mechanical device that creates optimal growing conditions for the production of large numbers of microorganisms. Fermentors usually have a heater or cooler to maintain a constant temperature and an agitator for aeration.
Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV): A car or truck that can run on any blend of unleaded gasoline with up to 85 percent ethanol (E85). If you own an FFV, you do not have to fill up with E85 every time. A computer in the fuel system automatically compensates for the varying levels of ethanol in the fuel to assure optimum performance at all times.
MTBE: Methyl tertiary butyl ether—a fuel derived from methanol. MTBE has been discovered in groundwater supplies, leading to legislation banning its use in many states.
Net energy balance: The difference between the energy produced and the energy it takes to produce it. Research has shown that ethanol has a net energy balance of 1.67 to 1, meaning that for every 100 BTUs of energy used to make ethanol, 167 BTUs of ethanol are produced.
Non-attainment cities: Those areas of the country that do not meet minimum standards for air quality. These cities have excessive rates of carbon monoxide and/or ozone in their air.
Octane: a fuel additive that prevents engine knocking. When fuel combusts from compression instead of ignition, it causes engine knocking.
Octane rating: The octane rating of a fuel is indicated on the pump—using numbers such as 87, 90, 91, etc. The higher the number, the greater the octane rating of the gasoline. The octane rating represents the "antiknock" properties of the fuel. The higher the number, the slower the fuel burns—and the less likely your engine will knock. Ethanol typically adds two to three octane numbers when blended with ordinary gasoline—making it a cost-effective octane-enhancer.
Oxygenate: Ethanol is an oxygenate, meaning that it adds oxygen to the fuel mixture. More oxygen helps the fuel burn more completely—reducing the amount of harmful emissions from the tailpipe. A fuel such as ethanol-blended gasoline that contains a high oxygen content is called "oxygenated."
Ozone: Much like cholesterol, there is "good" ozone and "bad" ozone. The good ozone (atmospheric) lies in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, helping protect us from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. However, when ground level ozone (tropospheric) is in the air we breathe, it's not healthy. What we commonly call "smog" is really ozone build-up in the air. The use of ethanol-blended gasoline has been shown to help reduce tropospheric ozone levels.
Particulate Matter (PM): "Pieces" of air pollution that have been found to penetrate deeply into human lungs. Ethanol helps reduce PM emissions by up to 50 percent.
Reformulated gasoline: Reformulated gasoline (RFG) is a cleaner-burning blend of gasoline that reduces motor fuel emissions. While RFG contains the same ingredients found in conventional gasoline, it reduces some of the more harmful, toxic compounds and adds more combustible, cleaner-burning compounds. As a result, RFG can be efficiently, safely and cost-effectively used in today's cars—using the same refueling methods and with no appreciable difference on vehicle performance. Since its introduction in January 1995, RFG has eliminated approximately 300 million tons of pollution from the nation's atmosphere. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS): Part of proposed federal energy legislation that would set a minimum number of gallons of renewable fuels to be used in the nation's transportation fuel supply each year. The RFS would include fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel (soy diesel).
Solubles: a corn syrup-like byproduct created after ethanol has been extracted from the corn mash during the distillation process.
Vapor lock: An engine performance problem due to high vapor pressure in fuel. While ethanol increases the vapor pressure of fuel, state and federal standards continue to lower vapor pressure levels—virtually eliminating vapor lock problems. Additionally, all major auto manufacturers now use in-tank fuel pumps, which are not subject to the vapor lock problems seen in older in-line fuel pumps.
VEETC: Stands for Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, 2004 federal legislation that strengthened the nation's commitment to renewable fuels by extending tax incentives for ethanol and biodiesel, improving flexibility for petroleum companies to blend ethanol, and ensuring that Highway Trust Fund revenues are not adversely affected by increased ethanol use.
VOC: Volatile organic compounds—air pollutants found in engine exhaust. Ethanol helps reduce VOC emissions by 12 percent.
Wet Distillers Grains With Solubles: distillers grains mixed with solubles (corn syrup produced during distillation) that are not dried prior to delivery to area feedyards. Wet distillers grains have a higher nutrient content than dried distillers grains.
Wet mill: An ethanol production facility in which the corn is first soaked or "steeped" in water before processing. In addition to ethanol, wet mills have the ability to produce co-products such as industrial starch, food starch, high fructose corn syrup, gluten feed and corn oils.
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