Whatever happened to Ethanol?

[Crazy Dazz]

As relatively clean burning renewable fuel, it was supposed to be the way of the future. Especially for a country like Australia with our huge fuel-security issues.

Yet it seems to have been forgotten about?

Has everyone just assume that coal-powered battery vehicles will completely take over?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

As relatively clean burning renewable fuel, it was supposed to be the way of the future. Especially for a country like Australia with our huge fuel-security issues.

Yet it seems to have been forgotten about?

Has everyone just assume that coal-powered battery vehicles will completely take over?

Same as LPG, same as renewable diesels, and HVO.

We'd rather pay $2/L+ for fuel rather than look for viable alternatives because 'too hard basket'.

Brazilian market has a huge E85 market, and all their vehicles are flexfuel capable.

Brazil's 40-year-old ethanol fuel program is based on the most efficient agricultural technology for sugarcane cultivation in the world, uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used to produce heat and power, which results in a very competitive price and also in a high energy balance (output energy/input energy), which varies from 8.3 for average conditions to 10.2 for best practice production. In 2010, the U.S. EPA designated Brazilian sugarcane ethanol as an advanced biofuel due to its 61% reduction of total life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, including direct indirect land use change emissions.

There's no appetite in this country for fixing problems, only whinging.

Pretty sure we are capable of growing sugar cane in Australia and other grains capable of producing ethanol based fuels.

Its amazing how third world corrupt and crime ridden shitholes like Brazil can do this sort of stuff, and we're incapable of anything that involves getting up off the couch because the AFL is on.

[Sprintey]

It's still here - east coast, anyway, dunno about Perth though.

Manildra still make it here in Oz.

https://www.manildra.com.au/product/ethanol/

Geelong has a couple of E85 bowsers still. E10 still available as a fuel, the 94 octane one was the best imo

In the 2nd handy market there are quite a few cars that will run on E85 eg
Some VEII, all VF MY14, some Craptivas if any still exist, Jeeps with Pentastar 3.6 roughly 2011-13. Those are factory flex fuel tunes.

This group have conversion kits for all sorts of recent motors including GM Ecotec, hybrid Toyotas, and the Barra in some models:

https://eflexfuel.com/en

And there's a big tuning scene for it - of which I don't know much about.

SO

there remains a clean and green alternative using existing technology.



**Bonus:

Going old school, for the carby guys:

https://journeytoforever.org/biofuel...nol_drane.html

and for the moonshiners (be aware of gov rules in Australia)

https://journeytoforever.org/books/e...ill-manual.cgi

Good book:

https://www.whiskeyhillfarms.com/alcohol-can-be-a-gas/

Take 20% of that ethanol and cut into vegetable oils for biodiesel

https://www.scribd.com/document/2037...-the-Fuel-Tank

SO

If we are ever cut off by sea from our fuel imports, and cut off from further batteries and parts from our biggest electric car supplier - or just want green motoring, you know what to do.


**Bonus: two other things we could do: NW shelf natural gas into CNG in diesels; Gippsland coal into Fischer Tropsch coal to diesel tech - if we were ever completely stuffed for liquid fuels.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Same as LPG, same as renewable diesels, and HVO.

We'd rather pay $2/L+ for fuel rather than look for viable alternatives because 'too hard basket'.

Brazilian market has a huge E85 market, and all their vehicles are flexfuel capable.



There's no appetite in this country for fixing problems, only whinging.

Pretty sure we are capable of growing sugar cane in Australia and other grains capable of producing ethanol based fuels.

Its amazing how third world corrupt and crime ridden shitholes like Brazil can do this sort of stuff, and we're incapable of anything that involves getting up off the couch because the AFL is on.

Sugar cane industry up north is on the decline, Mossman QLD refinery closed down and local growers told to grow other products, such a backward country we are becoming.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Itsme

Sugar cane industry up north is on the decline, Mossman QLD refinery closed down and local growers told to grow other products, such a backward country we are becoming.

Its alright we'll all sell $8 coffees and swap houses amongst ourselves