Frequently Asked Questions

What is ethanol?
What are some of the uses for ethanol?
What is the ethanol production process?
What does fuel grade ethanol mean?
What is cellulose?
What is MTBE?
Can you tell me more about the MTBE phase-out?
What is DDGS?
What are some uses of DDGS?
What are the different types of DDGS?
What does CO2 have to do with ethanol?
What are some uses of CO2?
What is waste coal?
What is a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV)?
What are some automobiles that approve E10?
What is biodiesel?
Can you tell me about propane?
Can you tell me about hydrogen?
Can you tell me about natural gas?

What is Ethanol?

1. Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, a fuel component made primarily from corn and various other grains. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, approximately 85% of ethanol in the United States today is produced from corn. Sunnyside's production facilities will use corn as the major feedstock in its production of ethanol. Corn produces large quantities of carbohydrates, which convert into glucose more easily than most other kinds of biomass.
2. Approximately 95% of all ethanol that is produced is used in blends with unleaded gasoline and other fuel products. Used as a fuel oxygenate, ethanol provides a means to control carbon monoxide emissions in large metropolitan areas.

What are some of the uses for ethanol?

• An octane enhancer in fuels;
• An oxygenated fuel additive for the purpose of reducing ozone and carbon monoxide vehicle emissions; and,
• A non-petroleum-based gasoline substitute.

Ethanol Production Process

1. Fuel ethanol is an alcohol that is produced primarily from corn. Ethanol can also be produced by using other grain crops that contain adequate starch content, such as barley and sugar cane. The production of ethanol requires that starches be unraveled after the corn is broken up in the milling process. The unraveling is accomplished by introducing special enzymes in a hot water mixture that attack the starch portion of the corn. This creates a slurry mixture that then goes through a liquefaction system where an alpha-amylase enzyme is added to further break down the unraveled starch molecules into smaller chains of multiple glucose units. A gluco-amylase enzyme is then added to break the starch fragments into individual glucose molecules. Yeast is then added to metabolize the glucose which causes a chemical reaction producing crude ethanol and carbon dioxide. The resulting slurry mixture of water, solids, and crude ethanol is distilled using heat to concentrate the ethanol to about a 95% purity. Only anhydrous (near 100% or 200 proof) ethanol can be used for motor vehicle fuel purposes. To reach this level of purity a molecular sieve is used to remove, or dehydrate, the remaining water, resulting in an alcohol of 199.5 proof or higher.
2. The generic process for producing ethanol from corn involves the following five basic steps:
   • Milling - the physical breakdown of the corn using mechanical processes. Dried corn is passed through hammer mills, which grind it into fine powder (meal). Consistency of granularity is important as efficiency of downstream processes is affected by uniformity in grind size.
   • Liquefaction & Saccharification - the use of heat and enzymes to break down starches into fermentable sugars. The meal, mixed with water and alpha-amylase enzymes, passes through cookers where the starch is liquefied. Continuous cookers heat the mixture to sterilize it and release the last few bits of starch trapped in large particles of the corn. The mash from the cookers is cooled and gluco-amylase is added to break the multi-glucose chains into single glucose fermentable sugars.
   • Fermentation - fermentation encompasses simultaneous saccharification and the conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide and crude ethanol through yeast metabolization. Fermentation may be carried out in batch mode, where the fermentation tanks are filled with mash, yeast is added and the resulting mix is left to ferment for a period of time. When fermentation is complete, the batch is transferred to the next step of the process, the tanks are cleaned, and a new batch is started. Alternatively, a continuous process may be used, where mash cascades through several fermenting tanks for a designated period of time until the mash leaving the tanks is fully fermented. Although slightly more susceptible to infection by bacteria, the continuous fermentation process is more efficient and less labor intensive, and is rapidly becoming the standard. The Delta-T process is unique, in that it is capable of being run in either batch or continuous mode.
   • Distillation and Dehydration - the use of heat and molecular sieve dehydrators to separate ethanol and water. The fermented mash (called 'beer') contains about 10% ethanol as well as solids from unfermented corn and yeast cells. The beer is pumped into distillation columns where the ethanol is boiled and separated from a watery residue called stillage. The ethanol vapor exits the top of the distillation columns at about 190 proof. The 190 proof ethanol cycles through the molecular sieve dehydrators which acts like a sponge to remove the remaining water to yield a final ethanol product of at least 199.5 proof.
   • Byproduct Recover - heat and mechanical processes are used to convert non-fermentable corn components into feed products. The stillage that remains after the ethanol is removed leaves the bottom of a distillation column and travels to the centrifuge where it is separated into wetcakes and thin stillage. Evaporators boil away most of the moisture in the thin stillage, leaving thick syrup containing all of the dissolved solids from the thin stillage. This syrup is then mixed with the centrifuge wetcakes to form a high value animal feed. This can be marketed to local livestock feeders as Wet Distillers Grains with Solubles (WDGS), or it can be further dried to a moisture content of about 10% to be marketed as Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS). Producing DDGS is more expensive, but typically commands a higher price and gives the product a long shelf life, which enables rail access to DDGS markets across the country.

What does fuel grade ethanol mean?

1. Ethanol-blended fuels account for more than 35% of all automotive fuels sold in the United States. The growth of ethanol is expected to come in the blend market due to significant advantages blends have in comparison to neat fuels.
2. E85 is a fuel blend of 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. Currently, E85 can only be used in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). E85 is categorized as an alternative fuel.
3. Ethanol has two (2) distinct markets.
1. The "blend" market is characterized by gasoline/ethanol mixtures containing 10% or less ethanol by volume. E10 is a fuel blend of 10% ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline. E10 has been approved by every major automobile manufacturer in the U.S. for use.
2. The "neat" market is characterized by ethanol/gasoline mixtures containing 85% or more ethanol by volume, which can be used in "FFV" flexible fuel vehicles that are being produced. Many government vehicle fleets have been mandated to use FFV vehicles.
4. Uses
1. Gasoline/ethanol blends can be used in all automobiles and light trucks on the road today.
2. Ethanol blends up to 10% are compatible with the existing service station infrastructure.
3. Ethanol used in blends has an economic value as an octane enhancer and oxygenate.

What is cellulose?

1. Ethanol produced in the United States today is made from the starch contained in feedstocks such as corn and sugar cane. Although ethanol is typically produced from these feed stocks, it can also be produced from cellulose. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on the planet and the main component of plant cell walls. Although ethanol can be produced from these readily available materials, the technology to produce cellulosic ethanol on a large commercial scale does not yet exist. It is estimated it will take another five to ten years to bring the technology online.
2. The process of producing ethanol from cellulose is very similar to that of making ethanol from corn, in that the process focuses on extracting fermentable sugars from the cellulose. However, unlike the sugars in corn, the sugars in cellulose are much more complex. Separating these sugars efficiently is essential to the economic production of cellulosic ethanol.
3. Advantages and Disadvantages
1. Producing ethanol from cellulosic materials has many advantages. Making ethanol from these materials greatly expands the types and amount of materials available for the production process, as ethanol could be produced from such things as corn stalks, wheat grass, switchgrass or wood chips. The price per ton of these cellulosic materials is also much cheaper than the price per ton of other feedstocks, such as sugar and corn, used to produce ethanol. In addition, with cellulosic materials, the entire plant can be harvested for use, resulting in better yields per acre. Ethanol produced from cellulose could also greatly increase the volume of ethanol produced in this country due to the diversity of the available feedstocks. Cellulosic ethanol could also produce many new job opportunities as well as economic growth outside of the Corn Belt.
2. There are also disadvantages associated with cellulosic ethanol. It is more difficult to break down the cellulose found in plants to convert it into usable sugars for the ethanol process. At this time, producing ethanol from cellulose materials is also too costly due to the capital expenditures required to build facilities and the production costs associated with producing a gallon of cellulosic ethanol due to the high cost of the enzymes required.
4. Technologies
1. There are currently two methods of production for cellulosic ethanol, enzymatic hydrolysis and synthesis gas fermentation. These technologies are new and exist in pilot configurations where testing is ongoing.
2. Hydrolysis breaks down the cellulose chains into sugar molecules that are then fermented and distilled. The hydrolysis process can be done by either a chemical reaction using acids, or an enzymatic reaction. In the hydrolysis process there are four to five steps as follows:
• Optional pretreatment stage to make the raw material amenable to hydrolysis;
• Hydrolysis, which breaks down the cellulose into sugars;
• Separation of the sugar solution from the residual materials;
• Fermentation; and,
• Distillation.
3. The gasification process transforms the carbon in the raw material into a gaseous carbon monoxide that is then fed to a special fermenter. Unlike the hydrolysis process, the gasification process takes the carbon in the raw material and converts it into carbon monoxide by using partial combustion. The carbon monoxide then goes into a fermenter that uses a microorganism to ingest the carbon monoxide to produce ethanol, hydrogen and water. In the gasification process there are only three steps as follows:
• Gasification, where the complex carbon based molecules are broken apart to access the carbon as carbon monoxide;
• Fermentation, where the carbon monoxide is converted into ethanol using a microorganism; and,
• Distillation, where the ethanol is separated from water.
5. Capital Expenditures and Cost to Produce
1. The capital costs associated with a cellulosic ethanol is much higher than those associated with corn based ethanol. The cost to construct a cellulosic ethanol plant with a production capacity of approximately 52 million gallons of ethanol per year is roughly $250 million.
2. According to a July 2006 issue of the Boston Globe, the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol was approximately $2.25 per gallon, without distribution costs. This is in comparison to the $1.30 per gallon to produce ethanol using corn as the feedstock. At this time cellulosic ethanol is not economically competitive with corn based ethanol due to the costs associated with pretreating the cellulose and the costs of the enzymes used in the ethanol production process. As is illustrated, the price to produce ethanol from cellulose is not yet competitive enough to make it economically feasible.

What is MTBE?

MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) is a petroleum based product produced by the oil industry, that like ethanol, helps fuel burn more efficiently by adding oxygen. MTBE use is currently being phased out because it has been found in drinking water across the country, with ethanol being substituted as the alternative. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been found that MTBE is a carcinogen at high levels.

Can you tell me more about the MTBE phase-out?

Currently, twenty five (25) states have banned the use of MTBE due to its contamination of ground water, these states include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington. In addition, several states including Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania are proposing bans on the use of MTBE in their states.

What is DDGS?

A principal byproduct of the ethanol production process is distillers grains. The Distillers grains contain a concentration of all of the remaining nutrients from the ethanol production process, including proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins.

What are some uses of DDGS?

Distillers grains is a high protein, high-energy animal feed supplement primarily marketed to the dairy and beef industries. Distillers grains contain by-pass protein that is competitive to other protein supplements such as cottonseed meal and soybean meal.

What are the different types of DDGS?

• Distillers Wet Grains (DWS) - DWS is a processed corn mash containing approximately 70% moisture by volume. DWS has a shelf life of approximately three days and can be sold only to farms within the immediate vicinity of an ethanol plant.
• Distillers Modified Wet Grains (DMWS) - DMWS is processed corn mash that has been dried to approximately 50% moisture by volume. DMWS have a slightly longer shelf life than DWS of approximately ten days and are often sold to nearby markets. DDGS is corn mash that has been dried to 10% to 12% moisture.
• Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) - DDGS has an almost indefinite shelf life and may be sold and shipped to any market regardless of its vicinity to an ethanol plant. At all of the production facilities, the composition of the distillers grains is expected to be approximately 100% DDGS.

What does CO2 have to do with ethanol?

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is another byproduct of the ethanol production process. CO2 is given off during the fermentation stages of the ethanol process. Each of Sunnyside Ethanol's production facilities is expected to produce approximately 220,000 tons annually of raw CO2.

What are some uses of CO2?

CO2 is used to produce carbonated drinks, fire extinguishers, and life jackets. Liquid and solid CO2 are also important refrigerants, especially in the food industry, where they are employed during transportation and storage of ice cream and other frozen foods.

What is waste coal?

There are approximately 258 million tons of waste coal throughout northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania. Waste coal was generated after the marketable coal was sifted out, generally having a lower BTU content than coal. Waste coal is associated with many acid mine drainage problems in Pennsylvania. Sunnyside will utilize Pennsylvania's supply of waste coal as the fuel source for its cogeneration power plants. The alkaline ash that results from burning the waste coal will then be returned back to the waste coal sites to help neutralize the acidic contamination. By neutralizing the acidic effects, the land can be restored for productive uses.

What is a Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV)?

A FFV is a vehicle that can alternate between two sources of fuel. Most commonly, a FFV can accept both regular unleaded gasoline and a variety of blends of ethanol. Today, there are over 5 million FFV operating in the United States, with auto manufacturers committed to increasing production of FFVs to 2 million a year by 2010.

What are some automobiles that approve E10?

All major automobile manufacturers approve the use of E10 fuel under warranty in their vehicles. Below is a list of manufacturers that approve the use of E10 with major sales in North America.

What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is derived from biological sources, making it diodegradable and non-toxic. It is made from clean burning alternative fuel produced from domestic renewable resources such as soybeans. It is made through a chemical process in which glycerin is separated from fat, called transesterification, which leaves behind two products, methyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerin.

Biodiesel has its benefits when it comes to regular diesel. For instance, biodiesel has fewer emissions when burned than regular, petroleum-based diesel. If biodiesel was to replace diesel fuel in vehicles it would be fully functional in today's vehicles, and no changes would be necessary. Biodiesel is commercially available in the United States and can be purchased directly from producers and marketers, petroleum distributors and a handful of public pumps throughout the country.

Can you tell me about propane?

Propane is the leading fuel for many appliances in homes across the world. It is non-toxic and much cleaner burning than gasoline. In America alone, Propane is responsible for being the leading fuel in 6.5 million households.

Propane is the fastest growing fuel source in Third World countries. For example, it is increasingly popular in China and India. Yet, there is a difference between American propane and propane made overseas. Overseas propane is a mixture of propane and butane, where in America, the maximum amount of butane in propane is 3%. However, approximately only 85% of America's propane is domestically produced every year, leaving a 10-15% range for imports from overseas and Canada. To import propane, the U.S. uses pipelines and railroads to get the propane where it needs to go. Tankers come in from Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Norway and even England. Propane in its gaseous form can be compressed into a liquid for travel. The liquid propane is placed into delivery trunks that send the propane into "Pigs" or permanent propane stations. Propane can then be transported, and stored in steel cylinders. In order to store propane, it must be in liquid form, with a vapor space above the liquid, to protect it.

Propane is already becoming a source for fuel in vehicles worldwide. It is the third most popular fuel, behind gasoline and diesel, and nearly 9 million vehicles on the road today use Propane (also known as "Autogas"). In the United States alone, 190,000 vehicles use propane, while 450,000 forklifts use propane for power.

Can you tell me about hydrogen?

Hydrogen has not yet become a reliable energy source, or a primary one either. Hydrogen is a carrier of energy not an energy source. Hydrogen stores energy in a usable form, but must be produced from compounds that contain it. Even though hydrogen is rarely found in the Earth's atmosphere, hydrogen does make up 75% of matter, including, as we all know, hydrogen dioxide (H20) or more commonly known as water. Considering how light hydrogen actually is, it makes it easy for hydrogen to escape the Earth's atmosphere into space, making it harder to keep it as an energy source. Hydrogen has not yet developed into a reliable energy source because of the costs associated with producing it and safety concerns.

Hydrogen can be produced using resources such as fossils fuels, nuclear and renewable energy. One way in which hydrogen can be produced is from methane gas using high temperature steam in a process called methane reforming. This accounts for about 95% of the hydrogen used in the U.S. today. Another method of producing hydrogen is partial oxidation by burning methane in air. Both of these methods produce a synthesis gas which reacts with water to produce more hydrogen. Hydrogen can also be formed by using electrolysis to split the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen. Another way to form hydrogen is a process in which coal or biomass is converted into gaseous components. This process is called gasification and has a series of subsequent chemical reactions that produce more hydrogen.

Can you tell me about natural gas?

Natural gas is used in over 60 million homes today, including restaurants, lodging facilities, hospitals, offices and retail buildings. In 2005, the United States used more than 21.9 trillion cubic feet of Natural Gas, while only producing 18.9 trillion cubic feet. The remaining 3.3 trillion cubic feet comes from imports from overseas. Most of the United States' Natural Gas comes from Alaska, which has an increased supply of domestic gas reserves, resulting in an almost 20% increase in supply. However, there is one major problem with transporting the Natural Gas into the mainland United States because there is no natural gas pipeline from Alaska into the other 48 states. The only way to transport the gas from Alaska to the other states is by tank trucks that carry Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) over shorter distances. For overseas and longer distances, it is easier to transport natural gas in a liquefied form (LNG). Both of these methods can be shipped directly to the consumer or to distribution companies that then send the natural gas through pipelines. Pipelines have become the easiest means of transportation of natural gas. However, during colder months and in colder states, the risk of a natural gas shortage due to frozen pipelines is constantly a threat.