Comments on Hybrid Cars: Stop the Madness: Hybrid Vehicles Not E85!!!!!!!

Scott - I'm 100% for bioconversion but mainly as ...

2006-11-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

Scott -

I'm 100% for bioconversion but mainly as a source for producing electricity, not automobile fuel - although that electricity could power PHEVs.

I'm not against E85, I just believe fuel efficiency has to be the priority, and PHEVs are the best path to that end, especially for American auto companies. The technology to produce 100 mpg plug-in hybrid vehicles essentially exists today, and American automakers need to seize this opportunity immediately.

That just won't happen without real leadership from Congress, and I'm very worried Congress is going to be content with just E85 in the short term.

What is the fixation with E85? There isn't enough ...

2006-11-09T08:19:00.000-08:00

What is the fixation with E85? There isn't enough ethanol being produced to get E10 in significant quantities, much less E85. Please, please, please advocate for a roadmap that doesn't have "And Then A Key Technology That Doesn't Exist Right Now Is Developed Here" as one of the middle steps.

Mike

Ethanol is a renewable fuel that is being produced...

2006-11-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Ethanol is a renewable fuel that is being produced now and can be used now with existing infrastructure. We don't have to wait for an electric car or even a PHEV and the 15 years to recycle out all the combustion engines and exchange electric hookups for gas stations. The key is that it is miscible with gasoline - which means that it can be gradually introduced into the buying behavior of the population. Furthermore, unlike electricity which is being produced predominantly with the combustion of fossil fuels, ethanol can store its energy for temporal as well as geographic transport.

But the most exciting thing for me is that ethanol and hydrogen can be made from fermenting syngas made from gasifying waste biomass of all forms - agricultural, forestry, and urban. That means can use the bioconversion of ethanol as a panacea for waste and combustion problems that plague the earth. Added plus... it can cogenerate electricity without combustion. That, in a nutshell, is what my BioConversion Blog is all about.

I advocate phasing in PHEVs that can run on E85. The miles/gallon (of gasoline) would be about 500 miles with the bulk coming from the combustion of ethanol. For that to happen, we need to develop cellulosic ethanol production techniques while perfecting PHEV technology.