Biofuels Program

Biofuels For Maine:
Biofuel products and technology are changing rapidly. The critical need to reduce fossil fuel use, improve air quality, and mitigate global climate change has spurred biofuels development. Depending on what we use to make the fuel, and how the raw materials are grown, harvested, and/or retrieved from the waste stream, we can realize quantifiable environmental and economic benefits.

According to a growing body of scientific research, biofuels can replace diminishing fossil fuels while building a local, indigenous, and cleaner fuel supply. Maine entrepreneurs and fuel suppliers are building the biofuels industry in communities across the state.

Biofuels for Maine Marketwatch

Read the Biofuels for Maine Newsletter

Biofuels - What are they?
We define biofuels as liquid fuels produced from biomass (renewable organic matter)¹, which are often blended with or used to replace petroleum. Biofuels include biodiesel, ethanol, and second generation biofuels.

• Biodiesel is a distillate fuel similar to diesel or number 2 heating oil. It can be made from several different animal or vegetable oils (e.g., canola, soy), or from recycled restaurant grease.² A 5% biodiesel blended with diesel or heating oil is known as B5; a 20% blend is B20. When biodiesel is blended with heating oil and used for heat, it is often called bioheat.
  
  Biodiesel is a domestic fuel and kinder to the environment than diesel. Pure biodiesel (100%) is less toxic than table salt and dissolves more easily than sugar.³
  
  Tailpipe carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are roughly the same whether an engine uses biodiesel or petroleum diesel. However, biodiesel is plant-based, and plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere as they grow. Depending on how the fuel is grown and processed throughout its lifecycle, pure biodiesel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 67.7% compared to diesel⁴. Replacing regular diesel with a biodiesel blend also benefits air quality - it cuts the release of toxics, sulfur, and lead⁵.
  
  
• Ethanol is made from fermenting grains or sugars, a process similar to brewing alcohol. It is commonly made from sugar cane (Brazil) and corn (U.S.)⁶. All gasoline-powered vehicles can run on a blend of 10% ethanol, 90% gasoline (E10). Only "flex-fuel" (flexible fuel) vehicles (FFVs) can run on a blend of 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline (E85)⁷.
  
  Ethanol can be made in the U.S. It can have both air quality and greenhouse gas benefits. Blends may reduce smog-forming emissions by 25% and carbon monoxide by 10-30%⁸. Ethanol also reduces air toxics⁹. Lifecycle greenhouse gas benefits vary depending on the feedstock (what type of crop is used in production), how it is grown and how it is processed. For example, when compared to gasoline, ethanol made from sugar cane can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 60% throughout its lifecycle. Ethanol made from corn reduces emissions by about 22%¹⁰
  
  
• Second Generation Biofuels. Emerging technology promises to broaden the variety of biofuels and biomass sources that can be converted to fuel. Potential new fuels include cellulosic ethanol and renewable diesel or bio-oil. Cellulosic ethanol is produced from "woody" feedstocks such as corn stover, switchgrass or willow. Renewable diesel or bio-oil can be produced from woody feedstocks or most organic wastes¹¹. New feedstocks also include algae. These plants can be grown with waste nutrients in the sewage system or in the clean-up operations for coal emissions¹².
  
  Second generation biofuels may yield greater benefits than traditional biofuels. They can be made from waste and cellulosic crops, which use less energy to grow and have less impact on land¹³. It may be 5-10 years, however, before they are produced cost-effectively on a large scale.

1. Demirbas, A. (2006). "Progress and recent trends in biofuels." Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 33, 1-18.
2. Pahl, G. (2005). Biodiesel: growing a new energy economy. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company.
3. Pahl G. (2005).
4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2007). Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Expanded Renewable and Alternative Fuel Use. Washington, D.C.: Office of Transportation and Air Quality
5. Union of Concerned Scientists
6. Andersen, G. (2007) Homegrown Energy: as America copes with climate change, many see hope in biofuels. State Legislatures, June 2007
7. EthanolToday. (2007). Ethanol 101: frequently asked questions. Ethanol Today.
8. American Coalition for Ethanol. (2007). Environment & Clean Air. Retrieved July 2007, from http://ethanol.org/index.php?id=34&parentid=8#Environment.
9. Coleman, R. B. (2007). Draft: A Northeast Regional Biofuels Action Plan. Boston, MA: Northeast Biofuels Collaborative.
10. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2007).
11. Ragauskas, A. J., Williams, C. K., Davison, B. H., Britovsek, G., Cairney, J., Eckert, C. A., Frederick, W. J. Jr., Hallett, J. P, Leak, D.J, Liotta, C.L., Mielenz, J. R., Murphy, R., Templer, R., and Tschaplinksi, T. (2006). The path forward for biofuels and biomaterials. Science, 311, 484-489.
12. Kiong, E. (2006, May 12). NZ firm makes bio-diesel from sewage in world first. The New Zealand Herald.; Greentech. (2007). NRG Energy testing GreenFuel's algae system in Louisiana. Retrieved July 2007, from http://www.insidegreentech.com/node/1036.
13. Lovins, A. B., Datta, E. K., Bustnes O., Koomey, J. G., and Glasgow, N. J. (2005). Winning the oil end game: innovation for profits, jobs, and security. Snowmass, CO: Rocky Mountain Institute.

Compiled by the Maine Energy Investment Corporation in partnership with Efficiency Maine.

For More Information
Please contact Shirley Bartlett, Efficiency Maine Program Manager at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, at (207) 287-3318 or by email at Shirley.Bartlett@maine.gov.

............................................................................................................................................

Efficiency Maine    Public Utilities Commission    18 State House Station    Augusta, Maine 04333-0018
Efficiency Maine is located at 242 State Street    1-866-376-2463    FAX:(207) 287-1039    TTY: (207) 287-3831