Alcohol
- Colorless volatile liquid created through
the fermentation of sugars or starches
Aromatics - Petroleum-based
chemical compounds blended with gasoline
to improve octane – principally
benzene, toluene, and xylene
Bagasse - Sugar cane
waste
Biobutanol – -
Alcohol containing four carbon atoms per
molecule, produced from the same feedstocks
as ethanol, but with a modified fermentation
and distillation process. Less water-soluble
than ethanol, biobutanol has a higher
energy density and can be transported
by pipeline more easily
Biodiesel - Biofuel (technically,
methyl esters) produced from oilseed crops
– including soy, canola, palm, and
jatropha – that can be used in diesel
engines
Biofuel - Fuel produced
from biomass
Biomass - Biological
material – including corn, switchgrass,
and oilseed crops – that can be
converted into fuel
Cellulose - Fiber contained
in leaves, stems, and stalks of plants
and trees. It is the most abundant organic
compound on earth
Cetane Rating - Measure
of diesel’s combustion quality
Distillers Grains -
Byproduct of ethanol production that can
be used to feed livestock; alternatively,
distillers dried grains with solubles
(DDGS)
E10 - Blend of 10% ethanol
and 90% gasoline
E85 - Blend of 85% ethanol
and 15% gasoline
Energy Balance - Difference
between the fossil energy needed to produce
a fuel and the energy the fuel contains
ETBE - See ‘Ethyl
Tertiary Butyl Ether’
Ethanol - Alcohol containing
two carbon atoms per molecule with about
two-thirds the energy density of gasoline,
mostly fermented from corn starch or sugar
cane, also known as ‘grain alcohol’
Ethers - Liquid fuel
made from a blending an alcohol with isobutylene
Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether
- Ether created from ethanol that can
increase octane and reduce the volatility
of gasoline, decreasing evaporation and
smog formation
Feedstock - Raw material used in an industrial
process, like the production of biofuel
FFV - See ‘Flexible
Fuel Vehicle’
Fischer-Tropsch Process
- Method of producing liquid fuels, usually
diesel fuel, from natural gas or synthetic
gas from gasified coal or biomass
Flexible Fuel Vehicle -
Automobile capable of running on gasoline
and high-ethanol blends interchangeably
Gasohol - Fuel blend
of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline (E10)
Grain Alcohol - See
‘Ethanol’
Knock - Engine sound
that results from ignition of the compressed
fuel-air mixture prior to the optimal
moment
Lignin - Energy-rich
material contained in biomass that can
be used for boiler fuel
Methanol - Alcohol containing
one carbon atom per molecule, generally
made from natural gas, with about half
the energy density of gasoline, also known
as ‘wood alcohol’
Methyl Esters - See
‘Biodiesel’
MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether)
- Ether created from methanol that can
increase octane and decrease the volatility
of gasoline, decreasing evaporation and
smog formation
Octane - Measure of
a fuel’s resistance to self-ignition
(see ‘Knock’)
Perennial - Plant that
doesn’t have to be planted every
year like traditional row crops
Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)
- Legislation enacted by Congress as part
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, requiring
an increasing level of biofuels be used
every year, rising to 7.5 billion gallons
by 2012.
Switchgrass - Prairie
grass native to the United States and
known for its hardiness and rapid growth,
often cited as a potentially abundant
feedstock for ethanol
Thermal Conversion -
Process that uses heat and pressure to
break apart the molecular structure of
organic solids
Transesterification -
Chemical process that transforms raw vegetable
oil into biodiesel by separating out glycerin,
which is used in soaps and other products
