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For more than 100 years, ethanol has been used by consumers in various forms, from beer to a fuel additive. Now Delaware could be getting its own ethanol refinery, which has raised eyebrows throughout the First State.
During this past week and into next week, a series of workshops and hearings is being held in Dover to educate legislators and the public about ethanol’s emerging role as a fuel source.
What is ethanol?
Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound, one of the alcohols that is most often found in alcoholic beverages. Besides its use as alcohol, the largest use of ethanol is as a motor fuel and fuel additive. With the sources of fossil fuel drying up, large oil and gasoline providers have been adding ethanol to the fuel, and many gas stations now advertise fuels such as E10, which means 10 percent of the fuel is ethanol, or FlexFuel, which means 85 percent of the fuel is ethanol. Even in the early days of automobile manufacturing, Henry Ford adapted his carburetor to run on ethanol.
In the United States, 75 ethanol refineries produced a record 2.8 billion gallons of fuel last year, and today at least a dozen ethanol refineries are being constructed, according to Cropchoice.com.
“Ethanol can be produced, in quantity, by Delawareans using renewable Delaware grown biomass sources,” said Kevin Wade of Philadelphia Control Systems. Wade presented his paper on ethanol as an emerging fuel source Sept. 26 to members of the General Assembly and the Blue Ribbon Task Force, given the job of researching the possibility of building ethanol refineries in Delaware.
“The United States uses 17 million barrels of crude oil each day. Twelve of these millions, 68 percent of total U.S. oil usage, are imported,” said Wade. “The mid-Atlantic and northeast regions of the country produce negligible amounts of crude oil. The critical difference with ethanol is that its supply is local, renewable and, most importantly, endless. It will never be pumped dry, mined-out, embargoed or blockaded.”
Ethanol refineries convert residual biomass, or leftover plant matter, into usable energy.
In 2005, the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the Energy Information Administration and the “Wall Street Journal” reported that the energy mix for the United States was as follows:
Petroleum – 40 percent
Natural Gas - 23 percent
Coal - 23 percent
Nuclear - 8 percent
Renewables – 6 percent
Breaking down the renewables category:
Hydropower - 2.8 percent
Solid biomass - 2.4 percent
Geothermal - 0.4 percent
Biofuels - 0.3 percent
Wind - 0.1 percent
Solar - 0.1 percent
Ethanol, NRG and health effects
NRG, owner of the coal-fired Indian River Power Plant in Millsboro, has been named as one of the possible backers for an ethanol refinery. Ethanol refineries can use a lot of steam, so it seems a good fit to have it near an already existing power plant.
“Delaware is one of many places NRG has power plants that could be a potential source of thermal energy supply,” said Lori Neuman, NRG spokesperson. “ Our evaluation is currently in the preliminary stages.”
But, with the good comes the bad. While ethanol refineries can be a good alternative fuel source, they also create pollution, just like coal-fired power plants. Ethanol plants can release from 120 tons to 1,000 tons annually of volatile organic compounds or VOCs, said John Austin of Citizens for Clean Power.
“[Ethanol plants] are major sources of pollution under the Clean Air Act,” said Austin. “VOCs react with nitrogen oxides in the air from other sources such as auto exhaust and power plant emissions to form ozone.”
This summer alone Delaware had many high ozone days, which affects anyone with respiratory problems or asthma.
“Delaware is already a non-attainment area for ground level ozone,” said Austin. “A new major VOC source will make matters worse. It doesn’t seem to be a good idea to add to an existing health problem.”
Ethanol plants release many chemicals and pollutants including:
• Acetaldehyde which can cause irritation of the eyes, skin and respiratory tract
• Acrolein which has a disagreeable and acrid smell. It can cause skin damage with exposure.
• Formaldehyde which can irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, resulting in watery eyes, headache, a burning sensation in the throat, and difficulty breathing.
• Carbon monoxide
“Complaints from neighbors of [ethanol] plants of foul odors has forced existing plants to install additional pollution control equipment,” said Austin. “Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are probably human carcinogens.”
Split opinions
Testimony before the house committee on ethanol applauded Delaware’s efforts to become energy efficient and look into alternative sources of fuel, but more information on the role that Delaware can play is needed.
“I cringe to think of another power plant being built on our already compromised Indian River and Bay. Wind power doesn’t cause pollution and would be easy to install offshore. Why toy with another plan that will further damage our air quality?” asked Joan Deaver of Citizens for a Better Sussex. “Our Inland Bays clean up plan has been on the table since 1998. This is not the time to saddle our state with more refineries.”
Mary Beth Stanek, director of the environment and energy for General Motors, gave a presentation this week to the task force committee and cited several reasons why an ethanol refinery could benefit Delaware.
Stanek said:
•Ethanol is a renewable fuel
• Using ethanol fuel helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Ethanol fuel helps reduce dependence on petroleum and creates greater diversity in our nation’s energy supplies
• Ethanol could reduce smog-forming emissions
• Ethanol fuel can help support domestic agriculture industries and support new job growth
So far, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has not taken a position on the possible ethanol plants, but DNREC officials will make presentations to the House committee next week. The workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 3, and Thursday, Oct. 4, in Dover.
Local task force members include Rep. Joe Booth, R-Georgetown, and Sen. George Bunting, D-Bethany Beach. Neither could be reached by phone at press time.
“People are split on this subject and there are a lot of facts to be sorted out. I haven’t formed a firm opinion yet, but my impression is that Delaware is probably not a good place for a large corn-based ethanol plant,” said Alan Muller of Green Delaware. “We don’t need the additional air pollution and there is not enough locally-grown grain to feed such a facility. It is no happenstance that most of these projects are in the Midwest where the corn is.
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