VTI has reviewed the knowledge on methanol and ethanol as vehicle fuels. Alcohol-powered vehicles can be made very clean. Emissions of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide can be reduced to very low levels. Carbon dioxide emissions can also be low, depending on how the fuel is manufactured. Using known technology, we can already produce ethanol from a couple of inexpensive raw materials available in limited or very limited quantities. In Sweden today, there is small-scale production of fuel-grade ethanol using waste from pulp manufacture, which is cheaper than using agricultural products. If we are to increase production of fuel-grade ethanol, Sweden will encounter problems of cost and capacity which are to some extent interrelated. In utilising the cheapest raw materials first, there is a risk that the marginal cost of production may rise with increasing production volumes. In regard to agricultural products, the technology for ethanol production is considered relatively mature. The prospects of drastic cost reductions are limited. However, the technologies for manufacturing ethanol from wood and forestry waste are considerably less developed, and there are consequently greater prospects of reducing costs. It is considered possible to produce at most 250 000 tonnes of ethanol a year using raw materials from forestry at relatively low cost. There appears to be no possibility of producing ethanol from inexpensive domestic raw materials in quantities sufficient to cover present Swedish needs for vehicle fuel. Even if pulp production were abandoned completely and all raw material were utilised for ethanol production, this would not be enough to cover the Swedish needs for vehicle fuel. (A)
Abstract