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Ethanol
This Factsheet gives an overview of the current and potential market
NNFCC
Introduction
Ethanol is a high volume commodity chemical. In 2008,
world ethanol production reached 61 million tonnes per
year, with the vast majority of ethanol derived from the
fermentation of biomass feedstocks (1, 2).
Current applications
Ethanol is used in three sectors: fuels & fuel additives,
chemicals, and food & beverages. The largest market
sector is fuel & fuel additives, where ethanol is used as
a petrol substitute in internal combustion engines, or
converted to ethyl tertiary butyl ether, a fuel additive.
The vast majority of ethanol used in this sector is biobased, and in receipt of financial incentives.
In the chemicals industry, ethanol is used as a solvent
and as a building block for chemical synthesis. The
industry consumed about 6 million tonnes of ethanol
in 2003, and is the only market in which fossil-derived
ethanol has a significant share. In the same year about
3 million tonnes of ethanol were consumed in the food
and beverages sector primarily as an ingredient in
alcoholic drinks (2).
Renewable Chemicals
Factsheet
Markets
Potential Market Growth
The demand for ethanol fuel is largely
directed by policy and legislation.
Ethanol can also be used to synthesise a
number of basic chemicals and polymer
precursors, including ethylene, ethyl
acetate, and acetic acid. The use of biobased ethanol in industrial applications
does not receive subsidies, and demand
from these sectors will depend on
production economics and changes in
petrochemical prices.
Ethylene
Ethylene may be synthesised by the
dehydration of ethanol. This process
has been used for the commercial
production of ethylene in the past, and
is experiencing renewed interest as
market demand for bio-based products
increases.
Head of Biorefining
enquiries@nnfcc.co.uk
www.nnfcc.co.uk
Ethyl acetate
Current Status
The majority of ethanol is produced in the US and Brazil. Worldwide, the largest bioethanol producer is
Poet Energy supplying 4.6 million tonnes per year from 26 facilities across the US, followed by Archer
Daniel Midland, with capacity for 2.7 million tonnes per year. In the UK, British Sugar began ethanol
production in 2007, producing up to 55,000 tonnes per year from sugar beet. A second UK plant began
production on Teeside in March 2010. The Ensus plant has capacity to produce over 300,000 tonnes per
year of ethanol from animal feed wheat.
Acetic acid
Acetic acid may be produced by the oxidation of ethanol.
The process has been demonstrated at pilot scale and is
available to licence from Wacker Chemie. The major use of
acetic acid is as a chemical intermediate, in the production
of vinyl acetate monomer, acetic anhydride, and ethyl
acetate.
Technology
Production route from biomass
The production of ethanol from the fermentation of glucose
is a mature process, practised at large scale around the
world. Fermentation is typically carried out by yeast to
produce a dilute aqueous ethanol solution (approximately
10-13%), which is concentrated by distillation and the use
of molecular sieves.
There are several plants which demonstrate the conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to ethanol (often
termed cellulosic ethanol) in the EU and US, but as yet no fully commercial plants. Syngas fermentation
to ethanol is proven at pilot scale, and is expected to be demonstrated by 2012 (8). INEOS Bio are
assessing the feasibility for a plant to convert biodegradable household and commercial wastes to
ethanol in the north east of England. Commercial operation is expected to start from 2012.
Environmental Performance
The substitution of petroleum derived ethanol with bioethanol leads to non-renewable energy savings
of between 35 GJ/t (60%) and 80 GJ/t (130%). The greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings range
from 2 tCO2e/t (20%) to 4 tCO2e/t (280%) (2). The land required to manufacture bioethanol by current
processes ranges from 0.12 to 0.29 ha/t depending on feedstock.
The substitution of petroleum derived PE with bio-based PE leads to non-renewable energy savings
of between 25 GJ/t (38%) and
102 GJ/t (156%) depending on
feedstock. The GHG emissions
References and Further Reading
savings over the lifetime of the
1. www.ethanolrfa.org/pages/statistics#E
material range from 2 to 6 tCO2e/t,
depending on the feedstock and
2. Medium and Long-term Opportunities and Risks of
end-of-life fate (2).
the Biotechnological Production of Bulk Chemicals
Global Manufacturers
POET: www.poetenergy.com
UK Manufacturers
ADM: www.adm.com
ETH Bio energy: www.eth.com
4. www.dow.com/commitments/studies/sugar.htm
5. www.braskem.com.br/site/portal_braskem/en/sala_de_
imprensa/sala_de_imprensa_detalhes_8129.aspx
6. www.solvinpvc.com/solvinservices/news/0,,62076-2-0,00.htm
7. NNFCC 08-007 Lignocellulosic Ethanol Plant in the UK Feasibility Study, July 2008 Black & Veatch
8. www.ineosbio.com/76-Press_releases-6.htm
July 2010