Sebring to run on cellulose

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"In a breakthrough for the renewable fuels arena and auto racing, KL Process Design Group of Rapid City, SD, will supply the American Le Mans Series with cellulosic E85 racing ethanol for the 2008 season opener this month - the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 15.

Consumer E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol is produced from biomass such as weed waste, switchgrass, or citrus. Corvette Racing will be the first team to use the cellulosic based ethanol in competition.

The plant providing the fuel is located on mile south of Upton, WY, and is the first commercially operational cellulosic ethanol facility in the United States. The plant is the result of six years of development efforts between KL and local universities.

Cellulose is the primary structural component of green plants, making up the primary cell wall. Special enzymes break down cellulose in biomass materials and turn it into sugars that are then fermented and processed into cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol, like grain-based ethanol, is a renewable fuel source that can be used in today's cars. Unlike grain-based ethanol, it does no used food resource.

According to a US Department of Energy study conducted by the Argonne Laboratories of the University of Chicago, one of the benefits of cellulosic ethanol is that it reduces green house gas emissions by 85 percent over reformulated gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol also yields roughly 80 percent more energy than is required to grow and convert it.

There are at least two automotive manufacturers that will run cellulosic E85 racing ethanol during the 2008 season, Corvette Racing and Aston Martin Racing." - Mechanical Engineering Vol130 March 2008

For more information on cellulosic ethanol......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_ethanol

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ALMS is really a leader in many ways including the E85/E10 initiative.
Audi and Peugeot are set to run Biodiesel in ALMS 2008! -->Click

I swear last year at Laguna Seca / ALMS when the cars came by, it was the most unusual smell, almost like dinner cooking!

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Yeah when i used to have my TDI, i ran biodiesel a few times. I swore it made the engine quiet, and the exhaust smelled like fried chicken.
The main reason for posting this though is to shed light on the cellulosic ethanol process. Seems that if it's cheap enough, it could make ethanol a viable fuel option. Did i mention that E85 has an octane rating between 100-105 on the average. And E100, which is illegal in the US for some reason, has an octane rating of about 116.