Audi Says Synthetic 'E-Fuel' From Microorganisms Is Better Than Gas Or Diesel

forbes ^ | 1/31/2014 @ 11:58PM | Matthew de Paula,

[ckilmer]

Hydrogen and natural gas are among the alternative fuels starting to get more attention as car companies work to reduce emissions. But Audi is exploring yet another option that you may not have heard much about yet: e-fuels.

[ckilmer]

The German automaker, which aims to develop synthetically engineered e-fuels as a viable alternative to gasoline and diesel, got a step closer to that goal recently. It completed a series of tests that prove its e-fuels burn more efficiently in internal combustion engines than traditional fossil fuels and produce fewer emissions. Aston Martin Favors Hydrogen Over Hybrids Matthew de Paula Matthew de Paula Contributor Alternative Fuel Is The Tokyo Motor Show's Big Theme Matthew de Paula Matthew de Paula Contributor Do Diesel Cars Save You Money? Not Always Matthew de Paula Matthew de Paula Contributor Come Along On A Harrowing Ride In A Solar Car Matthew de Paula Matthew de Paula Contributor

The next step is to refine the production process to create large quantities of synthetic “e-ethanol” and “e-diesel” for use in cars.

Audi says e-fuel is superior because of its purity. Unlike fossil fuels, which vary in composition depending on their place of origin, synthetic fuels contain no olefins or aromatic hydrocarbons. This optimizes combustion and results in fewer emissions.

Audi has been producing e-fuels at a research facility in Hobbs, New Mexico, through a partnership with Joule, a firm that specializes in developing synthetic fuels with solar energy. At the facility, genetically engineered photosynthetic microorganisms are kept in water (which could be brackish, salt or wastewater). They metabolize carbon dioxide after being exposed to sunlight and produce fuel as a byproduct. Audi tested its new synthetic "e-fuel" in an engine with a small glass window so that engineers could observe the combustion process. (Credit: Audi)

Audi tested its new synthetic “e-fuel” in an engine with a small glass window so that engineers could observe the combustion process. (Credit: Audi)

The e-fuel tests, conducted at Audi’s research and development facility in Ingolstadt, Germany, focused on the combustion process.

One test simulated conditions inside an engine using a pressure chamber, and a camera recorded how the synthetic fuel behaved. Another test used an engine with a small quartz glass window so engineers could see how the synthetic fuel interacted with the airflow in the combustion chamber.

“We now know that our e-fuels are the same as or even better than conventional fuels,” Reiner Mangold, head of sustainable product development at Audi, said in a report that the company published.

Mangold said the tests also demonstrate that electric power is not the only option for making cars more environmentally friendly. “There are other concepts that permit long-distance, low-emission driving,” he said. (Aston Martin, which is exploring the use of hydrogen power in its cars, makes a similar point here.)

Audi did not offer any estimate as to when synthetic fuel might be ready for sale to consumers.

Joule says on its website that the method it uses for creating synthetic fuels is better than other methods that use agricultural or algal biomass, such as corn or fibers from plants, because no arable land, fresh water or crops are required.

Once the technology is fully commercialized, Joule aims to produce 25,000 gallons of synthetic ethanol and 15,000 gallons of synthetic diesel per acre annually, for as little as $1.28 per gallon and $50 barrel, excluding subsidies.

[ckilmer]

fyi

Once the technology is fully commercialized, Joule aims to produce 25,000 gallons of synthetic ethanol and 15,000 gallons of synthetic diesel per acre annually, for as little as $1.28 per gallon and $50 barrel, excluding subsidies.

[Scrambler Bob]

Remember to add in the taxes.

[ckilmer]

for more information do this google search
https://www.google.com/#q=Audi+is+doing+with+synthetic+fuel

[Telepathic Intruder]

$1.28 per gallon. That’s before taxes.

[SandRat]

What sounds familiar

German
Hydrogen

think the Hindenburg

[2ndDivisionVet]

If I had a garage for the machine to sit in, I could collect used vegetable cooking oil from 2 or 3 restaurants and use it to power my diesel car, after processing it, at a cost of about eighty cents a gallon.

[The Great RJ]

Ethanol is not a very good motor fuel as it is not energy dense. Compared to gasoline ethanol has about 40% less energy by volume. This means fewer miles per gallon and less range on a tank of fuel. The synthetic ethanol would have to be very cheap to make the cost per mile comparable to using gasoline in a vehicle that gets 30-40 mpg.

[scooby321]

All I know is we bought a Audi Q7 and its the best built car we ever had.

[bigbob]

There are some forms of algae that are virtually ALL oil, and make exceptionally good biodiesel feedstocks. The problem is they require a bunch of energy to grow. So there’s a real opportunity to develop the “factory” that uses natural energy inputs (e.g. sunlight), doesn’t require tending, and can utilize otherwise wasted space. As an example, one outfit was looking at something similar to a garbage bag with one transparent side, that would be laid in shallow rows in the desert. Engineers have solved bigger problems in the past, and e-fuels are another case where the right organism and the right kind of factory will be needed.

[ckilmer]

The company that’s doing the work for audi is Joule Unlimited. They’re an MIT company with a research facility in New Mexico. The company has won a bunch of awards.
They have bioengineered bacteria to excrete diesal fuel—so there’s no refining involved. The bacteria excrete the diesal and it goes straight to the fuel tank. That’s why the cost is so cheap. Here’s more reasearch on them.
https://www.google.com/#q=joule+unlimited

[Red Badger]

I’m having a hard time believing that much from a single acre, annually.

and

I’m having a hard time believing that CHEAP................$1.28 per gallon? Really?

If that were so, startup money would be flowing like water from Niagara Falls..............

[ckilmer]

What Joule Unlimited is producing is a drop in fuel. They can tune their bacteria to make any kind of fuel they want. The bacteria excrete the fuel and they skim it off. At that point its ready to go in the gas tank. No refining necessary. They don’t have to kill the bacteria. The bacteria just go right on excreting biodiesal, jetfuel, ethanol or whatever they have bioengineered the bacteria to produce.

[4Speed]

25,000 gallons a year, per Acre...........

How many cars for 1 year, per Acre.........would depend on how you drive. 12,000 miles per year, @ 25 MPG, 480 Gallons per year = 1 Car....= 1 ACRE could power 52 Cars per year.

Someone know how man cars in the USA, we could see if we had enough land.........LOL

[KarlInOhio]

http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/DOT-Miles-Driven.php lists the total distance driven in the US is just short of 3 trillion miles. That would be 4.8 million acres at 25 mpg or a little less than a fifth of Ohio.

[Mr. K]

How would you compare it to a honda?

I have been eyeing an Audi Q7 but I feel a sincere sense of loyalty to Honda for the last 4 absolutely trouble-free cars I have gotten from them

[Mike Darancette]

Let a thousand flowers bloom. A different fuel station on each corner.

[right way right]

So the real question is whether it is going to used to profit and improve peoples lives or for control of peoples lives for the benefit of tyrannical powers?

[ckilmer]

Joule Unlimited has bioengineer bacteria — not algae— to produce whatever kind of fuel they want. The first generation was ethanol. They have recently been producing biodiesel. I think they have done test bacteria for jet fuel and gasoline.

The really unique thing about their process is that they don’t need to refine the biofuel. It can be skimmed right off and dropped into the fuel tank. Thats what makes it so inexpensive.

The guys who developed the bacteria to do this are some of the top geneticists at MIT.