By Roberto Salomón
From
CUBASOLAR’s quarterly Energía y Tú, No. 29, January-March 2005
Ethanol, one of sugar
cane’s best known by-products, is in full swing in Cuba today since, in
addition to its usefulness in the production of beverages, its qualities as
an alternative fuel are under study.
Indeed, as tens of thousands of
liters are used to produce alcohol and spirits, the Ministries of Sugar (MINAZ)
and Transportation (MITRANS) are conducting joint research into its
possibilities to propel vehicles.
The most recent studies –under
way since 1997– resulted in certain combinations of regular gasoline and
ethanol setting in motion 114 vehicles of the two branches which traveled an
overall distance of a million and a half kilometers, as confirmed by
specialists from CETRA (Transportation Research and Development Center) and
the sugar cane institutions.
Both entities are working together to tackle the lack of sufficient fossil fuels, a critical problem which made them think about renewable energy sources.
Begun at CETRA, the first stage of this study led to the initial conclusion
that, under the existing circumstances in Cuba, a stable, efficient mixture
could be reached by adding 20-25% of ethanol to regular gasoline, as was
evidenced by benchmarking and laboratory tests.
That such proportion increases
gasoline’s octane number was proved in experiments performed at Habana
province’s sugar mill ‘Camilo Cienfuegos’ that yielded more positive than
negative results. Work was thus extended to other mills, like the nearby
‘Héctor Molina’, ‘Manuel Martínez Prieto’ in the capital city, and ‘Antonio
Guiteras’ in Las Tunas province.
Experts from both fields agree
that these ethanol and gasoline mixtures will be marketed depending on the
economic situation. In the meantime, the country continues its preparation
in this sphere, taking into account that fossil fuels tend to run out.
CETRA manages research and
MITRANS controls the transportation policies, whereas the sugar cane
industry provides both the ethanol and the vehicles needed for
experimenting, which also includes the effects of mixing ethanol and diesel.
A combination of ethanol and
gasoline –called mofuco– was employed in Cuba during World War II
owing to the wartime-related fuel shortage, and a few times afterward, but
its use never became widespread.
There are references of further
studies made in Cuban laboratories in 1951, and 10 years after that, on a
combination of ethanol and gasoline with different tetraethyl lead contents.
Five years later, the then Empresa Consolidada del Petróleo
researched into and made experiments with stabilizers for mixtures of
hydrated alcohol and gasoline.
Another 10 years passed by
before the Centro de Desarrollo de la Industria del Petróleo tested
various types of gasoline base and a number of mixtures. One of them
consisted of 15% ethanol for cases with octane numbers below 83.
Similarly, the Instituto
Cubano del Petróleo studied the possibilities of mixtures with a 30%
sugar cane alcohol component.
As is evidenced by the above
research works and those currently in progress at CETRA and some MINAZ’s
institutions, these mixtures not only increase the octane numbers and reduce
toxic gas emission and environmental pollution, they make it possible as
well to import less oil and gasoline and have more fuel for motor
vehicles.
Nor is it by accident that the
German Peter Baron, executive director of the International Sugar
Organization, said in a recent visit to Cuba that ethanol –and other
derivatives– will allow worldwide sugar workers to survive this produce’s
current low prices.
With more than four million cars
operating with either this mixture or only ethanol, Brazil is at this moment
where the greatest advance has been made in this regard, what with its
production of over 15 billion liters for that purpose, a figure expected to
increase noticeably this year.
Plans have been developed as well in the United States to extend the use of ethanol, and other countries like Germany, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Italy, Spain, India, Ukraine, Australia, South Africa and Cuba, among others, are also working on it for economic or ecological ends.
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What’s ethanol?
A.k.a. vinic alcohol or ethyl alcohol, ethanol (C2H5OH) is a clear, colorless liquid with a characteristic odor and a burnt taste, widely used to produce beer, wine, brandy and other spirits. It’s typically found in dissolved solutions, mainly with a 95% ethanol and 5% water volume.
Ethanol is obtained by
fermentation of sugars from potato starch, sugar cane, corn and
other cereals through a process practiced since ancient times all
the way up to the present-day production of a large part of
industrial ethanol. Its fermentation reaction (C6H12O6
2C2H5OH
+ 2CO2) produces some additional substances as a result
of yeast impurity. The liquid thus fermented contains between 7 and
12% ethanol, so some distillation is required to achieve higher
concentrations, which is made possible by its boiling point (78.5
°C), lower than water’s.