A Fine for Not Using a Biofuel That Doesn’t Exist

[alp227]

When the companies that supply motor fuel close the books on 2011, they will pay about $6.8 million in penalties to the Treasury because they failed to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law.

But there was none to be had. Outside a handful of laboratories and workshops, the ingredient, cellulosic biofuel, does not exist.

In 2012, the oil companies expect to pay even higher penalties for failing to blend in the fuel, which is made from wood chips or the inedible parts of plants like corncobs. Refiners were required to blend 6.6 million gallons into gasoline and diesel in 2011 and face a quota of 8.65 million gallons this year.

“It belies logic,” Charles T. Drevna, the president of the National Petrochemicals and Refiners Association, said of the 2011 quota. And raising the quota for 2012 when there is no production makes even less sense, he said.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/10/business/energy-environment/companies-face-fines-for-not-using-unavailable-biofuel.html

[eppur_se_muova]

1. MTHF (2-methyltetrahydrofuran), derived from corncobs, is available in tank car loads.

Last edited Tue Jan 10, 2012, 05:32 PM - Edit history (2)

It is widely used as an industrial solvent.

"Not available" in this context means "too expensive, we refuse to use it".

Remember that tetraethyllead was introduced as an "alternative" to ethanol, because the oil companies did not produce ethanol. 10% ethanol would have made leaded gasoline completely unnecessary, but would have meant 10% less profit. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=51906&mesg_id=52158

6.6 million gallons isn't even a drop in Big Oil's bucket. In November and December, U.S. fuel exports averaged between 2.77 million and 2.89 million barrels a day, the highest ever. (One barrel = 42 gal, so that's >120 million gal/day).

This is just industry shills whining about gubmint innerference in the sacred Free Market.

edit: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_(unit)

ETA: There is some very confusing info in this article:

The goal set by the law for vehicle fuel from cellulose was 250 million gallons for 2011 and 500 million gallons for 2012. (These are small numbers relative to the American fuel market; the E.P.A. estimates that gasoline sales in 2012 will amount to about 135 billion gallons, and highway diesel, about 51 billion gallons.)

This is drastically different from the 6.6/8.65 million gallons given in the third para -- by a factor of ~40.