Glossary of Terms
Anhydrous Ethanol: an organic compound with a carbon bound to a hydroxyl group. Methanol, CH3OH, and ethanol, CH3CH2OH are examples.
Bagasse: The solid material left after processing sugar cane to produce sugar or ethanol. Often burned for power production, but could be made into more ethanol, with cellulosic processing techniques.
Biodiesel: A renewable, biodegradable transportation fuel for use in diesel engines. It is produced from organically derived oils or fats. Biodiesel can be used as a component of or replacement for diesel fuel.
Biofuel: Liquid, solid, or gaseous fuel produced by conversion of biomass. Woodchips, biodiesel, ethanol from biomass, bio-oil, and biogas are all examples.
Biomass: Organic matter available on a renewable basis. Includes agricultural crops, residues, wood and wood waste, animal wastes, fast-growing trees, municipal waste, and food processing waste.
Bio-oil: A liquid fuel produced by the pyrolysis of biomass. Bio-oil can be upgraded to ethanol or other biofuels and materials.
Biorefinery: A facility for the production of biofuels.
BTU: British Thermal Unit. A customary unit of measure representing the heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit at sea level.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): A greenhouse gas is also a gas co-product of ethanol production used for beverage carbonation, refrigeration of food products (dry ice), and food preservation.
Carbon Financial Instruments: (CFIs) currently traded on the CCX and the ECX. CFIs represent one metric tonne (2,200 lbs.) of CO2-equivalent emission reduction to the atmosphere.
Carbon Market: The market resulting from the buying and selling of emission allowances and reduction credits in order to enable countries under Kyoto and companies under CCX to meet their GHG emission targets.
Cellulosic Ethanol: Ethanol made from cellulose or hemi-cellulose after breaking them down into constituent sugars.
CHP: Combined Heat and Power. The production of electricity and useful thermal energy from a common fuel source; increasing energy efficiency.
Clean Air Act: In 1990, Congress passed amendments to the Clean Air Act, which set minimum standards for air quality in America's cities. Cities with unnecessary amounts of carbon monoxide and ozone must create programs to combat air pollution.
DDGS: Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles. Nutrient rich co-product of ethanol production from grains. Can be high quality livestock feed.
Denatured Ethanol: Ethanol made unfit for beverage use.
Distillation: Extraction of a volatile component by condensation and collection of vapors produced as a mixture and heated.
Dry mill: An ethanol production process in which the entire corn kernel is first ground into flour before processing. In addition to ethanol, dry mills also produce dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) which is fed to livestock; and carbon dioxide which is used in food processing and bottling.
E10: a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.
E85: a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Enzyme: A protein or protein based molecule that can speed up chemical reactions in biomass.
Ethanol: A clean-burning, high octane, renewable fuel made from grain or other biomass sources. Ethanol can be used as an efficient octane-boosting fuel additive or as a stand-alone fuel.
Ethanol Optimization: Designing an engine for better efficiency, performance, or fuel economy when powered by ethanol.
Feedstock: Any material converted to another useful form or product. An example would be cornstarch for ethanol production.
Fermentation: A biochemical reaction that breaks down complex organic molecules into simple materials. Bacteria or yeasts, for instance, can ferment sugars to ethanol.
Flex-Fuel Vehicle (FFV): A car or truck that can run on any blend of unleaded gasoline with up to 85 percent ethanol (E85), or traditional fuels such as ethanol free gasoline or a mixture of alternative and traditional fuels.
Gasification: A chemical or heat process to convert coal, biomass, wastes, or other carbon containing materials into a gaseous form that can be burned to generate power or processed into chemicals and fuels, including ethanol.
Greenhouse Gases: Those gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, that are transparent to solar radiation but opaque to long wave radiation.
Heat Recovery and Hot Water Heating Systems: Extract up to 99% of heat from flue gasses and wastewater to return the energy in the form of high temperature hot water or pre-heated make-up air.
Hydrated Ethanol: Ethanol containing a significant amount of water. Can be used as a fuel in engines designed or modified for the purpose.
Net energy balance: The difference between the energy produced and the energy it takes to produce it. Research has shown that ethanol has a net energy balance of 1.67 to 1, meaning that for every 100 BTUs of energy used to make ethanol, 167 BTUs of ethanol are produced.
Oxygenate: Ethanol is an oxygenate, meaning that it adds oxygen to the fuel mixture. More oxygen helps the fuel burn more completely-dropping the amount of damaging emissions from the tailpipe. A fuel such as ethanol-blended gasoline that contains high oxygen content is called "oxygenated."
Ozone: Good ozone (atmospheric) that lies in the upper reaches of the atmosphere help to shield us from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Conversely, when ground level ozone (tropospheric) is in the air we breathe, it's not healthy. What we frequently call "smog" is really ozone build-up in the air. The use of ethanol-blended gasoline has been shown to help diminish tropospheric ozone levels.
Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS): Part of proposed federal energy legislation that would set a minimum number of gallons of renewable fuels to be used in the nation's transportation fuel supply each year. The RFS would take account of fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
VEETC: Stands for Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, 2004 federal legislation that strengthened the nation's commitment to renewable fuels by expanding tax incentives for ethanol and biodiesel, increasing flexibility for petroleum companies to blend ethanol, and guaranteeing that Highway Trust Fund revenues are not poorly affected by enhanced ethanol use.
Wet mill: An ethanol production facility in which the corn is first soaked or "steeped" in water before processing. In addition to ethanol, wet mills have the capability to produce co-products such as industrial starch, food starch, high fructose corn syrup, gluten feed and corn oils.