CARBON NEUTRAL FUEL

Definition:
Carbon neutral is a term used to describe
fuels that neither contribute to nor reduce the
amount of carbon (measured in the release of
carbon
dioxide) into the
atmosphere.

ETHANOL FROM ETHANE

Ethanol is manufactured by reacting ethane with
steam. The reaction is reversible, and the formation of
the ethanol is exothermic.
Only 5% of the ethane is converted into ethanol at
each pass through the reactor. By removing the ethanol
Ethane
is a chemical
compound
with chemical
formula
from
the equilibrium
mixture
and recycling
the ethane,
it
C2H6.
It is the
only two-carbon
is possible
to achieve an overall 95% conversion.
alkenes that is an aliphatic hydrocarbon. At standard
temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless
gas.
Ethane is isolated on an industrial scale from natural
gas, and as a byproduct of petroleum refining. Its chief
use is as petrochemical feedstock for ethylene
production.

The chief use of ethane is in the

chemical industry in the production of
ethane by steam cracking. When
diluted with steam and briefly heated
to very high temperatures, heavy
hydrocarbons break down into lighter
hydrocarbons, and saturated
hydrocarbons become unsaturated.
Ethane is favored for ethane
production because the steam
cracking of ethane is fairly selective
for ethane, while the steam cracking
of heavier hydrocarbons yields a
product mixture poorer in ethane, and
richer in heavier alkenes such as
propane and butadiene, and in
aromatic hydrocarbons.

GROWING CORN FOR

ETHANOL
Ethanol is a renewable energy source because
the energy is generated by using a resource,
sunlight, which cannot be depleted. Creation of
ethanol starts with photosynthesis causing a
feedstock, such as sugar cane or corn, to grow.
These feedstock's are processed into ethanol
Rather than grow algae and then harvest and
ferment it the algae grow in sunlight and produce
ethanol directly which is removed without killing
the algae. It is claimed the process can produce
6000 gallons per acre per year compared with
400 gallons for corn production.