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with stakeholders and worldwide industry groups, and work on a number of drafts prior to the submission of the final proposal. Some of those discussions will focus on modeling framework that captures both domestic and international agricultural sector changes and their GHG emission impacts. The agency will collaborate with experts to improve understanding of agricultural nitrous oxide emissions, develop country specific GHG emissions factors associated with land-use change and agricultural practices, and update petroleum baselines and renewable fuel production process data. Every three years the EPA will report to Congress on the RFS impacts. “We will also be doing studies on how these biofuels affect our air quality as a result of these different blend-level requirements,” Machiele said.
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Midlevel Blends Minnesota Department of Agriculture senior market specialist Ralph Groschen, National Renewable Energy Laboratory project leader Steve Przesmitzki, and Lamberty launched the midlevel ethanol blends panel on the final day of the conference. According to Groschen, Minnesota currently produces three times more ethanol than the state can use. To increase ethanol consumption in his state and in the country the E10 blend wall must be overcome, he said. Before that can happen the EPA has to sign off on midlevel blends. Groschen presented information on the process that is required to gain EPA Groschen approval for E20 and outlined the five kinds of data that must be generated, including information on material compatibility, vehicle drivability, vehicle exhaust emission, health effects and durability or mileage. Groschen said Minnesota’s push for E20 approval could benefit the ethanol industry on a national level because EPA approval of a new fuel will not be state specific. The EPA is the biggest hurdle that must be overcome to get a new fuel approved for use,” Przesmitzki said. “Their responsibility is to protect the air quality in the United States, and any program for any fuel has to go through EPA to prove that it is substantially similar to a certification fuel,” he said. Przesmitzki explained that approval of E10 was different because it was done under old rules, while E20 approval falls under a new standard. Before the fuel is approved, it has to be proven that air quality will not be impacted by increased ethanol blends. According to Przesmitzki, the U.S. DOE predicts the E10 market will be saturated by 2013. Two paths can be taken to meet the RFS: quickly expanding the market for E85 or certifying a midlevel ethanol blend. Although the DOE supports expanding
ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2008