Drying Pipeline Fuel Grade Ethanol

The use of ethanol as a fuel would impact U.S. reliance on foreign oil. However, among the economic obstacles to it widespread use are the costs of shipping fuel-grade ethanol by truck. Shipping ethanol by pipeline would be significantly less expensive, but, unfortunately, pipeline ethanol is hydroscopic, which causes too much water to be present in the fuel. This project will develop a simple, end-of-pipeline membrane system that can easily remove excess water from ethanol. Phase I will fabricate novel, hollow fiber membranes, and then design and fabricate laboratory membrane module systems, consistent with the needs of in-line simple drying of pipeline ethanol. These membrane modules then will be used to demonstrate the drying of ethanol under representative pipeline conditions. Finally, long-term tests will be conducted, and an economic analysis will be performed. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Fuel grade ethanol from biomass is critical for the United States to develop appropriate levels of energy independence. This technology should enhance the use of fuel grade ethanol by significantly lowering the cost of delivery.