EPA Blue Ribbon Panel Report Recognizes Benefits of Ethanol
28 July 1999
EPA Blue Ribbon Panel Report Recognizes Benefits of Ethanol as an Alternative to MTBEDEDHAM, Mass., July 27 -- BC International Corporation, a leading developer of biomass to ethanol technology, today gave credit to the EPA's Blue Ribbon Panel on Oxygenates in Gasoline for recognizing the benefits of ethanol as an alternative to MTBE in gasoline, but noted that ethanol's potential is even greater than experts realize. The Panel's recently released Executive Summary and Recommendations describes ethanol as an "effective fuel-blending component, made from domestic grain and potentially from recycled biomass, that provides high octane, carbon monoxide benefits, and may contribute to reduction of the use of aromatics and related air quality benefits." Stephen Gatto, President and CEO of BC International Corporation, praised the Panel's members for their hard work. "They have set the stage for new policy measures and regulatory programs to reduce MTBE use in gasoline," he said. Gatto pointed to recent studies that have shown that the use of MTBE, an oxygenate, in gasoline could have contaminated water resources nationwide. The Panel noted that one way to reduce the use of MTBE in gasoline is by waiving the federal mandate that requires gasoline in certain regions to contain oxygenates. But Gatto noted that ethanol, also an oxygenate, can bring benefits beyond air quality improvements and octane enhancements, without having the undesirable side effects of MTBE. "Ethanol produced from biomass helps turn agricultural and wood waste into resources that reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil," stated Gatto. "There are economic and environmental advantages in addition to those measured at the tailpipe," he added. Gatto pointed out that biomass ethanol production offers solutions to vexing environmental problems. Ethanol can be produced from agricultural wastes that are often burned, and can cause air pollution. Likewise, ethanol can be made from wood waste that in many Western regions might otherwise be a wildfire hazard. Gatto also noted that using ethanol in place of MTBE can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which lead to global warming and climate change. Increasing domestic ethanol production capacity will also promote fuel diversity, create jobs, and bolster local economies, according to Gatto. He noted that using available biomass resources to produce ethanol to replace MTBE in reformulated gasoline in the Northeast and in California would create over 10,000 factory and biomass supply jobs. He stated that increased ethanol production would also provide a sustainable fuel source for clean-burning transportation technologies such as fuel cells and other alternative fuel vehicles. Gatto added that any waiver of the oxygenate requirement should take these noteworthy benefits into account, and replace that requirement with a Renewable Fuel Standard that would require that a certain percentage of gasoline include renewable fuels, such as biomass ethanol. He noted that increased development of biomass ethanol represents a long-term sustainable and economic opportunity that is consistent with clean-burning gasoline, prevention of water contamination, and other policy goals that were beyond the scope of the Panel's work. Gatto's company, BC International Corporation, is currently completing the financing to construct the world's first commercial bioethanol manufacturing facility, a 20 million-plus gallon plant in Jennings, Louisiana that will use sugar cane residue as a feedstock. The company also has signed a letter of intent with the city of Gridley, California to develop a second facility that will use rice straw and wood chips as its feedstock. In addition, BC International has announced plans for a project in Chester, California that will utilize wood waste to produce ethanol.