Shell Introduces Advanced Biofuel

We have all been hearing the advent of biofuels and apparently Shell will be the first service station to introduce advanced biofuel made from wheat straw. All this will take effect on June 10 where a Shell Station based in Canada will blend 10% cellulosic ethanol to all regular gasoline purchased.

Cellulosic ethanol, as an end fuel, is identical to ethanol but it can offer up to 90% less lifecycle CO2 emissions than gasoline. It is a key part of Shell’s strategic investment and development program in sustainable biofuels.

“We’re proud of this world-first,” said Brian Foody, Chief Executive Officer of Iogen Corporation. “Building a demo plant is one thing but you then need to go through the process of operating the new technology at scale, learning, modifying and lowering costs. With the volumes we’re producing today, we’re confident about the future.”

The next thing we have to do now is to see how it will affect the vehicle performance and if they are indeed reliable as what studies say. To date, it is still too early to rejoice and a lot of factors, mostly on the end of the consumers, have to be addressed and this includes the reaction of their cars to this new kind of fuel.

(Source) Press

Tags: biofuels, Canada, Cars, cellulosic, co2 emissions, consumers, demo, Ethanol, fuel source, gasoline, new technology, shell station, vehicle performance, wheat straw