Study finds lower emissions from higher-ethanol gasoline

The E15 blend tested by UCR will also lower gasoline prices, says Governor’s office

University of California - Riverside

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Georgios Karavalakis

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Credit: UC Riverside

California residents will soon get some price relief at the pump and reductions in harmful vehicle emissions, thanks in part to a landmark UC Riverside vehicle emissions study.

Scientists at the university’s College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology, or CE-CERT, found that increasing the ethanol content in California gasoline from the allowable 10% to 15% cut harmful vehicle emissions, including small declines in nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are a primary precursor to ground-level ozone formation, and more significant reductions in particulate emissions.

The study, completed in 2023, was instrumental to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval of legislation this month to allow a 15% ethanol blend of gasoline at California fueling stations while the state continues research on whether the blend can meet state clean air requirements.

The 15% ethanol blend is also expected to reduce the price of a gallon by as much as 20 cents, a separate study by UC Berkeley and the U.S. Naval Academy found. This is because ethanol, made mostly from domestically grown corn and soybeans, is less costly than gasoline made from crude oil.

The UCR research was led by Georgios Karavalakis, a professor of chemical and environmental engineering, who oversaw state-of-the-art emission testing at CE-CERT, an off-campus research facility in Riverside on Columbia Avenue.

Karavalakis’ team first assembled a fleet of 20 passenger cars and light-duty trucks that was representative of the gasoline vehicles now on the state’s roadways.

“We carefully selected the vehicles to represent high-volume sales vehicles in California or vehicles of different standards,” Karavalakis said. “We wanted to get specific vehicles with specific standards and specific mileage.”

The researchers also carefully designed the test fuel so it would represent the kind of gasoline used throughout California. Karavalakis’ team collected gasoline samples from three different refineries in Southern California and one refinery in the Bay Area, then blended them together in equal amounts to create the final fuel used in the study.

The vehicles on each fuel were driven over repeated cycles on a testing device called a chassis dynamometer, following federally accepted procedures.

While nitrogen oxides, a key ingredient in smog, showed no significant change, the study revealed that emissions of carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons, and non-methane hydrocarbons declined with the E15 blend. Notably, emissions of particulate matter — tiny airborne particles that pose significant health risks — also dropped significantly when cars burned E15.

“Ethanol helps provide a much cleaner combustion because it has oxygen,” Karavalakis said. “That's why you have reductions in particulate emissions and in ultrafine particles, which are the very, very small particles that can be easily inhaled. They can also penetrate very deep in your respiratory system.”

The findings carry implications for California’s long-standing ethanol blend wall — a regulatory cap that limits ethanol content in gasoline to 10%. The state has been cautious about raising the limit due to concerns about air pollution in regions like the South Coast Air Basin and the San Joaquin Valley, which regularly fail to meet federal smog and particulate standards.

The study’s evidence may help regulators reconsider.

“Higher ethanol blends, as well as other low-carbon and zero-carbon biofuels, must be part of the mix for a sustainable and clean transport sector that will coexist with other proven clean technologies, such as battery electric vehicles,” Karavalakis said.

Karavalakis said the impacts go beyond saving a few dollars at the pump.

“It’s not only the consumer, but the industry as well,” he said. “We're talking about a domestically produced biofuel by American farmers that they will now have to produce more of to meet the needs of California. This practice will also contribute to energy security.”

Because ethanol is renewable, it has a lower carbon footprint than unblended gasoline. It is typically made from corn or cellulosic biomass. Its combustion releases carbon dioxide that was absorbed from the atmosphere during plant growth, effectively recycling carbon rather than adding new fossil-based carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Though California has restricted ethanol content in gasoline to 10%, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows E15 for use in all 2001 and newer vehicles, and the E15 blend is available in 31 states at over 3,000 gas stations. The UCR study may provide the kind of data state regulators need to support broader E15 adoption in California.

The UCR study was published in the journal Fuel and is available online.

The title of Karavalakis’ paper is “Expanding the ethanol blend wall in California: Emissions comparison.” Published in the journal Fuel by Elsevier LTD, the UCR co-authors are Tianbo Tang, Cavan McCaffery, Tianyi Ma, Peng Hao, Thomas Durbin, and Kent Johnson.

“There’s growing momentum to expand the use of lower-carbon fuels in California,” Karavalakis said. “This study shows that doing so can bring real emissions benefits — not just in theory, but on the road.”

---

Journal

Fuel

DOI

10.1016/j.fuel.2023.128836 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Court strikes Trump EPA rule for full-year 15% ethanol sales

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a Trump-era Environmental Protection Agency rule change that allowed for the sale of a 15% ethanol gasoline blend in the summer months.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The decision deals a significant blow to the ethanol industry and corn farmers who grow the crop from which the fuel additive is made. They had anticipated increased ethanol demand through year-round sales of the higher blend.


Most gasoline sold in the U.S. today is blended with 10% ethanol. Corn farmers and ethanol refiners have pushed for the government to allow the widespread sale of a 15% ethanol blend.

The Trump administration made the change to fulfill a campaign promise to Midwest farmers. The EPA under President Donald Trump announced the change in May 2019, ending a summer ban on the E15 blend. Provisions of the Clean Air Act have prohibited the sale of certain fuels with a higher volatility from June 1 through Sept. 15 to limit smog. Congress has allowed 10% ethanol, and the EPA in its 2019 ruling revised the interpretation of the exemption to federal law to include the 15% ethanol blend.

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Ethanol supporters contend that using more of the corn-based renewable fuel is better for the environment and helps meet federal climate change goals.

Three judges on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued Friday's decision. They said it's clear from federal law that Congress balanced “wide-ranging economic, energy-security, and geopolitical implications” and that the wording of the law “reflects a compromise, not simply a desire to maximize ethanol production at all costs.” They concluded Congress did not intend to allow ethanol blends higher than 10% to be widely sold year-round. They said the EPA overstepped its authority.

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, the trade group for the petroleum industry that challenged the EPA decision, said the court simply followed government's interpretation of the law in effect for 30 years.

“There is no ambiguity in statute and the previous administration’s reinterpretation overstepped the will of Congress,” said AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson.

The Iowa Corn Growers Association said it will continue to work with the Biden administration, Congress and state officials to maintain consumer access to E15 year-round.

"It does not make sense to reinstate barriers that could inhibit market access to a cleaner-burning fuel choice that combats climate change,” said Carl Jardon, a farmer from Randolph, Iowa, and president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

The decision is the second major court defeat for the ethanol industry in a week. On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court said some petroleum refiners may exempt themselves from requirements to blend ethanol into the gasoline they produce, further cutting into the amount of ethanol blended into the national fuel supply.

Ethanol supporters could ask the full D.C. Circuit Court to review the decision of the three-judge panel. They also could ask Congress to change the law to allow for year around E15 sales.

The industry is hoping this year's sales will not be curtailed because by the time the court issues its mandate and the EPA is required to comply most of the summer season will have passed.

This is the third summer E15 sales have been allowed and there were indications sales were increasing. Sales jumped 24% in Iowa from 2019 to 2020, surpassing 60.5 million gallons in 2020, the Renewable Fuels Association reported. That increase was despite a 14% drop in the state's overall petroleum consumption from 2019 levels due to fewer people driving because of he coronavirus pandemic.

David Pitt, The Associated Press

EPA raises amount of ethanol that must be blended with gas


An ethanol refinery is shown on July 22, 2021, in Chancellor, S.D. The Biden administration set new requirements Friday, June 3, 2022, that increase the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation's gasoline supply but reduce previous ethanol-blending requirements due to a plunge in fuel demand during the coronavirus pandemic. 

(AP Photo/Stephen Groves, File) 

DAVID PITT
Fri, June 3, 2022

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday set new requirements that increase the amount of ethanol that must be blended into the nation's gasoline supply but reduce previous ethanol-blending requirements due to a plunge in fuel demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it would set the 2022 levels for corn-based ethanol blended into gasoline at 15 billion gallons. But even as the new rules increased future ethanol requirements, the EPA retroactively reduced levels for 2020 by 2.5 billion gallons and by 1.2 billion gallons for 2021, reflecting the lower amount of ethanol produced and decreased sales of gasoline during a period when the virus led to a drop in driving.

Most gasoline sold in the U.S. contains 10% ethanol, and the fuel has become a key part of the economy in many Midwest states. The fuel consumes more than 40% of the nation's corn supply, and ethanol and other biofuel production plants offer jobs in rural areas that have seen steady population declines over the decades.

President Joe Biden is among many politicians from both parties who have frequently promised to support increases in the renewable fuel standard.

“Today’s actions will help to reduce our reliance on oil and put the RFS program back on track after years of challenges and mismanagement," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

The Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol lobbying group, criticized the retroactive reduction of biofuels targets but said the future requirements would bring certainty back to the renewable fuel standard, help lower gas prices and set a foundation for future growth.

In the last few days, wholesale ethanol prices have been as much as $1.30 per gallon lower than gasoline, the group said.

The final order also denies exemptions for certain oil refineries from ethanol requirements, saying they had failed to show exemptions were justified under the Clean Air Act.

The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers group, which represents refineries, called the 2022 figure “bewildering and contrary to the administration’s claims to be doing everything in their power to provide relief to consumers.” The group said unachievable mandates will increase fuel production costs and keep consumer prices high.

The Biden administration also announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would provide $700 million to support 195 biofuel producers in 25 states that faced unexpected market losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

Biden's EPA finalizes ethanol, biodiesel blending requirements, requiring largest amount on record

Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register
Fri, June 3, 2022

The Biden administration Friday made official its requirement for how much ethanol and biodiesel the oil industry must blend into the nation's fuel supply this year, giving the renewable fuel industry several wins.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deviated little from the proposal level announced late last year, the largest since the establishment of the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005. Most U.S. gasoline is blended with at least 10% ethanol under the federal mandate.

Iowa is both the nation's largest ethanol producer and corn grower, with about half the crop going to make the renewable fuel.

It also leads the nation in making biodiesel and is the second-largest grower of soybeans, a major feedstock for the fuel.

President Joe Biden announces the elimination of restrictions on E15, allowing the 15% ethanol blend of gasoline to be sold year-round, at POET Bioprocessing, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, in rural Menlo, Iowa.

The EPA said the decision on the standard reflects "the Biden administration’s commitment to reset and strengthen the RFS, bolster our nation’s energy security, and support homegrown biofuel alternatives to oil for transportation fuel."

Supporters hailed the decision, which comes at a time when gas prices have skyrocketed. In Iowa, the Friday median gas price was $4.493 a gallon, nearly 60% higher than a year earlier, according to AAA Gas Price.

The renewable fuels industry says gas blended with 15% ethanol, called E15, can cut pump prices by nearly 60 cents a gallon in some parts of the country. President Joe Biden visited an Iowa ethanol plant in April to announce he was lifting disputed smog-related restrictions on the summer sales of E15 to help cut gas prices

More: A new Iowa law will require more gas stations to carry E15. Can I use it? Will it save me money?

Also, a recent study shows that corn-ethanol has 46% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline.

"More ethanol in the fuel supply saves Americans money at the pump and lowers greenhouse gas emissions," said Chris Edgington, an Iowa farmer and National Corn Growers Association's board president.

“President Biden understands the important role the biofuels industry plays in supporting Iowa farmers and rural communities while reducing the price at the pump for consumers,” U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, an Iowa Democrat, said in a statement.

"By requiring petroleum refiners to blend larger volumes of low-cost biofuels like ethanol, today’s actions will put downward pressure on gas prices and provide economic relief to American families facing record-high pump prices," Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper said in a statement.

MORE: President Joe Biden in Iowa OKs more ethanol use to cut gas prices, pitches plan to improve rural America

But Chet Thompson, CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, said the blending requirement for this year is "contrary to the administration’s claims to be doing everything in their power to provide relief to consumers."

"Unachievable mandates will needlessly raise fuel production costs and further threaten the viability of U.S. small refineries, both at the expense of consumers," Thompson said.
Announcement also include denial of refinery exemptions

The EPA, after gathering comments since releasing it proposed blending requirements in December, said Friday it will require refiners to blend 20.77 billion gallons of ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable fuel this year.

Additionally, the oil industry must blend 250 million more gallons of renewable fuel, both this year and next, after a federal court found the Obama administration inappropriately reduced the 2016 blending requirements.

The agency also denied roughly 70 exemptions for small refineries, many of which had been granted under former President Donald Trump.

More: Verbio launches $115 million renewable natural gas, ethanol plant in Nevada; touts bigger plans

“The Biden EPA is to be commended for restoring sanity to the refinery exemption program,” Monte Shaw, the Iowa Renewable Fuel Association's executive director, said in a statement. “These exemptions have never been justified and were simply being used to illegally undermine the RFS. We are grateful this long nightmare is over.”

Shaw, however, said he's concerned about the EPA's decision to retroactively scale back the blending requirements for 2020 and 2021, although the agency did increase last year's requirement by 320 million over December's proposal.

More: Chevron plans to buy Ames-based biodiesel company Renewable Energy Group for $3.15 billion

The EPA attributed the reduction in the blending requirements to widespread travel shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic, which drastically reduced fuel demand.

“We cannot ignore that today’s final rule creates uncertainty," Shaw said. "Any of these numbers that look good today could be revised downward in the future."

But Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, a Washington, D.C., biofuels advocacy group, said the Biden's administration final rule "sends a positive signal" as the EPA works to set new guidelines for 2023, when the federal mandate will no longer outlines blending requirements.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: EPA announces renewable fuel standard, key figure for Iowa corn, ethanol

CORN IN YOUR TANK MEANS NO CORN TORTILLA'S

EXPLAINER: Why Biden is allowing more ethanol in gasoline

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday his administration will suspend a federal rule that bars higher levels of ethanol in gasoline during the summer. The move, which Biden announced during a visit to Iowa, is intended to tamp down prices at the pump that have spiked during Russia’s war with Ukraine. Iowa is a key producer of the corn-based fuel additive.

A look at how that the decision to authorize year-round use of so-called E15 will impact gas supplies, prices and the environment.

WHAT ACTION IS BIDEN TAKING?

Most gasoline sold in the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol. At Biden's direction, the Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow widespread sale of 15% ethanol blend that is usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns that it adds to smog in high temperatures.

Senior Biden administration officials said the move will save drivers an average of 10 cents per gallon at 2,300 gas stations that sell E15, as the high-blend ethanol is known. Those stations are mostly in the Midwest and the South, including Texas, according to industry groups.

WHY IS BIDEN DOING THIS?

Lawmakers from both parties and ethanol advocates have urged Biden and the EPA to allow year-round sales of E15, calling it a cheaper and readily available domestic alternative to traditional gasoline. The U.S. has banned imports of Russian crude oil since the country's late February invasion of Ukraine, disrupting global markets and raising prices.

“Homegrown Iowa biofuels provide a quick and clean solution for lowering prices at the pump, and bolstering production would help us become energy independent once again,″ said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a longtime ethanol proponent. Grassley and 15 other senators sent Biden a letter last month urging him to allow year-round E15 sales.

Ethanol groups called Biden's action a major win for American drivers and U.S. energy security. "It means cleaner options at the pump and a stronger rural economy,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, a biofuel trade group.

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT?

Biden administration official say the short-term move will have little effect on the environment and that EPA will work with states to "ensure there are no significant air quality impacts through the summer driving season.''

Environmentalists questioned that, saying ethanol production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion and raises prices for corn and other crops.

“The ethanol lobby will be happy and kids with asthma will be sicker,'' said Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group. “However well-meaning (Biden's action) might be, kids and the elderly shouldn’t pay the price with their health for slight gas savings.''

A recent report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences revealed that the federal ethanol mandate inflated corn prices by 30% from 2008 to 2016, made corn-based ethanol more carbon intensive than gasoline and increased annual fertilizer use by up to 8%, polluting waterways.

HAS EPA DONE THIS BEFORE?

The EPA has lifted seasonal restrictions on E15 in the past, including after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The Trump administration allowed for year-round E15 sales starting in 2019, but a federal appeals court struck down the policy change in July 2021, saying the EPA overstepped its authority.

The decision dealt a significant blow to the ethanol industry and corn farmers who had anticipated increased ethanol demand through year-round sales of the higher blend.

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM TRUMP'S ACTION?

Senior Biden administration officials said they expected the EPA waiver to survive a likely court challenge, saying that unlike the open-ended Trump rule, the action is limited to this summer and is prompted by a supply disruption caused by the war in Europe.

Greater use of E15 should "help alleviate some of the pain that we’ve seen since Russia launched this war against Ukraine,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan told a Senate committee last week.

But critics said the only emergency is Biden's dropping poll numbers.

Emergency fuel waivers are reserved for acute supply disruptions, such as those resulting from a hurricane, said Chet Thompson, president & CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, which represents petroleum refiners.

“An additional three months of E15 sales won’t do anything to address high crude oil prices, and 98% of retail (gas) stations can’t even sell the fuel,'' Thompson said. “This is politics, not a real solution for drivers.”

WILL E15 HURT MY CAR'S ENGINE?

E15, often sold at the pump as Unleaded 88, for its octane rating, can safely be used in all cars, trucks and SUVs from 2001 on. Those model years represent more than 90% of vehicles on U.S. roads. The ethanol industry says the fuel is one of the most tested in history and has no effect on vehicle drivability. More than 20 billion miles have been driven in cars and trucks using Unleaded 88, a number continues to grow.

WHAT IS THE PRICE OF E15 GAS?

E15, or Unleaded 88, typically sells for 10 cents a gallon less than E10, the standard formulation for U.S. cars. The price difference between Unleaded 88 and conventional gasoline without ethanol is around 40 cents.

WILL I GET BETTER MILEAGE WITH E15?

There is no noticeable difference between the mileage achieved when using E15 and mileage when operating on E10.

CAN I USE E15 IN MY LAWNMOWER OR OTHER SMALL-ENGINE EQUIPMENT?

E15 has not been approved by EPA for use in non-automotive engines such as boats, motorcycles, lawn mowers and other small engines. E10, the standard ethanol formulation, is approved for small engines.

Matthew Daly, The Associated Press

'Short-term thinking': Environmentalists push back on Biden's ethanol expansion

Jon Schuppe - 



President Joe Biden's plan to reduce the price of gas by allowing the sale of higher-ethanol fuel this summer may make corn farmers and their elected representatives happy. But the move also has irked environmentalists who see ethanol as a climate-change villain.

Biden made his announcement Tuesday during a trip to Iowa, where corn — and ethanol — are crucial to the state economy. He said the Environmental Protection Agency would issue an emergency waiver from the Clean Air Act that will permit the sale of gasoline that is 15 percent ethanol, 5 percent more than the typical blend, from June 1 to Sept. 15. The change will lower gas prices by about 10 cents a gallon at the 2,300 gas stations equipped to pump it, the Biden administration says.

To environmentalists, that's a small benefit compared to the damage the decision could do to efforts to reduce the country's carbon emissions.

“What the president is doing is the definition of short-term thinking,” said Carroll Muffett, president and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law. “The

goal here shouldn’t be to bring gas prices down by 10 cents in the near term by increasing emissions that will endanger large parts of the population.”

Although ethanol was embraced more than a decade ago as a renewable fuel, its green reputation has eroded. Scientists have found evidence that increased corn production for ethanol could increase greenhouse gas emissions; a study published in February said ethanol may be worse for the climate than gasoline.

The reason Biden needs an emergency waiver is that the summertime use of gas with 15 percent ethanol, known as E15, is known to increase smog.

“This is a quick fix that will harm the planet and not do much to support consumers,” said Jim Walsh, policy director at Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit group that opposes the use of ethanol as a climate solution.

Senior Biden administration officials have told reporters that the EPA's own analysis did not indicate that the emergency waiver was likely to harm air quality. They pointed to another study, published last year, showing that ethanol's greenhouse gas emissions are decreasing with improvements in farming and production methods.

Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol trade association, said ethanol was "unquestionably a winner when compared to gasoline."

Biden's move also drew criticism from the oil industry. The American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for the oil and gas industries, said that the scarcity of stations equipped with E15 fuel limits the impact of the president's action.

"Americans are looking for long-term solutions, not short-term political fixes that fail to acknowledge the logistical, legal and compatibility constraints that limit the ability of E15 to influence prices at the pump today," Ron Chittim, the group's vice president of downstream policy, said in a statement.

Then-President Donald Trump tried allowing the year-round use of E15 fuel in 2019 but a federal court overruled him following a challenge from oil refiners.

Sheila Karpf, a senior policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonprofit government watchdog group that opposes ethanol subsidies, said she expected Biden's waiver to be challenged in court as well.

"We have seen decades of corn ethanol subsidies, and the handouts to the industry continue to happen," she said.

Cooper, of the ethanol trade group, said that he too expected the oil industry to challenge Biden's expansion of E15 but that it will survive, because it involves the temporary use of emergency powers allowed by the Clean Air Act.

"If war in Ukraine and $4 gas and a shortage in the marketplace don’t warrant an emergency, I don’t know what would," he said.

 

Biofuel development in Southeast Asia: a region turning greener by the day

/ Zbynek Burival - Unsplash

By bno - Ho Chi Minh Office July 17, 2025

Southeast Asia, a region of more than 700mn people with an ever increasing energy demand, is steadily turning to biofuels as part of its broader energy transition. With ambitious climate targets, pressure to reduce carbon emissions, and growing demand for transport fuels, countries across the ASEAN region are accelerating their efforts to scale up the biofuel sector - particularly biodiesel and bioethanol - while seeking a balance between sustainability, food security, and rural economic development.

At the heart of this shift lies a region heavily reliant on fossil fuels but also rich in agricultural biomass. Nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines have already identified biofuels as strategic tools not only for cutting emissions but also for reducing dependence on imported oil and providing income to rural farming communities.

Indonesia

Indonesia, the region’s largest economy and the world’s top producer of palm oil, has been a regional frontrunner in the biofuel space for some time. Its mandatory biodiesel blending programme - B35, requiring a 35% palm oil blend in diesel fuel - was implemented nationwide in 2023. By 2025, Indonesia is aiming to introduce B40 and eventually move towards B50, despite concerns over supply chain readiness and engine compatibility.

State energy firm Pertamina has been a key player in ramping up production and distribution. In 2024, Indonesia produced over 12.5mn kilolitres of biodiesel, with around 40% consumed domestically. And after much effort, exports are growing, particularly to China and the EU, though the latter has raised sustainability concerns linked to deforestation and land use change. Nevertheless, Indonesia remains bullish, investing in second-generation biofuels and aiming to produce green diesel from used cooking oil and agricultural waste by 2027.

Malaysia

Neighbouring Malaysia, also a major palm oil exporter, has likewise been scaling up its biodiesel blending mandates. In early 2024, it extended the B20 biodiesel policy to the industrial sector nationwide, with plans for B30 by 2026. Malaysia is also working to enhance the sustainability credentials of its palm oil industry by improving certification standards and satellite monitoring of land use to address environmental criticisms.

To this end, Kuala Lumpur is also exploring joint ventures with Japan and South Korea to develop advanced biofuel facilities, including biomass-to-liquid (BTL) technology and co-processing at existing refineries. Biojet fuel -used for aviation - is a particularly attractive area, as Malaysia seeks to become a regional hub for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030.

Thailand

Thailand meanwhile presents one of the most diversified and mature biofuel programmes in the region. The country blends both bioethanol and biodiesel into its fuel supply, with mandates that vary depending on fuel type. As of 2025, E10 (10% ethanol) and E20 blends are widely available, with E85 (85% ethanol) offered for compatible vehicles. Biodiesel blending (B7 to B10) is also in place, with the government actively supporting flexible policies that respond to market and crop conditions.

Thailand's bioethanol is primarily derived from molasses and cassava, both crops abundant in the country. The government has invested heavily in bio-refineries, with over 26 bioethanol plants and 15 biodiesel facilities operating nationwide. Bangkok’s alternative energy development plan (AEDP) targets over 7.5mn litres of ethanol production per day by 2037, alongside 8mn litres of biodiesel.

In recent years, Thailand has also made strides in second-generation biofuels, using agricultural waste such as rice straw and corn stover. The Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model has been adopted as a national strategy, placing biofuels at the intersection of economic growth and environmental stewardship.

Philippines

In the Philippines, Manila introduced a national biofuels policy as early as 2006, but its progress has been more uneven. As of 2025, the country mandates a 2% biodiesel blend (B2) and a 10% ethanol blend (E10). However, implementation challenges persist, including ageing infrastructure, price volatility, and weak enforcement mechanisms.

The government is now working to reinvigorate the sector and The Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has laid out a roadmap to increase the ethanol mandate to E20 and biodiesel to B5 by 2030. Efforts are also being made to revive the domestic sugarcane industry, which supplies ethanol, and to incentivise investment in modern distilleries and feedstock diversification. Coconut-based biodiesel is a particular focus, with the potential to support livelihoods in rural areas including Mindanao and the Visayas.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos

Vietnam is gradually stepping into the biofuel space too. Though earlier efforts were slowed by low demand and weak price competitiveness, renewed interest in clean energy and the government’s Power Development Plan VIII have spurred new momentum. E5 petrol (5% ethanol blend) is now widely available, and plans are underway to expand ethanol production from cassava and sugarcane residues.

Cambodia and Laos, however, remain in the early stages of biofuel development, but both are exploring partnerships with South Korea, Japan and China to develop biomass projects and local refineries. In these smaller economies, biofuels are viewed as potential rural job creators and a solution to growing energy imports as much as for their ethical concept.

Sustainability

While biofuels offer clear economic and energy security benefits in most areas, sustainability concerns do remain. Deforestation, monoculture expansion, and food-versus-fuel trade-offs have sparked criticism from environmentalists and some international buyers. As such, Southeast Asian countries are increasingly turning to waste-based and second-generation biofuels to address these concerns. Certification schemes, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and national sustainability frameworks, are also being strengthened.

Additionally, the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and marine biofuels is gaining traction. Regional airlines plying global routes, such as Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, have begun trialling SAF, while shipping firms are exploring algae-based fuels to comply with IMO regulations.

As such, Southeast Asia’s biofuel sector is not without its challenges, but the direction of travel is clear. National governments are prioritising biofuels within broader energy security and climate frameworks, while advances in technology and sustainability monitoring are helping to make the sector more credible. And, as ASEAN looks to diversify its energy mix and reduce emissions, biofuels - particularly those derived from waste and non-food sources - will play an increasingly vital role. With continued investment, Southeast Asia could become a global model for sustainable biofuel development.

Analysis-White House weighs inflation vs. farmers in new biofuel mandates



Mon, May 16, 2022
By Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly

(Reuters) - The White House is expected to announce in coming weeks the amount of biofuels like corn-based ethanol that U.S. refiners must blend into their fuel this year, a decision that will force it to weigh taming consumer inflation against supporting the nation's farmers.

How the administration balances the competing priorities could play a role in November's midterm elections, as high consumer prices pose a political threat to President Joe Biden's Democratic party and Farm Belt voters remain a crucial constituency.

The White House National Economic Council, led by Brian Deese, is pouring over numbers to gauge whether lowering blending mandates for ethanol and renewable diesel will help blunt rising food and fuel prices, according to two sources familiar with the process.

Cutting mandates for ethanol and advanced biofuels like biodiesel could theoretically cut food costs by reducing demand for corn, soy and other staple crops that have become more scarce since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Trimming the mandates could also potentially take pressure off pump prices by reducing blending compliance costs for some oil refiners.

But doing so would anger farmers and the biofuels industry that insist the annual blending mandates are critical to supporting their livelihoods.

White House officials are meeting with lobbying groups representing oil and consumer goods giants, including the Food Manufacturing Coalition, American Bakers Association, American Petroleum Institute and Renewable Fuels Association, as they weigh the possible changes.

"I have never in the history of the program seen such a confluence of issues potentially impacting the outcome. If there was a perfect storm, this is it," said Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association.

The Environmental Protection Agency sent its proposal on biofuel volume mandates for the years 2020 through 2022 to the White House for final review in late April. The proposal would retroactively lower the mandate for 2020 and 2021 but to boost it back up again for 2022, three sources told Reuters. The EPA declined to comment.

ETHANOL AND HIGH GAS PRICES

The U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, enacted in 2005, requires refiners to blend biofuels like ethanol into the fuel pool or buy credits from refiners who do. The program has been an economic boon for states like Iowa and Nebraska, but smaller refiners who have not invested in blending facilities say the cost of buying credits threatens their plants.

U.S. credits tied to ethanol are trading at over $1.60 each, the highest since August, while biomass-based credits are over $1.80 each, near the highest since June. The ethanol credits, which traded as low as 8 cents apiece in early 2020, have remained at historically higher levels since last year.

Economists say some portion of the cost of the credits is passed on to consumers, resulting in higher pump prices. Some refiners and their union backers are encouraging the White House to lower the ethanol mandate below 15 billion gallons in 2022 to drive the credit costs down.

Without the cost of compliance credits, however, adding ethanol to the nation's fuel pool can actually reduce pump prices, by expanding the overall volume of available fuel using a substance cheaper than straight gasoline.

The White House earlier this year tapped into that dynamic by announcing it was lifting a ban on summer sales of higher ethanol blends of gasoline, called E15.

FOOD VS FUEL

Corn-based ethanol accounts for the overwhelming majority of blending under the RFS. In 2022, the EPA proposal would require refiners to blend 15 billion gallons of ethanol and 5.77 billion gallons of advanced biofuels.

In recent years, while ethanol demand has remained stagnant, demand for advanced biofuels like renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel has surged as states like California and Oregon adopt their own renewable fuel mandates. That has swollen demand for oilseeds like soybeans and canola that serve as biofuel feedstocks and compete with other food crops for finite planting area.

The edible oils are used in everything from cakes, chocolate and frying fats to cosmetics, soap and cleaning products.

Robb MacKie, president of the American Bakers Association, which includes companies like Kroger Co and Tasty Baking Company, first raised concerns about supply and prices for these products with the EPA last year, asking that blending levels be rolled back to 2020 levels.

Then Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February made the problem worse.

Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat and barley production, and two-thirds of the world's exports of sunflower oil used for cooking. Also, Indonesia recently banned exports of palm oil, cutting off more than half of the global supply.

Soybean futures have risen over 20% so far this year to more than $16 per bushel, while corn futures have gained about 30% to over $7.90 a bushel.

"In light of what we are experiencing, the alarm bells are ringing," MacKie said.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons, Richard Valdmanis and Marguerita Choy)

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Stanford engineer's study show CO2 pipelines costlier, dirtier than wind and solar

Alan Guebert
Sat, November 11, 2023


“Mathematics,” once explained Edward Frenkel, a renowned mathematician and author, “directs the flow of the universe, lurks behind its shapes and curves, [and] holds the reins of everything from tiny atoms to the biggest stars.”

Another explanation notes that “Math is the only place where truth and beauty mean the same thing.”

That elegant, beautiful truth comes to mind when reading a just-published “case study” that compares the cost and net carbon dioxide (CO2) output of the planned 2,000-mile Summit CO2 pipeline to the wind- and solar-based electricity that could fuel “battery-electric vehicles,” or BEVs.

At its heart, the new study asks, what gives the better environmental and financial return — billions spent on a CO2 pipeline that encourages more ethanol use or investing the same amount on solar and wind generators to power BEVs?

The resulting math, presented by the study’s author, Mark Z. Jacobson, a civil and environmental engineer at Stanford University, is detailed, compelling and irrefutable in its conclusion: Don’t spend another penny on Summit’s five-state, CO2 pipeline.

Jacobson's focus is on E85, the 85-percent-ethanol-to-gasoline blend now being pushed by farm groups as the way to maintain production of the corn-based fuel even as BEVs rise in popularity. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that 35% of the 2023/24 U.S. corn crop, or 5.3 billion bushels, will be used to make ethanol.)

The higher ethanol blend, however, doesn’t change the hard math underlying the colossal investment and environmental costs of CO2-generating ethanol plants, ethanol’s use or any of the three proposed CO2-carrying pipelines, Jacobson writes.

“This study concludes that investing in wind turbines to provide electricity to BEVs is far more beneficial in terms of consumer cost savings, CO2 emissions, land use, and air pollution than making the same investment in a plan to capture CO2 from ethanol refineries, pipe the CO2 to an underground storage facility, and use the ethanol to produce E85 for FFVs,” or flex fuel vehicles.

Moreover, Jacobson continues, quoting his revealing math, “The fuel savings alone,” an estimated “$66.9-$111 billion over 30 years”–“is 12-20 times the $5.6 billion investment in [the] Summit [pipeline] project.”

And just to drive home his rural bona fides, Jacobson offers a comparison of the costs to operate competing models of the ever-popular, four-wheel-drive, Ford F-150 — the eight-cylinder flex fuel version that costs “$48,290” — versus its electric twin that costs $21,705 more or “$69,995.”

“Even with this upfront cost difference … the net fuel cost saving to drivers over 30 years (of the electric F-150) is still … 7-12 times Summit’s investment [cost],” he notes.

Environmental costs between the two technologies — wind and solar versus ethanol — show even bigger differences because wind and solar electric generation are zero-carbon emitters and easily beat almost any blend of any fossil or bio-based fuel.

A key element of ethanol’s argument, however, is Big Ag’s insistence that it’s a “green” fuel that, at worst, is carbon neutral and, at best, is carbon negative. Still, no outside-of-ag scientist supports ag’s contention and neither does the Stanford engineer. His math shows more brown and no green.

“With respect to air pollution, tailpipe emissions from E85 vehicles may increase the level of ozone throughout most of the United States in comparison with tailpipe emissions from gasoline vehicles.”

“Moreover,” he adds, “the production, transport, and refining of corn to produce ethanol creates air pollution that may exceed the upstream pollution from gasoline.”

The engineer’s hammering math dives into other aspects of the bad bargain that is CO2 pipelines. For example, photosynthesis “is only 1% efficient” while solar panels are “20-23% efficient” and therefore need “only 1/20th of the land to produce the same energy as a biofuel crop.”

The clear bottom line to the Summit pipeline — and, really, any CO2 pipeline — Jacobson says, is as obvious as one-plus-one: Don’t bury CO2 pipelines; instead, bury their very idea. Fast.

Alan Guebert writes "Farm and Food"

Alan Guebert is an agricultural journalist. See past columns at farmandfoodfile.com. © 2023 ag comm

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Farm and Food: Don't bury just the CO2 pipelines; bury their very idea

Villagers resist India's biofuel push, fearing hidden health risks


24 November 2023 - BY BHASKER TRIPATHI

“The government might reduce pollution by blending ethanol, but the hidden cost is the pollution that locals like us face wherever its ethanol is produced”.
Image: 123RF/Ralph Fiskness / File photo

On a sunny afternoon last month, two dozen people gathered at the council office in a south Indian village to protest against a new ethanol plant they say is polluting their backyard.

Over a year ago, locals were alarmed when they saw construction begin on the government-sanctioned grain distillery on a vacant plot about a kilometre (0.62 miles) away from their homes.

Touted as a green fuel and a solution to cut tailpipe emissions from vehicles when blended with gasoline, ethanol — a biofuel — is key to India’s action to tackle climate change.

But the residents of Chittanur village in Telangana state say they are not ready to pay for the national clean energy drive with their health.

This September, the plant started operating for a trial period. Villagers told Context that, despite claiming to be a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) facility, it had released hazardous effluent in the stream running near the village.

Effluent discharged by distilleries can contain acids and heavy metals, which if untreated can harm soil fertility, aquatic life and human health, according to Indian researchers.

The stream is an essential source of water for surrounding villages. Local people said a child fell seriously ill after swimming in contaminated water while adults who came into contact with it developed skin rashes.

“The government might reduce pollution by blending ethanol, but the hidden cost is the pollution that locals like us face wherever its ethanol is produced,” said Sugunakar Reddy, a village resident who works in the IT industry in Hyderabad.

Reddy said inhabitants had repeatedly complained about the ethanol plant to the district administration and pollution control bodies, but to no avail.

Jurala Organic Farms and Agro Industries, the company that owns the plant near Chittanur, did not respond to questions about its operations.

Once fully functional, the distillery will use food crops like rice to produce 800,000 litres of ethanol daily to be sold to Indian gasoline retailers.

Many countries around the world, from the US to Indonesia and Brazil, blend biofuels with gasoline to reduce their fossil-fuel import burden and curb climate-heating emissions from the transport sector.

Starting from the early 2000s, India used sugar cane to ramp up ethanol production to 4 billion litres annually to meet a target of blending 10% ethanol into gasoline.

In addition, about five years ago, it decided to harness food crops — rice and maize — to increase production for a higher 20% blend target that took effect in 2021, requiring 12 billion litres of ethanol each year.

Since 2020, the government has approved nearly 200 new grain-based distilleries, nine of them sited in Telangana.

It has eased the way for such facilities by weakening regulations to exempt them from public hearings before getting environmental clearance, offering financial support and putting in place long-term purchase agreements for their output.

The biofuel push has seen experts flag the risks of increased pollution impacts and warn that over-use of crops for ethanol production could threaten food security for the poor and hurt a sector already hit by climate change.

India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which also steers biofuel policy, did not respond to a request for comment.

WATER AND FOOD DIVERTED FOR FUEL

The Chittanur protests, which started a year ago, foreshadow the risk of local conflicts erupting in other areas with ethanol distilleries.

Farmer Vakiti Ramanji said residents found out that the Chittanur plant had been given the green light without public consultation, triggering demonstrations and a village council resolution against it.

Locals fear toxic effluent from the plant could contaminate groundwater in the future. “This will have scary outcomes for our health and the crops we grow,” Ramanji said.

After they raised objections, residents said the plant's operator started taking effluent out in tankers and releasing it on the roadside, sparking angry protests and clashes between villagers and police which led to many arrests in October.

Locals are also worried about how ethanol production will affect their food and water supplies in a drought-prone region.

Farmer Puttapalli Murli noted that producing one litre of ethanol takes three kilos of rice and six litres of water.

While the ethanol company has been given permission by the government to take water from a nearby dam, farmers are not getting enough for their irrigation needs, he added.

According to government data, sugar cane and rice use up to 70% of India's irrigation water

Murli said the plant had promised to buy rice directly from villagers but the government is already selling subsidised rice from public stocks to ethanol producers, undercutting farmers.

The Food Corporation of India, which maintains national food stocks, released 2.5 million tonnes of rice to 100 distilleries from March 2020 to July 2023, according to data requested by Context.

The body is also responsible for allocating rice and wheat to India’s public food distribution system for the poor.

With India ranking 111 out of 125 countries in the 2023 Global Hunger Index, the national policy of diverting food crops for ethanol has been criticised by experts.

“The use of rice for food should be prioritised over its use as fuel,” wrote Siraj Hussain, a former Indian agriculture secretary, and agricultural economist Shweta Saini in an opinion piece published in June by online news platform The Wire.

In August, the government stopped releasing subsidised rice for ethanol production amid concerns over depleting stocks, but the halt may only be temporary, according to Indian media.

LOW-EMISSIONS FUEL?

Promit Mookherjee, an associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a Delhi-based think-tank, said the government should not set an ambitious biofuels target and then make changes to the “fragile” agriculture sector to achieve it.

Instead it should assess how much ethanol can be produced sustainably from existing farmland and then seek other efficient ways to boost ethanol production, he said.

Incentivising farmers to grow feedstock for ethanol will deter them from diversifying into new crops and cultivation methods needed to adapt to climate change, while the policy could increase planet-heating emissions from land-use change, he added.

A 2022 study published in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences in the US — which produces most of its ethanol from corn — found that expanding crop production for biofuel intensified the use of fertiliser and water.

This resulted in the carbon footprint of corn-based ethanol being “no less than gasoline and likely at least 24% higher”, the researchers wrote.

While using food crops to produce ethanol — known as “first-generation” biofuel — is easier, technology now allows the use of agricultural waste to produce “second-generation” ethanol.

Several companies have successfully demonstrated this new method in India but are struggling to scale it up, Mookherjee said, calling for a government road map for sustainable ethanol production.

In the meantime, Chittanur residents are refusing to be pushed aside in the race to hit national biofuel targets.

“Everyone tells us that this plant is for the development of India,” said IT worker Reddy. “Is our village, our farmers not a part of India? Do we not have the right to live a healthy life?”

Reuters

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