Glossary Terms
Alcohol
A general class of organic compounds that contain a hydroxyl group (OH), alcohol occurs in many forms. Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, the same alcohol that is in alcoholic beverages. It is one of the most versatile chemicals on the planet and can be produced from petroleum or from biorenewable sources, though the fermentation of biological material.
Alternative Fuel
Any of a number of fuels not based on petroleum. including various forms of alcohol, used in a pure or blended state, and derived from biological sources.
Anhydrous
Literally, “without water”. The term anhydrous alcohol refers to alcohol containing less than 1% water.
Bagasse
Bagasse is the plant material remaining after sugarcane stalks have been crushed to extract their juice. Bagasse is often used as a primary fuel source for sugar mills, allowing them to avoid the use of petroleum products in mill operations.
Barrel
Unit of measure used in the energy industry that equals 42 gallons
Barrel of Oil Equivalent
A unit of energy equal to the amount of energy contained in a barrel of crude oil, approximately 5.78 million Btu or 1,700 kWh. A barrel is a liquid measure equal to 42 gallons or about 306 pounds.
Bioenergy
Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources.
Bioethanol
Bioethanol is ethanol (ethyl alcohol) produced from biological sources. Bioethanol can be produced from various crops, including corn (maize) and sugarcane. Sugarcane is currently the most efficient, environmentally-friendly ethanol feedstock.
Biofuel
Biofuel can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from recently living biological material, most commonly plants. This distinguishes it from fossil fuel, which is derived from prehistoric biological material.
Biomass
Biological material that can be converted into biofuel. It refers to recently living materials, such as corn and sugarcane, as distinguished from prehistoric biological materials which are the source of petroleum.
Biopolymers
Biopolymers are produced from biomass for use in the packaging industry. They are also known as renewable polymers. One of the pathways for biopolymer production is:
Biomass (sugar cane) > (fermentation) > Bioethanol > Ethene > Polyethylene
Many types of packaging can be made from biopolymers. Biopolymers are renewable, sustainable, and can be carbon neutral.
Biotechnology
Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.
BM&F
Brazilian Mercantile & Futures Exchange (Bolsa de Mercadorias & Futuros) carries out futures trading and option trading of various commodities including gold, coffee, currencies, live cattle, soy beans, and ethanol.
Brazilian Real
The Real (R$) is the present-day currency of Brazil.
British Thermal Unit (BTU)
A quantitative measure of heat equivalent to the amount of heat required to raise 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.
Capital Cost
The total investment needed to complete a project and bring it to a commercially operable status. This may includes the cost of construction of a new plant or the expenditures for the purchase or acquisition of existing facilities.
Carbon Cycle
The amount of carbon on Earth is, for all practical purposes, constant. Any process that uses carbon must derive it from some source and return it in some form. This cyclic path is referred to as the carbon cycle.
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is a by- product of combustion, and the most common greenhouse gas (GHG)
Carbon Sequestration
Carbon Sequestration is the absorption and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This process is naturally-occurring in plants which use photosynthesis to remove carbon from the atmosphere by incorporating it into biomass and release oxygen into the atmosphere
Catalyst
A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction, without being consumed or produced by the reaction. Enzymes are catalysts for many biochemical reactions.
CBOT
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established in 1848, is a leading futures and options on futures exchange.
Cellulosic ethanol
Ethanol fuel produced from cellulose, a naturally occurring complex carbohydrate polymer commonly found in plant cell walls. At the present time, cellulosic ethanol is only produced in test or laboratory settings and is not commercially available due to high cost of production. Also referred to as a ‘second generation’ alternative fuel.
Cogeneration
The simultaneous production of electricity and useful thermal energy from a common fuel source. The burning of Bagasse in the production of sugar cane based ethanol is an example of cogeneration.
Conventional biofuels
Biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol made from readily available crops such as sugar cane using current technologies. Conventional biofuels are also known as first generation biofuels.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a stock market index comprised of 30 of the largest and most widely held public companies in the USA.
E10
E10, sometimes called gasohol, is a fuel mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline. Commonly sold in the United States, it is approved for use by every major automaker in the world.
E85
A mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. It is used in flex-fuel vehicles that have engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol.
Eco-efficiency
Eco-efficiency is a management philosophy directed toward raising the sustainability of goods and services while maintaining price competitiveness. It includes a reduction in the materials and energy used in production, enhanced product durability, reduced production of toxic materials, and an emphasis on the use of recyclable materials and renewable resources
Energy Efficiency Ratio
A numerical figure that represents the energy stored in a fuel compared to the total energy expended to produce, manufacture, transport, and distribute it. Also referred to as the Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or bioethanol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. Also labeled EtOH, it is traditionally produced by the yeast fermentation and distillation of starch or sugars in crops such as corn, sugar beet or sugarcane.
Ethylene
Ethylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H4. The primary use of ethylene is in the production of various types of polyethylene
Feedstock
A feedstock is a substance used as a raw material in an industrial process. Sugar cane is the most efficient feedstock for the production of ethanol used today. Sugar cane based ethanol is also being used as a replacement for petroleum as a feedstock in the production of chemicals.
Fermentation
A biochemical reaction that breaks down complex organic molecules into simpler materials. Bacteria and yeast can ferment sugars into ethanol.
Flexible-Fuel Vehicle
Also known as FFVs, Flex-Fuel Vehicles are specially prepared to operate on either ethanol or gasoline, or any mix of the two.
Fossil fuel
A hydrocarbon, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel.
Gasohol
A term used in the late 1970s for a blend of 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol. This blend is now referred to as E10.
Glucose
The sugar most common in nature and the one most commonly fermented into ethanol
Greenhouse Effect
A warming of the Earth and it's atmosphere caused by greenhouse gases and water vapor which allow incoming sunlight to pass through but absorb heat radiated back from the earth's surface.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
Greenhouse gases are any atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. The two major greenhouse gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide. Other greenhouse gases include methane, ozone, chlorofluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide.
Hectare
An area equal to 2.47 acres. There are 100 hectares in 1 square kilometer.
HDPE
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a polyethylene thermoplastic. It is used to make such items as Tupperware containers, detergent bottles, and milk jugs
Hydrocarbon
Any of numerous organic compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen.
Industrial Biotechnology Corporation
IBC
LLDPE
Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is a substantially linear polyethylene. It is used to make plastic bags, plastic wraps, toys, pipes, buckets and other containers.
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ (acronym of National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System) is the largest electronic screen based equity securities trading market in the USA.
NYBOT
The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). It is a physical commodity futures exchange
NYMEX
The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., is the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange.
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is now NYSE Euronext, the holding company created by the combination of NYSE Group, Inc. and Euronext N.V., was launched on April 4, 2007.
Octane Rating
Octane rating is a measure of the knock resistance, i.e. the resistance to auto-firing, of gasoline and other fuels. Pure ethanol has an octane rating of 116.
PLA
Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable plastic derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch or sugar cane.
RBOB unleaded gasoline
RBOB stands for "reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending." It is the benchmark gasoline contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Renewable
A renewable resource is one that is naturally replenished. Solar, wind, hydro-electric, bio-fuels, and biomass fall into this category. A carefully managed sugarcane field can produced three crops a year. Replenishing oil takes the planet several hundred million years; by any measure, not a renewable feedstock.
Renewable Fuel Standard
The Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS is a U.S. program that will increase the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into gasoline to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012.
Sustainable
A sustainable resource is one that, at the rate it is being used, will remain available for future generations. Oil is a gradually dwindling resource that is becoming harder and harder to extract from oil fields. At one time, oil appeared plentiful but we now see it is a diminishing, non-sustainable resource
World Sugar price
A market price for sugar traded on various exchanges outside the USA. There is an effective minimum price set in the USA of $.229/lb by way of the USDA sugar crop support program.
Yeast
Any one of various types of single-cell fungi capable of fermenting carbohydrates. Ethanol is produced by fermenting sugars with yeast.
