Homegrown biofuel going fast

Citizens of Ottawa, get it while it lasts. Homegrown ethanol has just become available to the public at a Shell gas station in our nation's capital.

The 10 per cent ethanol, 90 per cent gasoline mixture will be offered for only one month, and only at a single Shell station on Merivale Road in Ottawa.

So how much will it cost you? Find out after the jump.

Surprisingly, this biofuel will cost you †he exact same as regular gas. In fact, the product is produced in Ottawa from non-food raw materials at Iogen Energy Corporation’s demonstration plant, using advanced conversion processes. Iogen and Shell are partners in the plant, which now produces 40,000 litres of fuel per month.

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

“I am excited we are leading the pack in cellulosic ethanol production technology and, with this event, showing what is possible in the future,” said Dr. Graeme Sweeney, Shell executive vice-president of Future Fuels and CO2. “While it will be some time before general customers can buy this product at local service stations, we are working with governments to make large-scale production economic.”

[Source: CBC.ca]