Terry Boland, Editor-in-Chief
Good Luck Waterloo
Time is quickly running out for more than 200 students whose
teams will compete May 19-26 in the 1999 Ethanol Vehicle Challenge, a seven-day event that tests pickup trucks
that have been converted from gasoline power to vehicles that run on E85 (a blend of 85% denatured ethanol and
15% gasoline primer). The competition began in November when student teams took possession of fourteen 1999 four-wheel-drive
Chevrolet Silverado pickups donated by the GM Truck Group.
The
University of Waterloo is the only Canadian team taking part in the 14-team competition.
The team, made up of students from mechanical, electrical, chemical, environmental
and systems design engineering work together to complete the conversion and fine-tune
the vehicles. Waterloo was second in the 1998 challenge and claimed the crown
for lowest vehicle emissions.
“For the students, this challenge offers a valuable learning experience that complements their formal education,”
said Tom Stephens, GM vice president and group director of engineering for the GM Truck Group. “Converting Silverados
from gasoline power to ethanol power will offer challenges to the student teams and is an exciting platform to
highlight their technological skills.”
The teams will compete at the GM Proving Ground in Milford, MI. The week-long Challenge will test exhaust emissions,
fuel economy, acceleration, driveability, handling, range, and cold- and hot-start performance. Off-road and trailer
towing events will focus students on design challenges unique to trucks. Teams also will be judged for a written
design report and an oral technical design presentation.
After five days of competition, the teams will embark on a two-day trip from the GM Milford Proving Ground to Springfield,
IL. The motorcade stop along the route at the state capitol building in Lansing, MI, the GM assembly plant in Fort
Wayne, IN, and Williams Energy Corp. in Peoria, IL. The over-the-road event will conclude at the Illinois State
Fairgrounds in Springfield, where the winners will be announced.
The U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors Corporation, and Natural Resources Canada are the major sponsors
of the competition. The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) is an event financial supporter. The CRFA and
OCPA are providing financial support directly to the Waterloo team.
MTBE and Ethanol
The recent decision by the governor of California to phase out
the usage of MTBE from gasoline could mean a major increase in ethanol usage in that state as well as for all of
North America. Several northeastern states are considering similar bans, because of concerns about MTBE contamination
of groundwater. MTBE is also used widely in Canadian gasoline as a source of octane enhancement as well as a means
of increasing the oxygen content (and lower emissions of unburned hydrocarbons and other ozone precursors) in gasoline.
Ethanol is an alternative biodegradable source of both octane and oxygen content. A downside risk is that U.S.
bans on MTBE usage could mean increased political pressure to end present U.S. laws requiring minimum oxygen contents
in U.S. gasoline in many areas where air pollution levels are above minimal standards.
Although MMT is now legal for use in the U.S., its usage remains minimal because of concerns about air quality
and automobile pollution control sensors. Unfortunately, it’s different in Canada.
The Ottawa-based company, Iogen, has received funding from Natural Resources Canada and Petro Canada to build a
pilot project to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and technology for making fuel ethanol from cellulosic wastes,
such as straw, corn stover, and wood. One key factor to assess will be the cost for assembling and transporting
bulky cellulosic materials to a central processing facility. Also to be assessed is the price which can be paid
to farmers for this material. Some U.S. studies have assumed a zero in-field cost, which is not realistic.
OCPA Thanks Gustafson
OCPA thanks Gustafson for its continued co-sponsorship of the
OCPA-Gustafson Corn Connection web site, www.corninfo.com .The Corn Connection provides organized links to more than 1000 web sites providing
quality information on corn and corn technology. The Corn Connection is considered to one of the two best sites
on the world wide web for accessing corn technology information. The other is Bob Nielsen’s Corn Growers Guidebook
(Purdue University) at www.kingcorn.org .
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