|
From forest floor to the finish line |
|
|
|
A crewmember fills the tank of a Team Corvette C6-R race car with E85R ethanol racing fuel from Rapid City-based KL Process Design Group. (Photo courtesy of American Le Mans Series) |
|
Rapid City business provides fuel for series |
By Jim Holland, Journal Staff
The
Rapid City Journal, March 14, 2008
RAPID CITY — When the 56th running of the
famed 12 hours of Sebring takes the green flag Saturday, three teams will be
racing on ethanol provided by the Rapid City-based
KL Process Design Group.
A pair of American Le Mans Series GT-1
class Team Corvette C6-R’s, a GT-2 class Drayson Barwell Motorsports Aston
Martin Vantage V8 and an Intersport Racing Lola B06/10 will run the entire
11-race season on KL’s Red Line E85 Racing Fuel, a blend of ethanol, toluene
and isooctanes.
KL spokesman
Tom Martin of Rapid City said the ALMS has been interested in
promoting “green” racing fuels.
The Indy Racing League began running on 100 percent ethanol last year.
The ALMS also began using a 10 percent ethanol-gasoline (E10) blend last year,
along with clean diesel used by Audi race teams in the Le Mans Prototype
(LMP-1) class.
“They’re making an intense effort to get away from petroleum-based fuels and
use more of a green component in their racing,” Martin said of the ALMS. “Of
course, we’re pretty excited to be a part of it.”
Martin said the fuel will initially be made from grain-based ethanol produced
at KL’s plant at Rosholt.
Eventually the ethanol used for the racing fuel will come from KL’s facility
in Upton, Wyo., which makes ethanol processed from waste wood fibers.
|
|
|
Western Bio Mass Energy's ethanol plant in Upton, Wyo., makes ethanol from wood chips. Seen to the left are the evaporation towers. Located in the center are the distillation towers. Cellulose and hemicellulose from the wood waste are used to make ethanol. Western Bio Mass Energy is an affiliate of KL Process Design Group of Rapid City, which is providing fuel for the 12 Hours of Sebring race Saturday. (Ryan Soderlin/Journal file) |
Ethanol proponents say the alternative fuel comes from a renewable resource
and produces less greenhouse gases than petroleum fuels.
Wood waste from slash piles, pine needles, bark, wood from beetle-infested
trees and even waste paper can be used to produce cellulosic ethanol, Martin
said.
“It’s all wood,” he said.
KL Process will provide 15,000 gallons of E85R fuel for the 11-race ALMS
series, which runs at some of the most famous road racing circuits in North
America, including Road America in Wisconsin, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road
Atlanta in Georgia, the street circuit in Long Beach, Calif., and MoSport Park
in Canada.
To balance the amount of energy in a tankful of fuel, teams using E85R will be
allowed a maximum of 105 liters. Cars running E10 are limited to a maximum of
90 liters.
Martin said the company would be interested in becoming a fuel supplier for
local racing series currently using alcohol fuels.
Local dirt-track late models, sprint cars and modifieds run on methanol.
“Certainly that’s something we’d be interested in,” he said.
Coverage of the 12 Hours of Sebring starts at 7:30 a.m. MDT Saturday on SPEED
network.
