American Ethanol Production Up 25%

American Ethanol Production Up 25%

The United States churned out 4.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006 due almost entirely to increased demand. As more states mandated some amount of ethanol in gasoline and more automakers created flex-fuel cars. About 25% of Iowa's overall corn harvest was converted to over one billion gallons of ethanol this year, accounting for almost one third of America's ethanol production. Production of ethanol peaked at 330,000 barrels per day. It seems like a collassal number, but that number represents less than 2% of America's 21 million barrel per day petrochemical thirst. But as methods for producing ethanol from bio-mass are refined, and more of America's crops are shifted to ethanol production, ethanol will become a bigger piece of our energy pie. Mmmm....energy pie... ::GreenCarCongress