Ethanol: Not as Pointless As We Thought!
by Andrew Posner, Providence, Rhode Island on 12. 7.07
Despite some concern that the biofuel gold rush is waning, it appears now is still a good time to jump on the corn-based ethanol bandwagon. There is the 51 cent per gallon ethanol producer tax credit, an energy bill in the Senate that, if passed, would provide fuel economy credits for Flex Fuel vehicles, and now a new study released by the American coalition for ethanol has found that "certain ethanol blends can provide better fuel economy than gasoline." While this is certainly good news for the ethanol industry, the environmental and social ramifications of corn-based ethanol production, which we've covered here, here here, and here, are far less certain.
The study found that E20 and E30 (20%-30% ethanol, 70%-80% gasoline) blends of ethanol, provide modest increases in fuel economy of 1%-15% compared to gasoline, depending on the vehicle.
Additionally, the mid-level blends significantly reduced other emissions such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. It was previously thought that ethanol's lower energy density (or Btu value) translates into worse fuel economy, but the report indicates that at certain blends, vehicles can achieve better mileage than what the Btu value would predict. Another surprising finding was that even "standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles can operate on blends beyond E10."
But before we all plant some corn and fill 'er up, we have to keep in mind that pesky life cycle analysis, which has consistently shown ethanol to provide only a modest decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, and even then we don't have enough corn to meet both food and fuel demands. Besides, it's not like we are lacking attractive alternatives: efficiency, electricity, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen, and cellulosic ethanol, to name a few.
Via ::Green Car Congress, and the ::American Coalition for Ethanol
See Also: ::America is Drunk on Ethanol, ::Ethanol vs. Biodiesel: Just the Facts, ::Ethanol: It's a Pasta Disasta, ::Food Fight: Is Corn Food or Fuel?
There are the higher food prices. Also, since more farmers are growing corn and less hops the price of beer is going up. There are some sacrifices that I just can't tolerate, and that's a shortage of good brew.
So, essentially, the cons of corn ethanol outweigh the pros and it's really just a business scheme? Hmmm....
Ross, it depends what kind of ethanol. Corn ethanol is definitely a problem, but cellulosic (made from agri-waste, forestery-waste, switch grass, etc) or sugarcane ethanol (brazil) can be quite green.
yet there not promoting the use of cellulosic either are they. I like the idea of hydrogen a lot better.
Cellulosic ethanol is gaining support. A few small plants are being started around the country.
Hydrogen, in my opinion, is a very bad idea. Hydrogen is just an energy storage medium used in fuel cell electric cars, meaning that hydrogen cars are really just electric cars with a lot more, energy-consuming steps involved in running them.
With people starving around the world, I find it irresponsible to devote crops to fuel our addiction to oil.
Power the car from the outside by clean electricity sourced from wind, solar, hydro, wave, hot rocks etc. Install SkyTran.
"With people starving around the world, I find it irresponsible to devote crops to fuel our addiction to oil."
Except that people aren't starving for lack of food. If that was the problem, then yes, we shouldn't use crops for fuel.
The best way to help starving people is to combat corruption, subsidies and totalitarian regimes.
Not all ethanol is made from food crops. Cellulosic ethanol is not. It's made from grasses and agricultural waste.
And corn ethanol is causing people to starve. It is driving up the price of corn, which in parts of Latin America is a staple food. When the price gets to a certain point, millions living in poverty can't afford it, and they starve.
I hope This good news doesn't cause Sen. Grassely to have another public ogasm this time on the Senate floor. The American coalition For ethanol? Who the heck are they? Sounds like lobbyist to me. Anyone been reading Robert Rappier's blog in the past year? Oh yea. And don't forget to look for a nice chunk of clean coal in your Christmas sock this year.
Let me ask this.
Is Cellulosic Ethanol "Quite Green", or not?
Try asking yourself a few of these questions:
Is it sustainable to run your topsoil like it were an extraction mine?
How many hundreds of years does it take to form topsoil? (Is that renewable?)
http://www.energybulletin.net/28610.html
Is it prudent to create an infrastructure which is identical to Coal-to-Liquids. With the only difference being what type of biomass you put in, Green or Black?
http://greyfalcon.net/cellulosics.png
http://greyfalcon.net/cellulosic
Where is all this biomass supposed to come from?
http://greyfalcon.net/brazil
http://greyfalcon.net/brazil2
http://greyfalcon.net/biolimits.png
http://greyfalcon.net/perlack
http://greyfalcon.net/algae4
Wheres all the water going to come from?
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/10/national-resear.html
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/10/iwmi-report-con.html
And could there be problems with that much waste-water?
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/16/161412/560
And could there be logistics problems with that much bulky biomass?
http://i-r-squared.blogspot.com/2007/03/logistics-problem-of-cellulosic-ethanol.html
And if theres nowhere near enough Green biomass, then whats stopping them from switching to Coal?
http://greyfalcon.net/fossilenergy.png
http://greyfalcon.net/lca.png
Do the studies that say Cellulosic is a good thing leave anything out (Like huge gaping holes in their theory)?
http://greyfalcon.net/n2ostudy.png
http://greyfalcon.net/n2o.png
http://greyfalcon.net/landuse
And are there any secondary effects to biofuels which could eliminate their benefits?
http://greyfalcon.net/palmoil
http://greyfalcon.net/soy2
http://greyfalcon.net/cerrado
_
Even if biofuels live up to all expectations, will it get us off of oil?
http://greyfalcon.net/oilvsethanol.png
Will people stop buying oil from Arab nations?
http://greyfalcon.net/dilbert2.png
Does it even hold a candle to small increases in Effeciency?
http://greyfalcon.net/oilvsethanol2.png
No.
As a small time farmer I can tell you we are growing 15 to 25 % more corn each year, 99% of the protein is captured and sold as mash, syrup, and oil which is used as animal food. Disregaurding local market distruptions, there should be more animal feed out here than before. The media blamed ethanol for the rise in milk and cheese, however I read we have significantly increased our exports, thus the real reason for the price increase. I can not say if this is true, however I can say I have 93 fat cows that I feed ethanol mash and syrup to! Also one must consider we pay a lot of millionaire gentleman farmers millions not to grow corn, winter wheat, and soybeans. So I guess you can say we pay them not to grow or to grow. If it decreases our dependence on foreign oil it's worth it.
This article was supposed to mean something or validate corn ethanol in some capacity? It didn't because there is no such thing, plain and simple. Don't listen to the micro-details from the industry lobbyists, who talk circle around the irrefutable truth.
I'm furious enough that tax dollars go to subsidize industrial, genetically modified, petrochemical corn and soy, which we feed to tortured farm animals and use to sweeten our soda pop. Now it's viable to waste the land to feed our cars? Please...
Biofuels are a slippery slope, corn (and palm) being the worst of the lot. And sorry, Mac-101, this is not a way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It's a way to waste more of the Earth's treasure for profit. This is a way for the farm lobby, oil/fuel industries, and the petrochemical industry to continue turning a profit. If our government, industry and culture had any real integrity, there would be waves of plug-in cars, fuel cell cars, etc etc.
Fuel standards should be through the roof by now.... when people compromise and think "this is the best we can do," we make no progress. 27.5 mpg CAFE, but it's somehow ok cos' we're using corn instead of oil? You just line the pockets of the wealthiest and pat yourselves on the back for using Flex Fuel.
This might be one of the FILTHIEST forms of greenwashing. Don't believe the hype.
**And who was the anonymous fool that denied biofuels having a role in food scarcity? Corrupt government is one thing, but let me ask you this... you think the USA would have any chance of feeding itself, sustaining itself, without the corrupt subsidies and trade agreements? Biofuels are only a viable consideration because of this corrupt system. Clean up the system, and biofuels (corn ethanol, at least) is a NO GO. You can't have one without the other.
thanks for the links, grey.
if we are to use biofuels, we need to start with the most efficient, not with the least efficient. even if we can use protein from ethanol corn for livestock, it is still one of the least efficient ethonol sources. ethanol and biofuels are a crutch, not a solution, and focusing our time and money on a crutch just makes us more used to being crippled and detracts from the effort to create ways to actually solve the problem.
thanks for the links, grey.
if we are to use biofuels, we need to start with the most efficient, not with the least efficient. even if we can use protein from ethanol corn for livestock, it is still one of the least efficient ethonol sources. ethanol and biofuels are a crutch, not a solution, and focusing our time and money on a crutch just makes us more used to being crippled and detracts from the effort to create ways to actually solve the problem.