"Dozens of factories that turn corn into the gasoline substitute ethanol are sprouting up across the nation, from Tennessee to Kansas, and California, often in places hundreds of miles away from where corn is grown.
"Once considered the green dream of the environmentally sensitive, ethanol has become the province of agricultural giants that have long pressed for its use as fuel, as well as newcomers seeking to cash in on a bonanza.
"The modern-day gold rush is driven by a number of factors: generous government subsidies, surging demand for ethanol as a gasoline supplement, a potent blend of farm-state politics and the prospect of generating more than a 100 percent profit in less than two years.
“The rush is taking place despite concerns that large-scale diversion of agricultural resources to fuel could result in price increases for food for people and livestock, as well as the transformation of vast preserved areas into farmland.”
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for helping the American farmer and alternative sources of fuel. But, I am told that there are several better sources for alternate fuel than corn–including prarie grass–and we put a 100% terriff on Brazilian ethenol–in contrast to our 0% terriff on oil by the way.
One wonders if we are heading in the right direction with our ethenol policies.
Actually, coal to liquids technology represents a less costly way of producing alternatives to imported petroleum than either corn-based ethanol or cellulose-based fuel alcohols, for one very good reason: The necessary economies of scale for producing transportation fuels in substantial quantities already exists with the US coal supply, whereas grain and cellulose based fuels are theoretically limited to no more than 5% or so of the total US demand.
The other interesting technology to watch is the production of Butanol from corn or other biomass. I note that this past week Dupont signed an agreement with BP to produce Butanol from sugar beets in the UK. Butanol is a 4-carbon alcohol versus Ethanol which is 2-carbon alcohol. Butanol is very close to gasoline in BTU per gallon with higher octane rating. It also has a lower vapor pressure (less evaporation), and has less affinity for water, so that it can travel in a pipeline.
Look for Ethanol production to switch to Butanol production once the process improves.
I have heard that as well. Either way, it sounds like real estate in Illinois and Indiana is going to grow in value, as their is no shortage of corn or coal in either state.
The other big advantage of higher chain alcohols like butanol and isopropanol is that they can be used in either spark ignition or compression ignition engines. You can blend isopropanol and butanol up to 15% with regular diesel. Thus, a butanol plant would have a greater market reach than an ethanol plant.
However, corn is still a relatively expensive feedstock compared to waste biomass. Once the technologies for converting biomass to higher chain alcohols comes into play (along with Sasol-type coal liquification plants), there’s gonna be a lot of shuttered ethanol plants in corn country.
Much of the NYT article discusses possible unintended consequences. One being that the price of food, especially beef, may increase dramatically because of corn being diverted to ethanol production. Apparently, the margin for error in the U.S. isn’t so great.
Making ethanol from cellulose, e.g. grass, wood, would indeed be a breakthrough. The trouble is the breakthrough hasn’t been made yet. The estimates I’ve seen is that $100-200 million must still be spent in R&D and will require about 5 years. The present process starting from corn at best breaks even in terms of energy conservation. Some skeptics say that 29% more energy is spent producing ethanol from corn than is saved. It’s the subsidies that are distorting the economics of producing it. Some put a positive spin on ethanol by saying it lessens our dependence on foreign oil, but that must be and will be almost insignificant until the cellulostic process is perfected.
Sugar cane yields far more ethanol than corn. That’s why ethanol is a more viable proposition in Brazil. There’s more profit to be made by importing the stuff and bottling it as hooch.
Does it? I’ve always had problems with that idea. Logically, it would replace the most expensive oil,irrespective of the oil’s origin. It seems quite possible, the oil it displaces might not be the stuff practically bubbling to the surface in Saudi Arabia. It could be replacing the oil from any number of states?
The fact that it is displacing refined gasoline, from whatever source, should mean that it’s helping with the supply/demand issues involving gas pricing.
As a disclaimer of sorts: I live in a farm state going crazy about ethanol.(S.D.) Corn hoppers and ethanol tanks are a very frequent sight on every rail line and in every yard around these parts.
If you mean you’re skeptical about significantly reducing our dependence on imported oil by producing ethanol, so am I. They cite the case of Brazil, which is no longer dependent on foreign oil: Brazil ethanol
The main reason Brazil is no longer dependent on foreign oil, however, is that they’ve discovered a lot more domestic oil, mostly in off-shore wells. Sugar cane ethanol played a minor role in comparison. U.S. farmers lucked-out because of rising oil prices in general and the banning of MTBE in particular. The railroads and truckers lucked-out because ethanol is highly corrosive to pipes.
A new Ethanol plant is supposed to be constructed here in central Illinois in Sangamon county southwest of Springfield between Waverly and Auburn. Supposedly the Ethanol conversion facility will require a good water source, which will probably be water piped from the Illinois river, where several communities in my area get their water from. The closet railroad to it would be BNSF’s Beardstown sub.
I wonder if the oil companys are wringing their greasy hands in anticipation to get a monopoly going again with the corn and other fuel producing products ???
The reason Brazil is no longer dependent on forigen oil is they bit the bullet and now have 100% ethanol based domestic auto’s. Think of what that could do for the US OPEC trade deficit. I doubt Brazil is that far ahead of us tech wise. They do have a 20 year leap though form a practical standpoint.
Don’t forget Iowa, the nations leading corn producer.
Ethanol, wheather good or bad, has helped the railroads. IANR now runs a daily train to serve an ethanol plant on a line that only saw a train once a week prior to the plant coming on line.