But yields from a grass that only needs to be planted once would deliver an average of 13.1 megajoules of
energy as ethanol for every megajoule of petroleum consumed — in the form of nitrogen fertilizers or diesel for tractors — growing them.
Not exact matches
Dr. James Sandercock, trained
as a microbiologist before getting involved with biodegradable plastics and making fuel - grade
ethanol for vehicles, is Chair of NAIT's Alternative
Energy Technology program.
This particular type of black fungus is common near distilleries because it uses
ethanol as a source of
energy for growth.
ICLN holds a portfolio of «clean
energy» companies, which it defines
as those involved in the biofuels,
ethanol, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar and wind industries.
As a business owner in renewable
energy, I'd wager to say that most business - minded environmentalist think
ethanol subsidies are a giant waste of money and damage the environment to boot.
If
ethanol runs a negative
energy balance,
as asserted by some critics (including those nattering West Wing characters), then the enterprise is doomed: What is the point of wasting fossil fuels that could be consumed directly somewhere else?
Renewable
energy, such
as from photovoltaic electricity and
ethanol, today supplies less than 7 percent of U.S. consumption.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is conducting tests but has yet to certify
ethanol as a fuel for piston - engine planes in the U.S., says Lourdes Maurice, chief scientist and technical advisor to the FAA's Office of Environment and
Energy.
Environmental advocates to national security hawks alike were extolling the virtues of
ethanol and biodiesel
as a carbon - neutral bridge to our
energy future.
Biofuels from waste avoid the carbon and
energy debts incurred by more common examples such
as ethanol from corn or diesel from soy.
Part of the $ 150 billion, 10 - year expenditure — the centerpiece of his
energy plan — is to develop these resources
as well
as shift
ethanol production from corn to cellulose - based sources that do not affect the food supply.
This figure shows how much water is used to produced one unit of
ethanol (defined
as water use intensity) for each
energy crop.
They contain more
energy per volume; a car driving on a gallon of
ethanol will go only 67 percent
as far
as a car on a gallon of gasoline; on butanol, it can go 80 percent
as far.
Indeed, biofuels aren't really a stretch — humans have been using microorganisms to ferment plants into
ethanol ever since Stone Age people began making beer around 10,000 B.C. Today's work hinges on engineering a perfect microbe that will eat the entirety of a plant, retain only a little of this food for itself and spew out the rest
as a high -
energy fuel.
Examples of indirect use which require
energy harvesting are electricity generation through wind turbines or photovoltaic cells, or production of fuels such
as ethanol from biomass.
Last February, the Department of
Energy selected sixcompanies to receive funding towards building
ethanol plants — scheduled to beoperational within the next three years — that will utilize new technology forprocessing corn stover
as well
as other types of agricultural waste.
That was the knock on
ethanol: that it took more
energy to create than it produced
as fuel.
Plant - derived biofuels such
as ethanol offer renewable -
energy alternatives to fossil fuels.
Future technologies that need R&D: high - efficiency photovoltaics (say, 50 % conversion)(
as well
as lowering the cost of PV),
energy storage systems for intermittent sources like solar and wind (hydrogen storage, other methods), advances in biofuel technology (for example, hydrogen production from algae, cellulosic
ethanol, etc..)
These facilities and those that follow will be driven by the same dynamic
as grain
ethanol, namely that industry profitability will be driven by ongoing reduction of processing costs such
as enzymes and
energy,
as well
as by increasing yields.
So
ethanol has only (roughly) 2/3
as much
energy, but is 60 % more efficient in an internal combustion engine.
A gallon of
ethanol has a lower
energy content than a gallon of gasoline (
as measured by BTU content).
By federal and state regulation, nearly all gasoline sold by retailers in the US has up to 10 %
ethanol blended into it to comply with the US Renewable Fuel Standards
as part of the
Energy Independence and Security Act.
In fact, the report envisages nuclear
energy's contribution to vehicle fuel services in 10 years» time to be
as important
as ethanol is today.
And,
as with the corn -
ethanol debacle unfolding before our eyes, the alternatives to fossil fuel will simply never fill the gap between current and assumed future demand and supply of
energy.
And while I'm not personally a fan of
ethanol, the plant described at the following link seems to address many of the concerns about
ethanol and big - scale farming by treating wastes from one process
as feedstock into another and reducing the amount of
energy required at each stage.
It can also be seen in heightened spending on solar, wind, hydrogen,
ethanol and clean coal technologies,
as well
as on other
energy - investment decisions.»
In Brazil
ethanol has become economically competitive with gasoline, and the country's biofuels program could serve
as a world model for producing sustainable
energy, officials say.
There's a final point to be raised about
ethanol: It contains only about two - thirds
as much
energy as gasoline.
Similarly, the
Energy Commission's Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program created by Assembly Bill 118 (Núñez, Chapter 750, Statutes of 2007) is providing approximately $ 36 million in cost - share support for projects that receive awards through DOE solicitations covering alternative transportation fuel and technology areas such
as electric drive,
ethanol, hydrogen, natural gas, renewable diesel and biodiesel, propane, and market and development activities.
One million gallons of cellulosic
ethanol has the same
energy content
as half a million gallons of crude oil.
Other boosters, including Woolsey, claim there are huge
energy gains (
as much
as 700 percent) to be had by making
ethanol from grass.
The title inside is «The Clean
Energy Scam: Hyped
as an eco-friendly fuel,
ethanol increases global warming, destroys forests and inflates food prices.
The study also found that both BTL - RC - CCS (biomass - to - liquids, with recycling of unconverted syngas to maximize FTL output and CCS) and cellulosic
ethanol with CCS (EtOH - CCS) have negative GHGI emission values that can be exploited to offset GHG missions from difficult to decarbonize
energy sources such
as transportation fuels derived from crude oil.
Tennessee has the potential to produce billions of gallons of cellulosic
ethanol by using 4.5 million acres of land identified by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
as ideal for
energy crop cultivation.
But some
ethanol supporters correctly point out that we have lots of coal, and we could use that
as our primary
energy source for
ethanol production.
If I had done the
energy accounting
as is done with sugarcane
ethanol, one could state that the
energy return of gasoline is actually only the initial
energy required to get the oil out of the ground, which averages about 17/1 worldwide.
Fuel
ethanol minus denaturant is counted
as renewable
energy, while denaturant is counted
as nonrenewable fuel.
The
energy return on sugarcane
ethanol as it has been calculated does appear to be in the 8/1 range, which would make it better than gasoline.
While wind
energy is cheaper than other, more ineffective renewables, such
as solar, tidal, and
ethanol, it is nowhere near competitive.
The Midwest does not have the highest solar potential in the country (that is found in the Southwest), but its potential is nonetheless vast, with some parts of the Midwest having
as good a solar resource
as Florida.75 More than one - quarter of national installed wind
energy capacity, one - third of biodiesel capacity, and more than two - thirds of
ethanol production are located in the Midwest (see also Ch.
The article also says that clean
energy technologies and fuels that are supposed to replace oil, such
as cellulosic
ethanol, are not ready for prime time.
The National Commission on
Energy Policy reported in December that, if fleet mileage in the U.S. rises to 40 mpg — somewhat below the current European Union fleet average for new vehicles of 42 mpg and well below the current Japanese average of 47 mpg - then
as switchgrass yields improve modestly to around 10 tons / acre it would take only 30 million acres of land to produce sufficient cellulosic
ethanol to fuel half the U.S. passenger fleet.
Because so little
energy is required to cultivate crops such
as switchgrass for cellulosic
ethanol production, and because electricity can be co-produced using the residues of such cellulosic fuel production, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for celluslosic
ethanol when compared to gasoline are greater than 100 per cent.
A tactic used by
ethanol backers trying to defend the relatively defenseless Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is attempting to frame the RFS debate
as one between America's oil and natural gas companies and renewable
energy.
As CEO of BlueFire
Ethanol, I spend most of my time guiding and promoting the company to its final destiny of being the solution to man's pollution and supplying the best transportation
energy for the world.
It does not release carbon that would otherwise stay stored underground,
as occurs with fossil fuel use, but when starch, such
as corn, is used for
ethanol production much
energy, including fossil - fuel
energy, is consumed in the process of fertilizing, plowing, and harvesting.
Also, it will move BlueFire closer to a debt financing agreement with the Department of
Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture,» stated Arnold Klann, CEO of BlueFire Renewables, Inc. «This is one of the first cellulosic
ethanol contracts of its kind in the United States establishing BlueFire
as a clear leader in the industry.»
Mike Ewall is the founder and director of
Energy Justice Network, a national support network for grassroots community groups fighting dirty energy and waste industry facilities such as coal power plants, ethanol plants, natural gas facilities, landfills and incinerators of every
Energy Justice Network, a national support network for grassroots community groups fighting dirty
energy and waste industry facilities such as coal power plants, ethanol plants, natural gas facilities, landfills and incinerators of every
energy and waste industry facilities such
as coal power plants,
ethanol plants, natural gas facilities, landfills and incinerators of every sort.
President Obama continues to tout his «renewable»
energy schemes
as a «comprehensive»... «all of the above»... «
energy strategy for the future» — even though wind, solar and
ethanol programs combined provide less than 4 % of all the
energy that powers the United States and makes our jobs, living standards, economy, health and welfare possible.