Category: ethanol

Although there seems to be a new ethanol plant basically every minute, there are those which are still considered as being more major and more important than others, and so while we should not forget about the rest of them, we should still make sure that we pay closer mind to these ones in particular.

For instance, there is the matter that came up most recently, in regards to the fact that a new ethanol plant was going to be fueled by cow manure; it should be known first off however that the new ethanol plant facilities may have a big impact in regards to the growing debate over the value of ethanol which, for those who do not know, is a liquid fuel that is distilled from food starches such as corn as a supplement or alternative to gasoline.

Furthermore, it is considered that ethanol is actually going to turn into our major source rather than gasoline, and this is a matter that is one of great and significance importance, not only to us and where we live, but as a global matter.

More on the New Ethanol Plant

In regards further to the new ethanol plant however, the new plant is expected to extract methane from 1 billion pounds of manure the product of about 500,000 cows in order to be able to generate 100 million gallons of ethanol, plus ash-by product, each year. As well, methane will then be derived from the manure and will then be burned to generate the steam that is necessary for processing corn into ethanol.

Basically, by mining mountains for energy, there are then certain facilities, such as the Panda facility, which is expected to save the equivalent of a thousand barrels of oil a day that would otherwise be required in order to be able to fuel ethanol production.

It is quite easy to see the importance of ethanol, as well as how great it is going to be in the future, and how promising the future truly looks if we were to actually turn to ethanol as our major source of fuel. However, we can truly only wait to see what happens, and you never know, perhaps within that time there will be more options to choose from as well; just as ethanol came into place ahead of gasoline, as could another come in front of it.

In the United States, much of the ethanol produced comes from corn or other plant wastes. Ethanol is in high demand, its benefits could be used a lot more than we actually use it. In other areas around the world, ethanol is derived from sugar cane. Two such nations that are turning this crop into transportation fuel include India and Brazil. Read below about this transportation technology used by these two nations, and the possible socioeconomic impacts that this process may have on them.

India is the largest sugar producer in the world, and in terms of sugarcane, it stands head to head with Brazil. India is currently facing an overhaul of their sugar cane and molasses producing industry to incorporate the distilling of sugar cane ethanol. The goal is to take this ethanol and blend it with gasoline to produce a cleaner burning fuel and lower the country s current dependence on oil.

While India is well on its way to the increase in sugar cane ethanol production, Brazil is already there with plans to become self-sufficient in regards to energy. Brazil is already to the point where some pumps put out only alcohol while others pump out only gasoline. This achievement did not come to Brazil easily, but rather took tens of years of research, mistakes, and billions of dollars to accomplish.

The Politics of Ethanol

Fuel economy, availability and usage drive many of the political discussions, debates and wars in our current world. One of the concerns facing the nations producing sugar cane ethanol is that of foreign trade. Will the pressure placed on these nations by outside countries be equivalent to that placed by oil producing countries today? While the answers are uncertain, it is clear that other nations around the world are beginning to see the success that these two lands have had and wish to replicate it.

Currently, the tax levied on sugar cane ethanol imported from Brazil is 54 cents a gallon by the United States, hindering the involvement of Americans in the building of the industry. On another big business note, there are two industries that will dramatically be affected by the use of ethanol in automobiles including the oil industry and the automobile industry. Automobile companies are being challenged to produce cars with flexible fuel engines. These run on gasoline, a mixture of ethanol and gasoline, or on ethanol alone.