Category: ethanol

For many years, US politicians have subsidized corn production and its conversion to ethanol so that it may be added to petrol as a fuel in itself as well as help to burn petrol more efficiently as well as cleanly. The hope is that ethanol will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also help reduce America s dependence on Middle East oil. It is estimated that as many as ten million acres of land are needed to grow corn and make ethanol.

With most ethanol that is produced in the U.S being made from corn this has provided an economic stimulus to U.S. agriculture and has created a new market for corn and by expanding the production in the ethanol industry it may be a means of increasing farm income as well as reducing farm program payments and also lessen the dependence on imported fuels. Furthermore, there is more energy efficiency achieved through use of corn and ethanol and it also achieves a net gain in a better form of energy since converting corn and ethanol means using abundant domestic supplies of coal and natural gas and at the same time replaces petroleum imports.

Negative Aspects and Problems Concerning Usage of Corn and Ethanol

There are certain problems with using corn and ethanol since it requires fuel to make the corn in the first place and it has been found that an acre of U.S. corn can be used to make 328 gallons of ethanol which is fine but the planting as well as growing and harvesting of that amount of corn will need 140 gallons of fossil fuels that in itself amounts to $347 per acre which translates to $1.05 per gallon of ethanol being spent even before the corn leaves the farm. This may be further compounded by the crushing and fermentation of corn at processing plants, all of which consumes energy. The resultant end cost of producing ethanol and using corn works out to be more expensive than that of petrol.

Even then, there are many that argue that corn and ethanol are energy efficient and in fact, it gives up a third or slightly more percentage energy than it does to make it in the first place. Studies have even shown that the net energy value or NEV of corn and ethanol is rising with the passage of time and this may be due to advances in technology relating to converting ethanol as well as for better production of corn.

There have been many changes in the ethanol industry since the days when Henry Ford designed him Model T to be able to run on grain alcohol produced by farmers for their own use. Since that time the oil industry was reluctant to embrace ethanol as an alternative fuel source and for many years the industry languished.

As oil shortages and high gas prices began to be more frequent, the public clamor over reduced oil prices and better availability, there has been a renewed interest in ethanol industry. When word began to spread about the availability of a new alternative fuel, people were willing to use ethanol-blended gasoline, but were unable to find a supplier except in the Midwest where corn was plentiful.

During that time the ethanol industry may have consisted of a half dozen or so refineries turning corn into alcohol for automotive fuel and they began to re-think the needs of increasing capacity. The federal Environmental Protection Agency gave them the initiative to do just that when the government passed the Energy Policy Act of 1992 followed by directions in 2005 to have 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol available for use as vehicle fuel by 2012.

Guaranteed Customers For Product

With the newer mandates coming down in 2005, the ethanol industry had the incentive to expand their facilities and with just over 100 refineries in operation in early 2006, another 56 refineries are under construction. Additionally, the EPA has directed several cities outside of California, to reduce emissions and switching to Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFAs) is one of the alternatives to meeting the mandates.

The ethanol industry has also helped other industries with their increased production, such as corn, which represents about 55 percent of the cost of producing ethanol. By products of ethanol refinement by the ethanol industry is also being made available to producers of products such as nail polish remover and paint thinners. Although there are few areas in the country that are friendly to growing cane sugar, it is also being considered by the ethanol industry for the biomass production of ethanol.

One element that tends to hamper the ethanol industry is the constant price fluctuations of corn. Before oil prices exploded in 2005, the cost of ethanol fluctuated nearly the same as gasoline. However, the corn prices go up and down, the fluctuations are more often and more noticible.