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Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of articles on ethanol production.ÊInformation contained in this article was derived in part from the following sources:ÊIllinois Corn Growers Association; "Alternative Fuel Dictionary" article by Eric Peters; The Alternative Fuels Data Center; drivingethanol.org and Keith Addison's Web site, journeytoforever.org
In any discussion concerning alternative fuels, and ethanol in particular, the only certainty is the controversy surrounding the subject.
The need to develop such fuel and thereby lessen America's dependency on foreign oil has become a reality that even opponents of ethanol acknowledge.ÊEthanol and other biofuels has been championed as one of the best ways to begin changing this dependency.
Ethanol as a fuel is actually an alcohol made from renewable resources such as corn and other cereal grains, food and beverage waste and forestry byproducts.ÊEthanol blended fuels substantially can reduce carbon monoxide and volatile organic compound emissions. Ethanol is blended with gasoline to meet oxygenate level requirements that were mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act and to raise octane levels.
Accordingly, ethanol can reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 22 percent.ÊIt also is estimated that use of ethanol-based fuels can reduce greenhouse gases that cause global warming by up to 40 percent.
The Southwest Research Institute has determined that a blend of ethanol and diesel fuel can reduce particulate matter emission by up to 41 percent, nitrogen oxides up to as much as 5 percent, and carbon monoxide by up to 27 percent.
While ethanol can be used "straight up," the most common form of the product is what is known commercially as E85.ÊThis is a mix that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
The advantages of E85 include lower emissions of unburned hydrocarbons (which form the precursors of smog), and the potential for an eventual reduction on foreign oil sources.Ê Most vehicles can be set up to use E85 at a relatively low cost.ÊAnother advantage is that ethanol fuel also degrades quickly in water and presents a lesser risk environmentally.
A gallon of E85 ethanol contains roughly two-thirds the energy of a gallon of gasoline. This means vehicles using E85 should see a reduction of one-third of the fuel mileage of gasoline.ÊIn the 1990s, the state of Illinois purchased 350 E85ÊFord Tauruses and Chevrolet Luminas. The state found the fleet was actually getting 5 to 10 percent better mileageÊabove what was expected. This translated in actual mileage to 18-20 miles per gallon, per vehicle.
Illinois also found that in the case of the Luminas, repairs and overall reliability of the E85 versions of the vehicles were slightly better than the gasoline versions.
Since ethanol is a cleaner-burning fuel than gasoline, it is estimated that the life span of an E85 vehicle will be somewhat longer than a comparable gasoline model.ÊAlso, the actual cost of ethanol is roughly the same or slightly less than gasoline (when factoring in the Blenders Tax Credit). It is estimated the price of ethanol at the pump will drop as time goes by and research enables ethanol refineries to improve their production techniques.
Although the E85 blend of ethanol fuel is the most common commercially available, other blends containing 10-, 20- and 30-percent ethanol have been tested. Late-model vehicles that were tested with the blends got lower mileage, but this was offset by the lower fuel cost.ÊThis lower mileage is partly because ethanol has lower BTU per gallon of fuel than gasoline, and in some vehicles this will result in fewer miles per gallon.ÊWhile initial price is an offset to mileage, the fact that ethanol has higher octane, and is a better oxygenator, are also significant factors. In some engines, turbocharged engines for example, ethanol can produce better mileage because those engines use the octane.
The production of ethanol has benefits beyond those found by consumers.ÊIt provides another market for corn and grain growers. With agriculture being a tenuous business even during the best of times, the argument goes that anything that can boost farm income is good overall.Ê
Each bushel of corn can produce 2.5 gallons of ethanol.ÊOnly the starch from the corn is used to make ethanol, which therefore leaves the protein and valuable co-products for other uses.Ê For example, that same bushel of corn can produce: 1.5 pounds of corn oil, 12.4 pounds of 21-percent protein feed, 3 pounds of 60-percent protein glutton meal, and 17 pounds of carbon dioxide, which is used for carbonating soft drinks and other beverages.
This starch is then converted into sugar. The sugar is fed to yeast which converts it into ethanol.ÊIt is because of this process that the argument is often raised that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than is gained in the conversion process.ÊThis debate is what is known as the energy balance.Ê The energy balance of dry-mill-produced corn ethanol is approximately 1.4, according to recent studies. This means you get 40 percent more energy out of the process than is put in.
Updates to this research use current corn production numbers renders a balance of 1.8.ÊGasoline has an energy balance of 0.8.
While corn is thought to be "consumed" for ethanol production, the process actually produces a protein-rich animal fuel that is one-third the weight of the corn that comes into the refinery.ÊAlthough the production process does reduce the weight of the corn by two-thirds, the protein content is not changed. The process reduces the feed bulk, but not the feed value of the corn.ÊThis byproduct is better fed to cattle than hogs or poultry.Ê Nonetheless, nothing is taken out of the animal feed supply because of the process.ÊConsidering that the bulk of corn production (more than 50 percent) goes to animal feed anyway, ethanol production seemingly would have little impact on the overall corn supply.
Also, the bulk of corn used for human consumption goes into high fructose corn syrup, which sells for more than four times ethanol's value.Ê This makes it highly unlikely that ethanol production will impact the amount of corn available for human use.
According to John Biondi, chief operations officer of Lucigen, a molecular biology company, "Biofuels produced incidentally to food crop agriculture are suboptimal in several dimensions, but their production and consumption ... gives us time and creates the infrastructure necessary to achieve more optimal production from engineered nonfood crops and improved processes."
The debate for or against ethanol will continue for some time. However, the need to find alternative fuel sources also continues, as well as the need to maintain community living standards.
Whatever the outcome, the "food or fuel" debate does not need to be derisive.ÊLogic and understanding long-term effects must outweigh short-term monetary gains from either side of the debate.
