Potential for Large Scale Ethanol Production
Recent legislation by the Congress of the United States has created a mandate for 5 billion gallons of renewable fuel (notably ethanol) to be consumed annually by 2015. In light of this recent push for alternative fuels, many different biomass solutions have been considered to meet the energy need for the 200 million cars on the road. While the most efficient bio-fuels are derived from palm oil and sugarcane, the Unites States has begun to focus on the more regional corn crops to produce new renewable fuels. This program appears to have great potential towards achieving a sustainable future devoid of foreign oil dependence, until the economic implications of large-scale ethanol
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More moderate studies that were conducted suggest a modest 25% return on investment. Still, not enough to herald it as the perfect solution.
President Bush recently visited Central America to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian Government, aimed at expanding ethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil. Brazil currently produces 38% of the worlds’ ethanol, while already straining the countries ecosystem (Hirsch). If ethanol production were to increase globally, environmentalists fear that Brazil could transform into a giant sugarcane field. Richard Heinberg noted this rapid expansion and tried to imagine how this would affect the United States cropland when the demand for corn-derived ethanol production increased. Heinberg concluded that the US would need 25% more farmland than currently exists to supply the average consumers 852 gallons of fuel per year (Heinberg, 172). This statistic is especially alarming when you realize this assumes that no farmland would be used for food production for both livestock and humans. Additionally, while 90% of ethanol production is produced from corn, the USDA reports that, “corn farming required more chemicals – fertilizers, insecticides and herbicides – than any other comparable crop, such as soybeans.” (Pica) With a planned increase in corn production we would see a severe increase in soil and water contamination near farming areas because of
Not only does this kill the American Agriculture, but this also starves people. I’m sure everyone of you know the struggle people go through and the struggle of finding food. Instead of land being used for crops to grow food for these people, it is being used to produce ethanol. I believe we should use this cropland for crops because it can help starving and hungry people to be able to receive food so they can have enough to eat.
The United States of America is the world’s largest corn overproducer. With such heavy focus on corn, I would like to draw attention to a measure taken by the United States government, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. This act increased the amount of farm land that is meant to be used in the States for growing corn from 60 million acres to a whopping 90 million acres. Such a significant increase cannot go without some kind of effect. Writer, Michael Pollan, in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, discusses the instability of the US farming industry as well as the negative environmental implications corn has on us. This instability and environmental impact has given rise to movements promoting a return to more
Switching from the expensive oil to alternative fuels has moved from a dream to reality. Today, there are dozens of alternatives to oil that are currently available us to be used. One alternative to oil that is being used more today is ethanol. Derived from plant materials, ethanol can be a cheaper, cleaner alternative to the gasoline that our vehicles run off. When going to gas pumps, one will notice that much of the gasoline is up to 10 percent of ethanol. According to our text, most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn, yet ethanol can be made from any biomes-- including garbage. (Turk & Bensel, 2011)
"We need more stringent regulations on car emissions... Let's add MTBE to the fuel- that will reduce pollution... If people would just stop driving so much, pollution wouldn't be so bad..." People have long recognized the problems with the gasoline we used now. We have tried everything from putting regulations on emissions, to putting additives in the gasoline (only to discover later that MTBE got into the groundwater), to campaigns to get people off the road. However, more and more cars are on the roads as the population increases, and people are not going to stop driving. Additives are as likely to cause problems as they are to prevent them. Just changing the
In the words of Lester Brown, “We are witnessing the beginning of one of the great tragedies of history.” Numerous people just like Brown believe the urge the United States has to reduce foreign oil will soon cause a major shortage of food. In 2011, the United States used 45% of that year’s corn crop to produce ethanol. With such a high percentage of corn used for ethanol, it causes a shortage of corn for food. The Untied States is not as efficient at making ethanol compared to feeding people. A bushel of corn can produce 2 .77 gallons of ethanol. With the same amount of corn, America can feed 1.4 persons for a day.
This report extensively analyses the production and breakdown of Ethanols, to assess its properties and their relation to being a fuel. The use of Ethanol as reliable source of renewable energy and its current effects on society. The potential use of ethanol as an alternative to coal and fossil fuels, the advantages and disadvantages of Ethanol.
The USDA should allow farmers more land for cultivation of switch grass, and less land for corn because switch grass grown for the purpose of producing ethanol will have many more benefits both economically and environmentally compared to corn, which has many harmful outcomes.
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), the ethanol business' entry add up to, guarantees that ethanol time manufactures the cost of corn by developing sales. The RFA claims that ethanol time has positive cash related impact for US ranchers, yet it doesn't illustrate the impact for different masses where field corn is a touch of the staple
First, the production of corn ethanol negatively impacts the U.S. food supply. That is, within the last few years, there has been a decline in corn-based food. As Kripke notes, “In 2008, the USDA estimate that 3.1 million bushels of U.S. corn will be used to produce biofuels. That’s an increase of nearly 50 percent over 2.1 million bushels last year.”
For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.
Examining the ethanol facilities current dilemma, it would be a challenge to maintain a motivated and happy workforce. There could be several different ways a manager could confront this issue and it may be hard to predict all the variables. However, when looking at the five elements of a supportive climate, knowing these items ahead of time will help immensely when confronting the employees and the economic issues the plant is facing,
Well we all know that the energy system is very unstable because the total energy available on the earth is limited, and man has exploited all the conventional technologies to fulfill his needs. By the use of these conventional technologies, the world also has a disability, with problems such as global warming. Consumption of energy by man increased gradually as his wants also increase. The conventional energy resources mainly include fossil fuels, but research shows that this fuel source will be depleted completely in approximately 20-25 years. This could cause major setbacks around the world. As a result, we need an alternative source of fuel that could keep the world running on its wheel. One possibility is ethanol. Chemically extract
This essay will first discuss the advantages of using corn ethanol as the main source of fuel in the future, such as the renewable features of corn itself, and the benefits of using corn ethanol as an additive of gasoline instead of using gasoline alone. However, everything has its strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, the second part of the essay will discuss some of the weaknesses in applying the fuel into practical usage. For example, corn ethanol currently encounters technical limitations serving itself as a standalone fuel, meaning that corn ethanol can only function by combining itself with a certain amount of gasoline, while gasoline is a kind of fossil fuel. Lastly, this essay will conduct a comparison with other renewable resources in the world, including solar power, other biofuels, and hydrogen fuel.
This essay focuses on two renewable energy resources. First of all, biofuel is now accepted as alternative energy in worldwide. The figures continue upward trend in the biofuel production. ‘An annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2006 to 2030 is expected for total biofuels consumption in the transport sector’ (International Energy Agency: 2008 cited in Zhou, et al., 2009:S11). Significant leaders of the biofuel market are Brazil, the United States and the European Union. The results of research indicated that 92% of the world’s ethanol is produced by Brazil and US together, while 90% of the world’s biodiesel manufactured by the EU. In addition, several developing countries in Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines have an enormous potential for biofuel production. Now these countries are
What environmental benefits do we receive form an influx in ethanol as an alternative fuel? First let’s look