Biofuel costs roughly a bit less than $2. Why is this considered high?

Question

I've read that grain ethanol costs around $1.75 a gallon and cellulosic biofuel costs around $1.80 a gallon. I went on a website and it mentioned fuel costs "tumbling" from $1.75 in January of 2005 to $1.23 in early April. Is $1.75 considered expensive because there's less oil efficiency when compared to gasoline?

Answer 1

it is considered high because biofuel combustion is much faster    thus more fuel get burn rapidly compared to regular gasoline.

Answer 2

Sort of. With the type of biofuel you are takling about, yes.

There are many different types of biofuel and they all act differently.

There are biofuels that are less efficient than gasoline, and some that are more efficient than it.

The only problem is, oil companies bring that bad biofuel to the front and shunt it, but this is only to brainwash the public.

Answer 3

I'd love to know where you read that ethanol is under $2 a gallon.  You're only looking at production costs, not feedstock costs and distirbution expenses, never mind road use taxes, that all fuels are subject to.  Typical landed cost (the total added up cost of getting to where it's used) is more like $2.75 a gallon.  The only reason ethanol is even considered competition for gasoline is because states are giving your tax dollars to subsidize an inefficient infrastucture in hopes that it garners them points at election time.

As for energy equivalent, it takes 1.5 gallons of ethanol to equal one gallon of gasoline in terms of energy realized during combustion.  Flex fuel vehicles that get 20 mpg on gasoline get about 14 mpg on E85.  This is why E85 isn't catching on and probably won't.  Once the government gives up on ethanol subsidies, and it will, ethanol will drift back into oblivion as an additive, not a major fuel source.