Do all hydrocarbons, eg gasoline and ethanol, burn to CO2 and Water with some trace gases?

Question

If so, then why the push for ethanol and biofuels to fight global warming?

Answer 1

in a word ,politics. if governments actually get worried about  co2 it can easily be captured & sequestered deep under ground. a good example is Norways sleipner project. it captures 1 million tons of co2 each year & pumps it 2600 ft under the sea floor. its been in operation for 12 years with no leakage or any other problem.

because of this success other companys are now building similar projects in the arctic circle,Algeria,Australia & Canada.

carbon capture & storage (CCS)has never been a problem its just a matter of who pays for it. but theres no PROFIT in trying to solve a problem that doesnt exist. first you have to convince people its a problem before you can charge them to solve it.

it seems that 20 years of the global warming campaign has finally convinced people to hand over their cash for such projects.

Answer 2

Ethanol is bad all around but in the USA the Corn farmers are in IOWA and every 4 years people need to  win IOWA to be considered a viable candidate.

1. It consumes farm land

2. Since the corn used for it is not as good as feed corn it raise the price of meat and diary products

3. People do not plant  rice, wheat and soy which raise the price of basic food stuffs.

4. It consumes more energy to produce than it makes.  

5. It lowers MPH so it pollutes more

6. It cannot use pipelines os it must be trucked

Over all it a hugh negative  and cellulose version is not ready for prime time.

We need NUclear and electric cars.

Answer 3

Because the CO2 emitted from biofuels was taken out of the air by plants a short time ago.  Putting it back is no big deal.  Fossil fuels, surprisingly are a different matter.  Here's why.

There are a great many natural sources and sinks for carbon dioxide.  But nature keeps the natural sources and sinks in balance.

There is a natural "carbon cycle" that recycles CO2.  But it's a delicate balance and we're messing it up.

Look at this graph.

http://gaw.kishou.go.jp/cgi-bin/wdcgg/qu...

The little squiggles are nature doing its' thing. CO2 falls a bit during summer when plants are active, and rises during the winter. The huge increase is us, burning fossil fuels. The scientists can actually show that the increased CO2 in the air comes from burning fossil fuels by using "isotopic ratios" to identify that CO2.  The natural carbon cycle buried carbon in fossil fuels over a very long time, a long time ago, little bit by little bit. We dig them up and burn them, real fast.  That's a problem.

Man is upsetting the balance of nature.  We need to fix that.  I agree that nuclear power is a better solution than biofuels, but biofuels can help.

Answer 4

They want that because all the country has left is inedible genetically tortured corn. The auto, aero, financial, industries are shot. There is no global warming fight. Bush hasn't so much as put up one windmill. But corn is produced at such an incredible rate; and subsidized the same as oil, that they're working overtime to use it all up. It's now used to make oils sugars, plastics, tires, and hundreds of other products. As a fuel it's a waste. 30% less mileage, overpriced, and the kicker is, there's no ethanol pipeline, so trucking eats up all the profits. The sad thing is, oil hasn't gone up much at all, the administration has just about destroyed the dollar.

Answer 5

Bob, you are an idiot!!  even farts raise CO2!  CO2 does not cause global temperature rise! Temperature rise causes a rise in CO2! By the way, most(90%)CO2 COMES FROM THE OCEAN!  wake up ! I don,t see millions of cars and farting cows in the ocean!  your nothing but a tree hugging environmentalist who with the help of your friends have caused  4.00 gas with your no drill or refinery policy and record food prices with your alternative fuel policy! happy? what else do you want to do in the name of your god EARTH?