Why don't we use Grain Alcohol instead of gasoline?

Question

If all gasoline cars can be converted to E-100 (100% grain alcohol) right now, for less than $1,000, if it will free us from terrorist's oil, if it will create a zero-net carbon footprint for all vehicles, if it will provide American farmers with a new boom market, if it will burn cleaner, not be affected by water absorbtion (within reason - that matters up north here), why in the h**l are we still buying oil from the people who attacked us on 9/11?

Answer 1

Any fuel made from our food supply is a bad idea.  Alcohol has some drawbacks but certainly is a usable fuel for automobiles.  However, it would have to come from some plant we do not use or a from the by-product of some plant we do use.  You also, need a method of large scale production that does not use more energy than it produces.  

These are not insurmountable obstacles just an indication of the problems involved.  Forcing up food prices or causing food shortages is not an acceptable alternative.

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Answer 2

Ethanol burns better so you can burn more of it quickly,hence more power from the engine. Down side is you need to burn 30 -40% more to get the same power as Gasoline. The amount of energy used to grow the sugar then ferment it in containers ,then heat it to remove the ethanol then cool it back into a liquid again....that takes alot of energy and alot of effort. So estimate for every 5 units of energy derived from ethanol ,it takes about 3-4 to produce the ethanol in the first place.... not very efficent huh. Biodiesel from algae is a better and viable fuel, just ask NASA.

You will also find that all political parties are funded by oil companys so why would governments look for another source of cheap fuel,they need their funding , right !! Pull the plug on importing oil and stop funding these rogue countrys

Answer 3

One of the main reasons is the fact that the energy market is completely cornered by the oil industry and the likelihood of any other energy source, including ethanol, taking any sizable market share from the oil industry is slim to none.  As oil begins to run out, this will of course change.

Another big one which has been pointed out is the fact that using traditional methods we wouldn't be able to produce enough corn to produce enough ethanol to fill our needs.  This is a real problem, but it's being overcome as we speak.  There has been a lot of recent development in cellulosic ethanol, which will enable us to produce ethanol out of any plant waste.  So anything from grass clippings to saw dust can be used to make fuel.  While it does currently exist, it is very expensive and cost prohibitive, but as the technologies improve, it is becoming ever cheaper.

Another added benefit of cellulosic ethanol is it allows far more energy dense and easier to grow plants, such as switch grass, to be used instead of corn.  This would mean a few acres of otherwise useless land could be used to grow switch grass and produce the same amount of ethanol as hundreds of acres of corn.    

There are also a lot of misconceptions out there about ethanol that turn many people off to it.  One is the belief that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than you can get out of it.  This may have been the case 20+ years ago, but modern ethanol plants are far more efficient and ethanol as been a positive source of energy for some time now.

Another is the believe that ethanol gives you lower fuel mileage than gasoline.  If you merely pour ethanol in the fuel tank of a car designed for unleaded gasoline and adjust the cars fueling to account for the new fuel you will get lower fuel mileage.  The thing is, ethanol is a much more efficient fuel than gasoline for internal combustion engines.  If that is taken advantage of in the design of the engine, you can make the same amount of power out of a smaller engine with the same if not better fuel mileage as their gasoline equivalents.

The third major misconception, and my personal favorite, is that many people feel ethanol is no better than gasoline because it still produces CO2.  The one major detail they are forgetting is that every bit of CO2 produced during the production and consumption of that ethanol was originally consumed by the plant material used to make the ethanol.  It's essentially the same as if you were to go out, eat a few ears of corn and breath.

Answer 4

Amen, Michael.  Kudos to you for doing your homework on ethanol and getting the facts. We need to get the word out on ethanol and start seeing the big picture. Not the "let me save $1.25 today in my wallet and s***w my country in the future by lining the pockets of terrorists" attitude that many have.  I couldn't have said it better than you did.  Ethanol is clean, renewable, and made in America and supports American farmers, instead of mideast sheiks.  Right now it may only displace 5% of our fuel supply but that will soon increase as more corn is grown and other sources as feedstocks come into use.  Xethanol Corp. LLC in Florida is producing ethanol from waste citrus peels of the orange and grapefruit industries.  And it is LOWERING the price of orange juice.  Why?  The juice companies used to have to pay to have their waste peels carted off and disposed of at a landfill.  Now, the juice companies are paid for their waste citrus peels by Xethanol Corp. who turns the waste peels into clean burning renewable ethanol that we can use in our vehicles.  It's simply a matter of educating people on the topic.  You are obviously one of the few who has read up on ethanol and has the facts.  The biggest obstacle is that the big oil companies are putting out all kinds of propaganda and lies about ethanol because they know it could ultimately lead to their demise.  But education can overcome all the myths and fabrications that big oil has engrained in the general public.  Check out these links if you haven't already. The last link discusses Xethanol:

http://www.drivingethanol.org

http://www.e85fuel.com

http://www.ethanol.org

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/12/...

Answer 5

I agree....the greed turns them into madmen. I have suggested turning Bu(($hit into fuel ! There is PLENTY of that !

Answer 6

Simple. There is not nearly enough ethanol in the country to replace all the petroleum. There is not enough farm land to grow that much grain.

Answer 7

In theory bio fuels such as ethanol from corn sound like grand ideas but there are several flaws.  

First, as mentioned above if all the corn production in this country was used for ethanol it would cover approximately 5% of our fuel needs.

Second, the production of ethanol opperates at a net loss of energy. That means it takes more energy to create a unit of ethanol than can be gained by burning it.

Third, if every single square inch of American soil was planted with corn solely for the purpose of ethanol production it would provide only 90% of our needs.

Fourth, the combustion of ethanol produces CO2 just like the combustion of gasoline

Fifth and most importantly, the amount of insecticides and fertilizers dumped into the soil by current corn production alone is causing catostraphic consequences regarding water quality, soil sterilization, and a new generation of pesticide resistant weeds and insects.

Much more work needs to be done to improve the effeciency of this process before it is of any use to us.  Regardless we would be replacing the "evil oil companies" with what?... benevolent corn companies.  Greed and coruption will always follow the profits, into any sector or industry.

Answer 8

I understand that it will take as much conventional energy to produce as we would consume as grain alcohol.

Answer 9

Let's say your vehicle gets about 29 mpg when you burn E10 at steady highway speed,  then with straight gasoline, you'll get about 32 mpg. That is because Gasoline creates 104,000 BTU/gal, while E10 produces 100,700 BTU/gal, and pure "corn" ethanol only converts to 70,300 BTU/gal."

That three miles per gallon doesn't sound like much of difference does it?

But try a a little experiment and imagine a theoretical trip of 320 miles.

If you use gasoline, you would burn 10 gallons.

If you use E10, you would burn 11 gallons of that fuel.

But 90% of that 11 gallons of E10 would be gasoline. And what is 90% of 11? A: 9.9 gallons.

That means whether you burn gasoline or E10, you would burn almost exactly the same amount of gasoline on that theoretical trip.

Conclusion

When you use E10 you save virtually no gasoline, but you pay more since you have to buy about 10% more fuel due to its lower BTU output.

"Corn" ethanol is a hoax and all  it does is make you feel good inside when you think you're reducing harm to the environment...  On the other hand "Sugar cane" ethanol used in South america yields much better BTU per gallon and costs less to produce, in their case ethanol works.

Answer 10

according to wikipedia....

if every bushel of U.S. corn, wheat, rice and soybean were used to produce ethanol, it would only cover about 4% of U.S. energy needs on a net basis."