False Promise Of Biofuels Article
Main Points
Liquid fuel can be harvested from algae.
None of these advanced biofuels are working at commercially meaningful scales today.
According to U.S EPA, by 2011 the U.S was supposed to be producing 100 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol. Instead in the 2010 the EPA rolled back the 2011 goal to 6.5 million.
Experience suggests thaat scientific or industrial improvements needed to solve challenges to making advanced biofuels may be difficult to attain.
Goal seems too distant.
Corn ethanol only biofuel to reach commercial scale in the U.S thanks to subsidies.
Fermentation is the core technology for making ethanol from corn.
Corn ethanol is not energy efficient and is not carbon neutral
Lots of energy is required to distill ethanol from the soup of water and yeast in which it has been fermented.
A gallon of ethanol supplies a vehicle only 2/3 of energy in a gallon of gasoline
Energy inputs cost money
Corn ethanol may never compete on price with gasoline.
Research showed that ethanol would only replace 18% of gasoline consumption
Replacing all fuels with corn ethanol would require farm three times size of continental U.S
Energy that can be harvested from waste cellulose is potentially huge.
It can generate 1.4 billion tons of cellulosic material, displacing 30% of transportation fuel
Finding way to efficiently break down plant's cell walls is central challenge.
Inspiration comes from cows crushing grass and leaf cutter ants.
Another approach is to use family of enzymes
Approach towards using cellulose imposes a significant environmental and agricultural burden.
Corn stover is left on farmland after harvest, where it improves soil fertility. Balling it up and using it might accel soil degradation and rendering the soil incapable of growing crops.
Companies are investing ethanol from sugarcane
Sugarcane delivers more energy and is easier to grow and has existing production.
My Summary
I agree that if we are using these crops for fuel, we are straining the agricultural system even more by adding more demand to the crops that are needed. When there are more demands for these crops, more resources need to be used,which costs the person or the government money.
Liquid fuel can be harvested from algae.
None of these advanced biofuels are working at commercially meaningful scales today.
According to U.S EPA, by 2011 the U.S was supposed to be producing 100 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol. Instead in the 2010 the EPA rolled back the 2011 goal to 6.5 million.
Experience suggests thaat scientific or industrial improvements needed to solve challenges to making advanced biofuels may be difficult to attain.
Goal seems too distant.
Corn ethanol only biofuel to reach commercial scale in the U.S thanks to subsidies.
Fermentation is the core technology for making ethanol from corn.
Corn ethanol is not energy efficient and is not carbon neutral
Lots of energy is required to distill ethanol from the soup of water and yeast in which it has been fermented.
A gallon of ethanol supplies a vehicle only 2/3 of energy in a gallon of gasoline
Energy inputs cost money
Corn ethanol may never compete on price with gasoline.
Research showed that ethanol would only replace 18% of gasoline consumption
Replacing all fuels with corn ethanol would require farm three times size of continental U.S
Energy that can be harvested from waste cellulose is potentially huge.
It can generate 1.4 billion tons of cellulosic material, displacing 30% of transportation fuel
Finding way to efficiently break down plant's cell walls is central challenge.
Inspiration comes from cows crushing grass and leaf cutter ants.
Another approach is to use family of enzymes
Approach towards using cellulose imposes a significant environmental and agricultural burden.
Corn stover is left on farmland after harvest, where it improves soil fertility. Balling it up and using it might accel soil degradation and rendering the soil incapable of growing crops.
Companies are investing ethanol from sugarcane
Sugarcane delivers more energy and is easier to grow and has existing production.
My Summary
I agree that if we are using these crops for fuel, we are straining the agricultural system even more by adding more demand to the crops that are needed. When there are more demands for these crops, more resources need to be used,which costs the person or the government money.