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The Inconvenient Truth About Ethanol

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Comments

  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    That is one of the problems of transporting ethanol, yes. There is of course the slight risk of accident and fire. That's why oil and natural gas get pipelined. And no, you can't pipeline ethanol..something about the chemical makeup, it absorbs too much water or something. Then you have drunks with drills going after the pipes and all... :shades:
  • pafromflpafromfl Member Posts: 47
    At least one person is dead after a cargo train derailment and fire in Rockford, Illinois on Friday, officials said.
    I wonder if the engineer was fueled by ethanol.
  • avalon02whavalon02wh Member Posts: 785
    " And no, you can't pipeline ethanol..something about the chemical makeup, it absorbs too much water or something. "

    Yes, ethanol is very corrosive, however they are working on the issue.

    http://www.autobloggreen.com/2009/03/16/u-s-ethanol-pipeline-idea-gets-push-from- -poet/

    "Then you have drunks with drills going after the pipes and all..."

    Really, do we have drunks running up to trucks carrying ethanol trying to get a swig????
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    Really, do we have drunks running up to trucks carrying ethanol trying to get a swig????

    Leave them unattended and it's possible. Ethanol = 200 proof vodka, pure and simple (in more ways than one, heh). What happens when its cheaper per gallon than hard liquor?
  • kipkkipk Member Posts: 1,576
    >"If the ONLY reason you see for using ethanol is getting a better mileage (that´s at least what´s being inferred from your post) then you did not understand a thing about the benefits of ethanol. "

    The reports I've read mostly claim a 5%-!0% reduction in mileage using 10 blend vs pure dino gas. . Lets use the 10% figure for now. And lets use a vehicle that averages 25 mpg on dino. It would get 10% less on ethanol blend, or 22.5 mpg.

    To drive 1000 miles the car would use 40 gallons of dino gas. To drive that same distance would require 44.4 gallons of "Blend". Of that "Blend" 90% is dino and 10% ethanol. So the 1000 miles still required 39.96 gallons of dino.

    Same amount of dino gas used for all practical purposes. Same dino carbon emissions, PLUS the emissions from the 4.4 gallons of ethanol.
    Can't see how that is any reduction of oil dependence.

    Actually when you figure the energy required to plant the crops, irrigate them, harvest them, haul them to the refinery to make the ethanol, make the ethanol, haul the ethanol to somewhere to be blended with the dino fuel, energy used to do the blending, and yada, yada, yada, there appears to be a great deal of energy used in the form of electricity, diesel fuel, coal, Natural gas, just to get the blend ready for us to purchase. Read somewhere that it takes about 100 gallons of water from the seed to the gas tank for each gallon of Ethanol produced.

    While it may be true that ethanol produces less emissions than dino fuels, how much less? And does it favorably compare when all else is considered, ie energy to produce and get it ready for a gas tank, and using more of it in our vehicles?

    Kip
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Another important aspect is the land itself. The article I read claims it takes 93 years to gain back what is lost in carbon sink value, when you cut the natural forest to grow crops. This would be true in Iowa and the rain forest. Iowa has cleared 97% of their hardwood forests to crop land. Corn is not that good of a carbon sink. I am still trying to find any positive aspects to Corn Ethanol, except subsidies for the giant ag companies.
  • galongagalonga Member Posts: 50
    The funny thing is seeing all this mathematics. :)

    Brazil´s been running half of all its cars on 100% ethanol for over 30 years and that has a proven perfecly viable solution.

    Yet america insists on doing mathematics to disprove that.

    Problem is they are all based on corn ethanol (over there is sugarcane), E85 (over there is E100), distance between plants and crop lands (there the plant is located in the sugarcane plantation), etc

    Of course with those differences the mathematics will indeed be as you show them.

    So the question remais: why reinvent the wheel?
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    If all the energy and effort that has gone into ethanol had gone into biodiesel, we would be far closer to energy independence, which is a goal we can never achieve at our present rate of consumption.

    I understand that biodiesel has its environmental drawbacks as does any form of fuel, but considering it gets about 45% better MPG over E10, would it not be a better choice?

    It really is a no brainer, but the money trail goes a different direction.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Brazil´s been running half of all its cars on 100% ethanol for over 30 years and that has a proven perfecly viable solution.


    You are making bold statements you cannot back up with facts. First Brazil depends on Sugar ethanol for about 20% of its vehicle fuel. They are independent because of huge oil reserves found over the last few years. There Ethanol production went to almost ZERO during the late 1980s. Brazil left many people with vehicles that would only run on ethanol stranded. The vehicles that will run on E100 will run on regular gas also.

    The government offered subsidies to sugar cane growers and forced service stations in every town of at least 1,500 people to install ethanol pumps. By the early 1980s, almost all new cars sold in Brazil ran on 100 percent ethanol.

    But as the decade progressed and the military government was replaced by democracy, oil prices plummeted and the subsidies granted to ethanol producers were eliminated. Sugar processing plants turned from ethanol to edible sugar, creating a shortage of supplies at service stations. The auto industry, which had dedicated itself to ethanol-only cars, stopped producing them almost entirely.

    "It was as if from one day to the next, the people who had ethanol cars had a problem on their hands, because no one wanted to buy them," said Henry Joseph Jr., head of the engineering program for Volkswagen of Brazil. "Ethanol cars went all the way from more than 90 percent of sales to less than 1 percent."


    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/19/AR2006081900842.- html
  • everymansmediueverymansmediu Member Posts: 1
    Ethanol and water up to 100 proof will run an engine better than pure ethanol. Then you get 2 gallons of fuel for the cost of one gallon of pure 99.9% ethanol. The added water makes up the other gallon. So you run on about 51% ethanol. About 1% below the saturation point.

    The other benefit of pre-mixing ethanol with water is, should it catch fire you can put the fire out with water. This makes the fuel safer to use also.

    You could ask any moonshiner about running on 100 proof.

    I think there are to many people that have oil stock that they are worried about, or maybe they have their head up their you know what.

    This is old technology that has been hidden under the smoke screen of burning oil.

    LESS TOXIC:
    I would rather smell the fumes of something that I could drink without it killing me. Though I personally feel it is safer to burn it than drink it.

    You do not need to believe me. Here is an old link to information about this. You will need to go down about 9 paragraphs to find the one about water injection. I will copy it for you and post it below the link. Because the rest of the information is common knowledge.

    http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_manual/manual1-2.html

    WATER INJECTION

    During World War II, the military made extensive use of water injection in high performance piston aircraft engines. Later, water injection was used by both civilian and military jet aircraft to provide extra thrust, principally on takeoff. Even today, water injection systems are available that can be installed in automobiles. The fact is that, within certain limits, these systems actually do increase power. Referring back to Figure 2-2, note that the latent heat of vaporization for gasoline is about 140 Btu/lb and for ethanol about 361 Btu/lb. Water has a latent heat of about 700 Btu/lb! Therefore, if a little water is injected into the carburetor in the form of an ultra-fine mist, the latent heat of the water will cool the charge and increase volumetric efficiency. In addition, when the charge is fired in the cylinder, the water will turn to high-pressure steam and provide additional power due to the pressure exerted by the steam. There are definite limits, however, to the amount of water that can be injected. Too much will cause excessive cooling and misfiring.

    The use of water injection with a gasoline fueled engine requires a separate metering and injection system because water and gasoline do not mix. Ethanol and water, however, do mix and the benefits of water injection can be had simply by adding the desired amount of water to the alcohol in the fuel tank.

    Get with it people. I am sure that there are some of the 3rd world countries that will be glad to pick up on this oversight.

    WHY IS THERE NO RESEARCH INTO THIS PHENOMINA.

    2 gallons for the price of one. We will be back to 1.00 per gallon fuel.

    The fuel is safer when mixed with water. You can put out the fire with a garden hose.

    John EMM
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    I read the title of your post and unfortunately knew what you were going to say. Tell you what: when you light a match, drop it into a glass of water and the water burns, I'll believe you. Otherwise, you're just cutting the ethanol with water, which means you get half the energy out of it. In addition to that, you have to spend some of the energy vaporizing the water some fool poured into your engine. Ethanol and water do in fact mix but that's not a good thing: in fact it's the reason why they don't transport it by pipeline, because the water CONTAMINATES it!

    "It gets 100 miles to the gallon...and it runs on water man!" If you'll recall either the first or last episode of That 70's Show, just keep in mind he was smoking something other than nicotine when he said that. :shades:
  • yerth10yerth10 Member Posts: 431
    Any talk about Brazil's Ethanol program in 1980 was a old news.
    This is the latest news.
    All gas sold in Brazil has 23% Ethanol. Also 20 % of all the vehicles on road in Brazil today are Flexfuelled cars which can run on 100% Ethanol.

    So as of now, 50% of all fuel for private vehicles is Ethanol.

    Another news is in year-2008, the Oil consumption in US fell by over 6% and Worldwide, it fell by 0.6% even after including Ethanol (which actually grew 40%).
    Ethanol would have taken some market share from Oil.

    Ethanol is the easiest and #1 alternative for Petro-fuels. People can talk about food production. With the same amount of land as US, China produces food for 4 times the number of people, so US has lot of surplus land to grow Corn, Switchgrass and other crops for Bio-fuels.

    So, Ethanol production and consumption will continue to grow in the years ahead.
    BTW, cellulose Ethanol has already hit the market.

    It seems there are 2,170 Ethanol stations in US today compared to 500 in 2005.

    http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/e85-ethanol-in-every-car/?hp

    http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/06/10/10greenwire-shell-sells-cellulosic-ethan- ol-blend-in-canada-10074.html

    Paralelly, E15 may also come to market.
    http://ethanol-news.newslib.com/story/6938-32647/
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    No Sale
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Brazil Ethanol:
    sugarcane ethanol represented 16.7% of the country's total energy consumption by the automotive sector in 2007.wiki

    I gave Brazil the benefit of the doubt with 20%. No one here has said that sugar cane ethanol was not a viable product. It is damaging to the environment which ethanol advocates want to gloss over. Every acre of the rain forest that is cut to produce sugar cane will take nearly 100 years to mitigate, if ever.

    If you have data that refutes what I have posted feel free to share with us. Just because the brain dead in Washington DC have bought into the Corn Ethanol scam does not make it a good thing. I am sure when they kick up the ethanol content to 15% from the current 10% my mileage will go down by another 5%. Kind of like the guy with his car that runs on water. It is an illusion that ethanol from corn is a winner.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    Ethanol is the easiest and #1 alternative for Petro-fuels. People can talk about food production. With the same amount of land as US, China produces food for 4 times the number of people, so US has lot of surplus land to grow Corn, Switchgrass and other crops for Bio-fuels.

    I have several issues with your broad statement. Most are answered by your own link.

    If there is a breakthrough in cellulosic ethanol development, that might change the equation.”

    Cellulosic ethanol promises larger yields than corn-based ethanol, but processes to produce it in any substantial quantity are still being developed.

    “Corn is not the right crop for biofuels,” Mr. Chu has said. Last month, the Energy Department announced that $786.5 million in stimulus funds would be used to speed advanced biofuels research and demonstration projects.


    That is exactly what I have posted since this thread was started. Corn ethanol is NOT a good choice for America.

    From your second link comes this statement on Cellulosic ethanol R&D. It is FAR from becoming viable. The process is at the same point it was 5 years ago. Not commercially viable. What is so hard to accept about that? It takes more energy to produce ethanol than you get out of it.

    Shell and Iogen are no longer pursuing U.S. Department of Energy funding for a second commercial-scale plant, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, but have not ruled out building the facility as part of a broader commercial fuel rollout, noted David Williams, a Shell spokesman in London.

    "The vision is large-scale production and significant commercial availability," Williams said. "However, cost-competitive advanced biofuels in substantial quantities we estimate are five to 10 years away."


    More R&D should be done before they experiment with peoples cars. So far corn ethanol is a BIG ZERO.
  • galongagalonga Member Posts: 50
    Actually it was just release that there are MORE ethanol cars than gasoline cars in Brazil.

    I can provide you with links but they are in portuguese (guess you can still use google translator) as proof.

    As for being damaging to the rainforest, it´s just BS for a simple fact: sugarcane does NOT grow well in the amazon, as the land there is sandy and too moist.

    So nobody grows it there simply because of that: it does not grow well. period.

    Now, if you say they are deforesting for cattle I´ll keep quiet because I know that´s true (even though last year deforestation had a 82% drop).

    I do agree however that corn ethanol is financially unsound. America could just import ethanol from Brazil and get it over with.
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    No argument there. Take off the 53 cent tariff Carter imposed on Brazilian Ethanol and see what the market does. I do not have any good data on where they are growing the sugar cane. Just some eco nut blogs that are not interested in any kind of progress. I do know that VW only sells vehicles in Brazil that will run on gas or any mixture up to E100. Which is fine as it gives the owner the flexibility to choose.

    You probably know that this is at least a 100 year old battle on what to use in our cars. Henry Ford wanted to continue running on alcohol and Rockefeller wanted to use his waste product from heating oil production. That being gasoline. It is very interesting reading how Rockefeller won the battle.
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    From your second link comes this statement on Cellulosic ethanol R&D. It is FAR from becoming viable. The process is at the same point it was 5 years ago. Not commercially viable. What is so hard to accept about that? It takes more energy to produce ethanol than you get out of it.

    Actually, that's a pretty good reason to keep chipping away at it from an R&D perspective, though it's also justification for not doing so. No, there's no money in it right now so the market doesn't really want to invest in it...one of the reasons is careful manipulation of gas prices by certain countries. ;) The smart thing to do would be to continue research on it so that when someone shuts off the taps again and/or oil gets scarce there is at least one alternative ready to go. Waiting until after the oil is scarce to complete the R&D is a bad move and could be catastrophic to our economy. The market isn't always good at planning ahead, and to be frank, having a sudden loss of our primary fuel source with nothing even remotely in place to replace it has major national security implications as well.

    Mind you, I'm talking about stuff like switchgrass and other biomass. Not that whole idiotic corn-ethanol giveaway to big Ag.
  • bpizzutibpizzuti Member Posts: 2,743
    It's not that interesting. Ford wanted to use a product that took effort to make. Rockefeller proposed a fuel that was previously a waste product from producing other things, which means it took zero investment and cost nothing to produce (at the time anyway). Think of it as one of the first recycling programs. :shades:

    Incidentally, that's also a good parallel to today: people are using the same reasoning to justify using waste cooking oil, etc, waste biomass, etc.
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    Ethanol is “Pure Politics” and has very little to do with energy independence as it is being produced today in the US. It has everything to do with creating profits for big farms and AG’s at the cost of tax payers.

    The proof is in the pudding. If ethanol were so crucial to our “petroleum Independence” there would not be a $0.50 per gallon subsidy to farmers (because the price would be added at the pump) and we would certainly not have a $0.50 per gallon tariff on ethanol imports.

    Another word on corn/ethanol subsidies; Don’t hide the true cost of ethanol in subsidies, put it on the price at the pump so the public can see just how much it is costing them. Patting me on the back and telling me that ethanol is good for the country and then steeling the money out of my pocket is not impressing me.

    Ethanol is a negative energy source; with all the energy used to plant, fertilize, harvest, process and transport, the damage to the land and 10% reduction of MPG for E10, it takes more energy to produce ethanol than is gained.

    Ethanol is pure politics and until the subsidies and tariffs are removed you will never convince me otherwise.
  • morin2morin2 Member Posts: 399
    I agree that this ethanol business is pure politics and corruption. Don't underestimate the real costs of ethanol production. In our Chesapeake Bay, excess nutrient pollution is costing the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to clean-up. At the same time, more fertilizer is pouring in from the ridiculous corn to ethanol business.
    The real cost to American taxpayers for this totally wrong approach to foreign oil dependence should include the real and total costs of clean-ups and also include the shorter lifespans of boats, boat motors as well as cars. There is nothing good about ethanol in fuels for the US consumer.
  • pafromflpafromfl Member Posts: 47
    Latest news by yerth10
    ... Another news is in year-2008, the Oil consumption in US fell by over 6% and Worldwide, it fell by 0.6% even after including Ethanol (which actually grew 40%).
    Ethanol would have taken some market share from Oil. ...

    Re: Latest news [yerth10] by jkinzel
    ... Ethanol is a negative energy source; with all the energy used to plant, fertilize, harvest, process and transport, the damage to the land and 10% reduction of MPG for E10, it takes more energy to produce ethanol than is gained. ...


    Corn-based E10 is good for greedy corn conglomerates and crooked politicians, but is very bad for the economy, the environment, worldwide food production, and a fair number of engines (marine, yard equipment, etc.). The Green movement is losing credibility over E10. It's time to admit E10 was a mistake.
  • morin2morin2 Member Posts: 399
    The ethanol industry has applied for a waiver to increase the ethanol content from 10% to 15%. EPA is accepting comments until July 20, 2009. The corn-ethanol industry has many lobbyists working for it. But this is our chance to be heard. Often regs pass or waivers like this one are allowed because the regulatory agency received no opposing comments. If we don't take the time to comment, then we have ourselves to blame as well as the ethanol producers.

    http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2009/April/Day-21/a9115.htm
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    Anyone good with a pen that we can plagiarize and can provide us with documented facts, i.e., web sites.
  • morin2morin2 Member Posts: 399
    There's no need for long letters with lots of documentation. In the end, the letters are counted: so many for & so many against. Its most important to clearly state your position; a long explanation or background is unnecessary. Personal experiences are good.
  • kipkkipk Member Posts: 1,576
    >"The smart thing to do would be to continue research on it so that when someone shuts off the taps again and/or oil gets scarce there is at least one alternative ready to go. Waiting until after the oil is scarce to complete the R&D is a bad move and could be catastrophic to our economy"

    The smart thing to do would be to "Drill here and drill now". There are vast amounts of oil under Utah, Montana, and Colorado. We have larger reserves than "Known" reserves in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Yemen combined. I will post the link if I can find it.

    Add to that the reserves of Natural Gas that are nearly equal to the oil reserves in energy. Also the Rocky Mountains contain an almost inexhaustible amount of oil shale, similar to what Canada refines their oil from. And least we not forget the coal reserves.

    California is whining about being broke while there are vast amounts of oil sitting off their coast. Yet they will not drill. Why?

    Kip
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    The nuts than run California have successfully blocked, coal, wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, nuclear & offshore drilling. Then they have mandated the local power companies to have 20% alternative energy by 2012. If not they get fined. Which of course is added to my electric bill. We need to get rid of the whole congregation in Sacramento and start over with some people that are not brain dead. That would include the courts that accept all the frivolous lawsuits against all these forms of energy.

    And yet they have accepted corn ethanol laced gas with open arms. One of the most destructive mandates ever pushed by Congress.
  • setamericafreesetamericafree Member Posts: 7
    Let's not wait for America's transporation to be shut down and for our economy to grind to a halt. It takes 16 years for America to turn over (replace and retire) its automobile fleet. For less than $100 per vehicle we can safegaurd our future. FUEL CHOICE would mean gasoline competing in the market place with ethanol or methanol. Based on the cost (& profit) of American made ethanol and methanol a consumer it would never make sense for the consumer to opt for gasoline if it went above $2/gallon!

    G-E-M Flex Fuel Cars run on ANY MIXTURE of G-asoline, E-thanol, M-ethanol. A myopic focus on "ethanol" and "corn to ethanol" obscure the opportunity a rapid phase in of Flex Fuel Vehicles offers to avert America and the world's iminent ENERGY CRISIS.

    97% of the world's car & plan transporation (not just your car) relies on oil. America imports 70% of it's oil. Eight of nine top oil exporting countries are under control of dictators or autocrats, most of whom don't particularly like America. 78% of the world's oil comes from the OPEC cartel (monopoly). Oil prices have risen with signs of economic recovery. When the economy recovers expect a return of $150 barrel oil. Or in the event of a successful Al queda attack on Saudi's oil processing fields (and there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts) or Iran's threated closing the Straight of Hormuz in the event any country attempts to stop their attainment of a nuclear bomb- gas prices will go to rapidly shot above $200 .

    Methanol has been produced from wood waste for about 350 years. Today it is produced from also from forestry waste or other organic waste including municipal waste - at about half the cost of ethanol. True, it has less energy than ethanol or gas but it is still a cheaper cost per mile traveled .

    While Cellulosic ethanol production remains at "reserch quantities" we know other crops, like sugar beets, could produce significantly more energy than corn!

    Let's strengthen America and weaken the grip foreign oil holds on our country and our future! Watch the 2 minute video at SETAMERICAFREE.org The primary focus must be to ALWAYS keep our vehicles and economy running.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,669
    Why even bring up methanol? There is no consideration being given to methanol by anyone related to transportation. It is extremely reactive, and would be incompatible for our current liquid fuel infrastructure. A red herring.
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    America imports 70% of it's oil.

    It's 60% and our biggest imports come from Canada and Mexico.
    http://www.quoteoil.com/oil-imports.html

    If you truly want energy independence, why are you not promoting diesel and bio-diesel a fuel that has 40% more energy than gasoline?

    My concerns are that your motivation is not solely based on energy independence.

    In my opinion, FLEX Fuel is a sham and one of the reasons GM got in trouble. I will never buy a FF car.
  • galongagalonga Member Posts: 50
    "If you truly want energy independence, why are you not promoting diesel and bio-diesel a fuel that has 40% more energy than gasoline?"

    Where did you EVER get this number from my friend? Diesel engines are not even EXPLOSION, but COMBUSTION engines, and that's because oil-based fuels do not even explode, so low is their energy content!

    "In my opinion, FLEX Fuel is a sham and one of the reasons GM got in trouble. I will never buy a FF car."

    It is so much a sham than an ENTIRE COUNTRY has MORE cars running on ethanol than gasoline (Brazil). And that's been going on for over 30 years! Hard to say anything to that huh?
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    It is so much a sham than an ENTIRE COUNTRY has MORE cars running on ethanol than gasoline (Brazil). And that's been going on for over 30 years! Hard to say anything to that huh?

    It looks to me from your misinformation you are drinking the Corn squeezin' rather than running it in your car. Better check your facts on Brazil. I have already posted the facts on the subject for you several times. You just refuse to see the truth. And yes diesel has a lot more BTUs of energy per gallon than Gasoline. And as my friend has posted the FFVs sold in the USA are a joke. I know as I have one. Of course in all of So CA there is only one station selling E85 for about a buck a gallon more than RUG. Kind of a novelty fuel for the totally uninformed wannabe enviro wacko crowd.

    I have no problem with people in the midwest running ethanol in their vehicles. I don't like it forced onto the rest of the country with the loss in mileage that is well documented. !0% ethanol equals 10% loss of mileage. Add to that the huge subsidies and it becomes apparent to an educated individual that we are getting screwed as a payoff to the Congress people in the Midwest.
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    Where did you EVER get this number from my friend? Diesel engines are not even EXPLOSION, but COMBUSTION engines, and that's because oil-based fuels do not even explode, so low is their energy content!

    ?
  • kipkkipk Member Posts: 1,576
    >"I don't like it forced onto the rest of the country with the loss in mileage that is well documented. !0% ethanol equals 10% loss of mileage."

    Yep!

    And amazing to me how the Ethanol crowd can't seem to understand that, with a 10% drop in mileage, we are forced to buy 10% more fuel to go the same distance.

    So we are burning the same amount of Dino PLUS the Ethanol.

    Does 11 gallons of 10% Ethanol produce less emissions than 10 gallons of pure Dino ?

    Kip
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Does 11 gallons of 10% Ethanol produce less emissions than 10 gallons of pure Dino ?

    See? Now THAT is an interesting question that we'll probably never get a straight answer to because an ethanol proponent's answer would likely be, "You can't compare emissions from different amounts of fuel". But I'm like you. I understand that I'm not burning any less gasoline or doing anything to decrease demand on gasoline production because ethanol has been added to the mix.
  • kipkkipk Member Posts: 1,576
    Seems to me that even if Ethanol required absolutely ZERO energy and emissions to produce, we would still be polluting more with the 10% increase in fuel volume to go the same distance.

    Add in the emissions to produce the stuff and we are paying more to pollute more. Somewhat of a Loose-Loose situation for the masses and a Win-Win for the corn producers.

    Kip
  • morin2morin2 Member Posts: 399
    Even if we assume that the emissions are the same, that ignores the problem of the pollution that results from the production of the corn. Where corn is replacing soybeans, the increased nitrogen runoff is polluting the water that receive it. Here in the Chesapeake Bay region, the state and fed govts are spending millions to attempt to remove a tiny fraction of the pollution from nitrogen runoff. A classic case of unintended consequences that should be taught in every environmental biology class in the country.
  • pafromflpafromfl Member Posts: 47
    In addition, the corn-derived ethanol depletes the Midwest aquifer and drives up the worldwide price of food. If ethanol actually reduced oil consumption, some of the side effects might be tolerable. However E10 actually increases net oil consumption. Word is spreading. The Greenies should quickly admit E10 was a mistake or they will lose all credibility with the public.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,142
    Yeah, I'm having a hard time getting why anyone continues to prop up this ridiculous failed experiment.

    I happen to live down the street from a few gas stations that have non-ethanol blended fuel, and I always have to remember to fill up if I head eastward - once you get about 10 miles from here, it's all ethanol-blended.

    I can't remember the last time I saw even a semi-reasonable argument for ethanol.

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  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    I happen to live down the street from a few gas stations that have non-ethanol blended fuel,

    Your lucky, we, i.e. WA State has a 10% law. There is no pure gasoline for sale in Washington State.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    If the ONLY reason you see for using ethanol is getting a better mileage (that´s at least what´s being inferred from your post) then you did not understand a thing about the benefits of ethanol.

    What I keep hearing is that the reason we're using ethanol is to reduce our dependence on oil. I already KNOW it does nothing but reduce mileage performance by an amount that guarantees no reduction in our use of or need for oil.

    I've asked it before and I'll ask it again, what's the benefit of this nonsense? Green at ANY cost? (And it isn't even all that green)

    I have a solid year of experience with ethanol now and the only thing it's proved to me is that a lot of subsidy money has been wasted. But that's not a big change for the folks in DC is it? :sick:
  • gagricegagrice Member Posts: 31,450
    I cannot imagine anyone being for Corn Ethanol, unless it is feeding their family. It is corporate welfare for Big AG & companies like ADM and Verasun. And we the tax payers are paying at the pump and on April 15th. We lose tax dollars and mileage with Corn Ethanol. "Stop the Ethanol nonsense NOW" should be a grass roots movement.
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,384
    I don't think labeling corn ethanol proponents as part of any green movement is accurate.

    I am certainly pretty green by thinking and this boondoggle is about as bad as it gets from an environmental standpoint. It's corporate welfare. It has nothing to do with environmental concerns.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    If the ethanol proponents (switch grass, corn or sugar cane based) aren't part of any green movement then you can color me really confused. :surprise:

    The entire push seems to be part of this "green at ANY cost" attitude that's developed. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT for wasting energy or pro-pollution, but the idea that we have to DO something immediately or we're all gonna die isn't the way to approach things.

    The "corporate welfare" is a political issue that I'm ignoring because it winds up distracting us from the point that the ONE thing ethanol is touted as doing, reducing dependence on oil, is the one thing I know for a fact it doesn't do.

    There's a lot of "bad science" out there that's accepted as general wisdom simply because it's repeated and parroted endlessly.
  • jkinzeljkinzel Member Posts: 735
    If the ethanol proponents (switch grass, corn or sugar cane based) aren't part of any green movement then you can color me really confused.

    I believe the “ethanol equals green myth” is marketing that grew out of the fact that ethanol was the least of two evils that is used to replace MTBE in gasoline. (I think MTBE is correct). I assume the EPA and greenies were in favor of it only because MTBE was more harmful than ethanol and it sounded good at the time. I’m sure neither the EPA nor the greenies had any idea of the unintended consequences or the sheer volume of land, corn and resources required to meet these needs.

    Then you have the big AG’s and politicians promoting ethanol even farther and it has now grown closer to being an environmental disaster than the salvation it was intended to be.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,669
    I will go so far as to separate the farm lobby-based corn ethanol scam lobby from the others. The switch grass/cellulosic ethanol boosters have a point, if the technology can be made to economically work, and witness Exxon's recent $600million plunge into fuels from algae.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Ignoring what it's made from, I don't see ethanol as a solution to anything regarding reducing dependence on oil. And the idea that adding more than 10% ethanol to gasoline is somehow going to make things better boggles the mind.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Wowie zowie... deformed watermelons as a source for ethanol.

    Just Eat It

    Food isn't fuel
  • kipkkipk Member Posts: 1,576
    I agree!

    Adding 10% ethanol = poorer mileage.

    Add in all the equipment (using energy) to produce that ethanol and the net effect could be we actually burn more dino fuel.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Given that ethanol HAS to be trucked around and can't be sent trough pipelines, I'm certain it's a net negative as far as reducing consumption of oil/gas is concerned.
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