Corn Ethanol: The Future Fuel?

1767 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Climate change

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy. The two main categories in fuels are gasoline (ethanol), a flammable and explosive liquid used mostly to power automobiles, and diesel, a relatively settled fuel used in diesel engines. This also applies to the world of biofuels. While diesel made by renewable resources is called biodiesel, gasoline made by living organisms is mainly ethanol fuel. Ethanol fuel is one of the most widely used biofuels in the world, as its market share in the United States grew to 10 percent in the 2010s while Brazil exports over 3 billion liters of ethanol a year. However, ethanol at the current stage only serves as a fuel additive/ fuel extender of fossil gasoline. Corn ethanol refers to the renewable energy made by corn, which is using corn as the feedstock of ethanol production. The feature of corn to product ethanol is because of its large quantity of sugars, particularly starch, exist in corn. Starch might be slightly effectively organized to separate itself into basic sugars, which can then be fed to yeast and generate ethanol. Present ethanol gene... ... middle of paper ... ...thanol: Not All Biofuels Are Created Equal." GRACE Communications Foundation. Ed. GRACE Communications Foundation, 5 Mar. 2009. Web. 05 Jan. 2014. . 4. Pollick, Michael. "What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethanol Fuel?" WiseGEEK. Ed. Bronwyn Harris. Conjecture Corporation, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. . 5. Soos, Andy. "Algae Oil." Alternative Energy and Fuel News: Algae Oil. Environmental News Network, 09 Apr. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2014. . 6. "Hydrogen." Hydrogen Fuel. Ed. Environmental Protection Agency United States. US Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Future of Ethanol Mandates

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the United States we have been looking into alternative energies to reduce our dependence on oil and help reduce our carbon footprint. One method the EPA has come out in support of is ethanol production. Ethanol is considered a green fuel because it recycles the burned carbon each time new crops are grown. In theory ethanol is a good stepping stone between using gasoline and zero emission power sources. However biofuels are still young technology that has many problems before it can be useful. The EPA is in full support of biofuels and has mandated that by 2020, 36 billion gallons of biofuels are to be produced in America. Currently almost all of America biofuels comes in the form of corn based ethanol which is extremely inefficient and can cause sustainability problems. Due to this reason only 15 billion gallons of the mandated biofuels can be form corn based ethanol. The rest of the biofuel must come from non-corn based alternatives such as cellulosic ethanol which the EPA projects to create all most all of the 21 billion remaining gallons of ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol uses the cellulose that is in all plants matter to create ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is far more efficient than corn ethanol because you can use the whole plant and it sets no limitation on what type of plant matter can be used. Even though the EPA projects that these number will be achievable, due to current setbacks and efficiencies cellulosic ethanol will not be able to meet this output within the time constraints and a goal of 2034 years would be more realistic in the long run.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Ethanol Production

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ethanol production was developed in hopes of severing our ties with fossil fuels in favor of alternative energy, such as biofuels. Although, VOCs emissions are released during production of ethanol in a factory, the quality of air is greatly improved when burning ethanol versus fossil fuels. Burning ethanol instead of fossil fuels reduces the amount of cancer-causing greenhouse gases that go into the atmosphere. Ethanol production ranks at the bottom of industrial water usage, but is still not out of the woods with the abundance of water usage needed in corn feedstock and ethanol manufacturing and processing facilities. Many acres of land are needed to grow corn crops, however, many corn farmers are successful in growing more corn on less acreage.

    Read More

  • Should Corn Ethanol Be Used For Fuel?

    2514 Words  | 6 Pages

    Stauffer, Nancy. ”MIT ethanol analysis confirms benefits of biofuels.” Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. January 2007.

    Read More

  • Biofuels Essay

    3324 Words  | 7 Pages

    ... is flaws there is many advantages such as The renewability of biofuels in which allow unlimited resources, The Economic rising and slowly decreasing Foreign oil dependency, and best of all, The overall healthier effect on the environment compared to fossil fuels. These key advantages are just as important the remember as their flaws. This is what science has achieved, a new world of possibilities and a vision of a new world with a new category of energy. Researchers continue to this very day, expanding their already existing knowledge of biofuels even further to find better solutions to the issues at hand, (The flaws) and with this shows the promise of a true innovating fuel source. With this promise, scientist have begun to find new products to make even superior biofuels than those that still exist, in order to eliminate potential and already existing issues.

    Read More

  • Benefits Of Algae

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is believed that the world's supply of oil will last until about 2040. If you think about it, that’s not too far in the distance future. Oil is running out fast and we need to think of an alternate energy source. When we burn oil, we release carbon dioxide into the air which causes the earth’s climate to warm; a temperature rise of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit could have serious if not devastating consequences. In the United States alone 60 percent of each person’s carbon footprint comes from the goods they buy, while the other 40 percent comes from their energy use at home, driving, and flying. That totals out to be about 10 billion tons a year. There are other energy sources but let’s think about the environmental and energy benefits of algae biofuel. Algae was first explored as a fuel alternative in 1978. Gas prices had skyrocketed, and the government was looking to help ease the crisis. The Aquatic Species Program run by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, researched high oil-output algae for biofuel. After testing 3,000 types of algae, the program concluded that the algae, if...

    Read More

  • Raj Patel's Stuffed and Starved

    1325 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Institute for Responsible Technology." - 10 Reasons to Avoid GMO's. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Ethanol Vs Gasoline Essay

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both gasoline and ethanol have been around since the time of Henry Ford. Gasoline has been the more accessible of all of them. Ethanol and natural gas have been gaining more support over the years and now gasoline contains ten percent ethanol. Propane is mostly used in fleet vehicles. Cars today can run on gasoline with a little ethanol, but too much ethanol can severely damage a vehicle. Only flex fuel vehicles can handle more than ten percent ethanol in a system. Natural gas vehicles are starting to come onto the market. All three fuels have their pros and cons, but the ultimate decision is up to the consumer.

    Read More

  • Cultivation Of Grape Essay

    1955 Words  | 4 Pages

    Enzymes, such as cellulases, which catalyse the breakdown of cellulose, have been isolated from several different organisms, including fungi. However, the purification of enzyme from these sources is expensive, on the order of $5.50 per gallon of ethanol produced. Genetic engineering or biotechnology has already played a key enabling role in the development of cellulosic biomass conversion technologies by dramatically reducing the cost of cellulase production from about $5.50 per gallon of ethanol to $0.10-15 per gallon of

    Read More

  • Business Plan for Electricity Generation from Biomass

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    Energy, especially from fossil fuels, is a key ingredient for all sectors of a modern economy and plays a fundamental role in improving the quality of life in less developed economies. In 2007, India is ranked fifth in the world in terms of energy demand; accounting for 3.6% of total energy consumed, and is expected to grow at 4.8% in the future. India imports 70% of the oil it uses, and the country has been hit hard by the increasing price of oil, uncertainty and environmental hazards that are concerned with the consumption of fossil fuels. In such context, bio energy constitutes a suitable alternative source of energy for India, as large amounts of raw material are available to be harnessed.

    Read More

  • Fuel Alternatives for the Future

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fuel alternatives for the future are very important because, we need resources for life. We won’t have fossil fuels forever. It is important to start now. If we did not have any fuel alternatives how would the world be?

    Read More

  • Urban Public Transport Essay

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hart, David. " Hydrogen: A Truly Sustainable Transport Fuel?" Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 1.3 (2003): 138-45. Web. Kühne, Reinhart. "

    Read More

  • Preparation of Ethanol and Ethanoic Acid

    3009 Words  | 7 Pages

    Preparation of Ethanol and Ethanoic Acid Introduction to report ---------------------- This report contains 5 practical experiments to produce ethanoic acid from ethanol. The first practical is the preparation of ethanol from glucose using yeast during the process of fermentation; this has been demonstrated in class. In this practical the glucose is converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide by respiratory enzymes from the yeast. The ethanol solution will be between 5-15% and the ethanol will be separated from the yeast by filtering.

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Biofuels

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    The concept of this essay is to stress that biofuels are a viable and sustainable energy source than fossil fuels, showing its advantages but not ignoring its disadvantages which also enlightens us about the cleaner and renewable natural resources. Biofuels is an alternative source of energy which can end the global dependence on fossil fuels.

    Read More

  • The Chemistry of Alcohol

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    The process of alcoholic fermentation begins with the use of enzymes. The enzymes begin to break down the long chains in starch molecules, a polysaccharide that consists of a large quantity of glucose molecules (C6H12O6) joined by glycosidic bonds as seen in figure 1, into single glucose molecules, a monosaccharide with six carbons and five hydroxyl groups. After the starch has become sugar, the enzymes are used once again, this time to convert the sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide, CO2, as seen in figure 2 (World of Scientific Discovery, 2007). The carbon dioxide produced is released into the atmosphere, leaving water and ethanol, the alcohol, behind. Ethanol is a colorless flammable liquid with a molecular formula of C2H6O, giving it a molar mass of 46.07 grams per mole. Ethanol is also characterized by a melting point of -114°C or 159 K.

    Read More

  • Green Fuel Advantages And Disadvantages

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    Context: Ecologically clean fuels play an important role in people’s lives. Humanity realizes this significant importance and uses more and more “green” fuels nowadays. What does “green” fuel mean? The “Green” fuel is the source of energy that does not harm the environment and is made up of organic matter. This type of fuel can be derived from plants, domestic, industrial, garbage and agricultural.

    Read More

More about Corn Ethanol: The Future Fuel?

Open Document