straykozel

BlueFire Ethanol: A Solution to the Food vs. Fuel Problem

In response to Tom:

1) Researchers at Cornell University and the University of California-Berkeley say it takes 29 percent more fossil energy to turn corn into ethanol than the amount of fuel the process produces. For switch grass, a warm weather perennial grass found in the Great Plains and eastern North America United States, it takes 45 percent more energy and for wood, 57 percent.

It takes 27 percent more energy to turn soybeans into biodiesel fuel and more than double the energy produced is needed to do the same to sunflower plants, the study found.

2) Intelligent people act:

www.freerepublic.com/t...

BlueFire Ethanol: A Solution to the Food vs. Fuel Problem

<<...the Farm Bill, DOE heavily investing into multiple projects (40mil grant for BFRE) so unless you don't care about the global environment, then keep your XOM stock, your nay-saying and your old ways...>>

You sound like an extreme dogmatist. Also the "tax break" means we have to pay for it. This Ethanol stuff reminds me of Potemkin's willages.

BlueFire Ethanol: A Solution to the Food vs. Fuel Problem

SpencerN: The text below is from General Moptors Web Page (gm = General motors)

From gm.com: <<E85 ethanol holds less energy per gallon than gasoline. Therefore, drivers will experience MPG reductions depending on their particular vehicle and driving habits. This means that vehicle running on E85 ethanol may have a cruising range that is about 25% shorter than the same vehicle operating on regular gasoline.>>


The steam has to be made and to reuse it it hast to be re-heated again.

Yeast - we breed show dogs; yeast used in the commercial dog food is terrible stuff causing serious skin problems. We simply do not use it and feed raw meat.

For production of ethanol, sulfuric acid is made, not collected in the environment.

To burn solids from processed garbage you need expensive scrubbers.

Waste of time to discuss this to depth; Just buy something like Sasol and you will do much better than with this garbage crap.

BlueFire Ethanol: A Solution to the Food vs. Fuel Problem

The issue is not that corn is being used to make ethanol; instead, the fact that arable acreage is being used to grow something like Switch grass instead of edible products. Same for wood chips; are we ready to pay $5 per roll of a toilet paper?

Producing Ethanol could be from garbage could be OK, but not very economical. More practical would be using the gases in situ as is being done already in some locations.

In 24 hours of production 500 tons of garbage needs to be processed with 20 tons of sulfuric acid; then you need 4 tons of lime, 4000KW electricity and 2,880,000 gallons of steam!

The output will be 42,000 gallons of ethanol, 133 tons of Carbon Dioxide, 402 ton of ligning (solids), 33 ons of Gypsum, ons of yeast and assorted addiional waste.

Garbage contains many heavy metals; we outlawed leaded gasoline and now we will start burning in our car engines something with even more dangerous "additives"? Also , the "economically produced" form of Sulfuric Acid is produced in vessels mads from lead; in addition, this acid is very corrosive (oxidising) when heated - the steam is used to heat the mixture.... I rest my case.

Overall, I am strongly against use of ethanol in engines. Too costly and environmentally unfriendly to produce. Why nobody published data showing ethanol's impact on gasoline engines - is here difference in life expectancy?

Why we do not get serious about making fuels from coal and about using nuclear energy?

From gm.com: <<E85 ethanol holds less energy per gallon than gasoline. Therefore, drivers will experience MPG reductions depending on their particular vehicle and driving habits. This means that vehicle running on E85 ethanol may have a cruising range that is about 25% shorter than the same vehicle operating on regular gasoline.>>