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    Ethanol: by Maurice Plains

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    Maurice
    Ethanol is produced through a fermentation process of grains like corn. Second generation ethanol uses non-food crops like fibrous plant material. The process involves pretreating and breaking down the cellulosic material into simple sugars and then fermenting them into ethanol. While ethanol production reduces greenhouse gases and benefits corn farmers, it is less energy efficient than gasoline and requires significant land and fossil fuels to produce. A balanced approach that uses some ethanol but maintains petroleum use could help address concerns about draining resources and dedicating too much land to corn.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Ethanol: by Maurice Plains

    Uploaded by

    Maurice
    28 views6 pages
    Ethanol is produced through a fermentation process of grains like corn. Second generation ethanol uses non-food crops like fibrous plant material. The process involves pretreating and breaking down the cellulosic material into simple sugars and then fermenting them into ethanol. While ethanol production reduces greenhouse gases and benefits corn farmers, it is less energy efficient than gasoline and requires significant land and fossil fuels to produce. A balanced approach that uses some ethanol but maintains petroleum use could help address concerns about draining resources and dedicating too much land to corn.

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    Presentation about Ethanol

    Original Title

    Ethanol

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    Ethanol is produced through a fermentation process of grains like corn. Second generation ethanol uses non-food crops like fibrous plant material. The process involves pretreating and breaking down the cellulosic material into simple sugars and then fermenting them into ethanol. While ethanol production reduces greenhouse gases and benefits corn farmers, it is less energy efficient than gasoline and requires significant land and fossil fuels to produce. A balanced approach that uses some ethanol but maintains petroleum use could help address concerns about draining resources and dedicating too much land to corn.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    28 views6 pages

    Ethanol: by Maurice Plains

    Uploaded by

    Maurice
    Ethanol is produced through a fermentation process of grains like corn. Second generation ethanol uses non-food crops like fibrous plant material. The process involves pretreating and breaking down the cellulosic material into simple sugars and then fermenting them into ethanol. While ethanol production reduces greenhouse gases and benefits corn farmers, it is less energy efficient than gasoline and requires significant land and fossil fuels to produce. A balanced approach that uses some ethanol but maintains petroleum use could help address concerns about draining resources and dedicating too much land to corn.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 6

    ETHANOL

    By Maurice Plains

    Background

    Ethanol is actually grain alcohol and to convert it into fuel you have to
    use a procedure known as fermentation. It has been around a long
    time, but no one has ever thought to use it as gasoline. Many scientists
    call the beginning of research on ethanol made from corn crops " first
    generation" fuels. I found out though that many scientists also support
    the research of "second generation" fuels. A second generation fuel is
    made out of non-food crops, such as fibrous plant material, and is able
    to be more efficient than ethanol. One of the major second generation
    fuels that researchers are looking at is cellulosic fuels. Ethanol is taken
    from cellulosic material through three major steps.
    First" a thermo-chemical pretreatment process to open up the structure
    so it is accessible to enzymes" is used. Then, using special enzymes,
    the researchers hydrolyze the material into simple sugars. Finally, the
    researchers ferment the simple sugars to form ethanol . I believe it is
    important to understand the process so it can be understand how much
    quality will be available and to analyze how cost efficient it is.

    The Bad

    A bushel of corn produces about 2.8 gallons of ethanol, a higher grade produces around 3 gallons. A
    bushel of corn weighs approximately 58 to 60 pounds.
    Let's assume that you drive a Toyota Camry. The Toyota Camry with automatic transmission gets 30
    miles per gallon of gas on the highway.
    Gasoline is more efficient than ethanol. One gallon of gasoline is equal to 1.5 gallons of ethanol. This
    means that same Camry would only get about 20 miles to the gallon if it were running on ethanol.
    We also need to know how far you are traveling: Let's say from Los Angeles to New York, which is
    2,774 miles (4,464.2 km), according to MapQuest.com
    Through research performed at Cornell University, we know that 1 acre of land can yield about 7,110
    pounds (3,225 kg) of corn, which can be processed into 328 gallons (1240.61 liters) of ethanol. That
    is about 26.1 pounds (11.84 kg) of corn per gallon.
    First, we need to figure out how much fuel we will need:
    2,774 miles / 20 miles per gallon = 138.7 gallons
    (METRIC: 4,464.2 km / 8.5 km per liter = 525.2 liters)
    We know that it takes 26.1 pounds of corn to make 1 gallon of ethanol, so we can now calculate how
    many pounds of corn we need to fuel the Camry on its trip:
    138.7 gallons * 26.1 pounds = 3,620.07 total pounds of corn
    (METRIC: 525.2 liters * 3.13 kg = 1,642 kg)
    You will need to plant a little more than a half an acre of corn to produce enough ethanol to fuel
    your trip.
    According to the research from Cornell, you need about 140 gallons (530 liters) of fossil fuel to plant,
    grow and harvest an acre of corn. So, even before the corn is converted to ethanol, you're spending
    about $1.05 per gallon.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIHI
    SLw_ZEk&feature=BFp&list=WL3DCD3AB8
    7BFAB54B&index=2

    The Good

    Some pros are that the more ethanol that


    is used the greenhouse gases are
    reduced. Corn farmers make more money
    because of the increased demand in the
    crop. And Ethanol burns much cleaner
    than petroleum oil.

    In conclusion the true debate is over if the


    negative outweighs the positive. I believe
    there has to be a balance between using
    ethanol and still maintaining the use of
    petroleum oil where the resources aren't all
    drained. This would also help the problem with
    too much corn being used and all the space
    needed because the farm space could be
    managed. While farmers would be more
    encouraged to grow corn to make a profit it
    would also not lead to them only growing corn
    to reap the benefits.

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