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.