Which Ethanol Is Better? By: Brian Barron Mark Ryden

Ethanol A flammable, colorless chemical compound. Common in alcoholic beverages and thermometers. Also known as Ethyl Alcohol or Grain Alcohol

History of Ethanol Started being used in the U.S. as lamp fuel in 1840 In 1908, Ford Model T’s could be run on ethanol When Prohibition started in 1920, ethanol fuel sellers were suspected of selling alcohol, so they stopped the production Ethanol was forgotten about until recently

Production of Ethanol Produced as a petrochemical, or a product made from raw materials of petroleum and hydrocarbon origin. Made through the hydration of ethylene The hydration of ethylene is written as: C2H4(g) + H2O(g) = CH3CH2OH(l) This process was first used for large-scale production by Shell Oil Company in 1947

Global Warming Theory It is highly possible that global warming is caused from the emission of CO2 Cars with gasoline are one of the major contributors to CO2 emission.

Oil Dependency The U.S. is extremely dependent on other countries for oil to produce gasoline. About 40% of energy used in the U.S. comes from oil. The U.S. is 5% of the world’s population, but it uses 25% of the world’s oil We cannot control the prices, and oil is a non-renewable resource.

Problems From Oil Not only is global warming a problem from oil, but many conflicts have started between countries for oil. As the demand remains the same or increases and the supply decreases there could be more conflicts to come from oil.

Alternative Fuel Gasoline emits significantly more CO2 than ethanol. Also, gasoline is predicted to run out in the next 50 years. Ethanol could be an alternative to gasoline because it is much more efficient and it is renewable.

Production Since the need for an alternative fuel increases, the production of ethanol has gone up substantially in the past 30 years in the world.

U.S. Production The U.S. production of ethanol has increased greatly due to the rising gas prices, and is still increasing today

World Production The U.S. and Brazil are two of the major contributors of ethanol production in the world.

Types of Ethanol Two major types of ethanol: 1.) Corn Ethanol Corn ethanol is produced from corn 2.) Biomass Ethanol Biomass ethanol is produced from either waste paper or switchgrass

Corn Ethanol A type of bioethanol that is used as an alternative to gasoline. It is made the same way as alcohol, by the process of fermentation Corn ethanol delivers 25% more energy than it takes to produce.

Problems With Corn Ethanol The process of growing and making corn ethanol uses a lot of energy, so the profit is not great. Corn ethanol requires a lot of land to produce and there is not that much land available.

Land Restriction The Senate recently agreed to increase the amount of corn ethanol produced by 21 billion gallons by 2022. To produce this much ethanol, we would need to have 67,148 square miles. Illinois is 57,918 square miles so we would need to have an area bigger than Illinois to grow this ethanol.

A Better Solution Biomass Ethanol works the same way as corn ethanol, but it is made differently. It can be made from waste paper or switchgrass. Switchgrass is naturally grown around the U.S.

Switchgrass Tall grass that grows naturally in fields is usually switchgrass. Grows very easily and almost anywhere. It can be grown in a variation of climates, so almost all over the U.S. as well as the world.

Switchgrass Switchgrass delivers 540% more energy than it takes to produce. The U.S. Department of Energy is trying to incorporate Biomass ethanol into the plan for an alternative fuel source. They are funding the construction of six biorefineries that will cost 1.2 billion dollars.

Waste Paper Biomass ethanol could also be created from waste paper known as cellulosic ethanol. A company called BlueFire was able to harvest the methane from garbage dumps to produce cellulosic ethanol. Estimated that they could produce 40 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol which could be 1/3 of all U.S. transportation needs.

Cellulosic Ethanol Corn ethanol requires a lot of energy to grow but cellulosic takes waste and converts it into energy. If done right, we could create energy and get rid of waste at the same time.

CO2 Emissions

Current Cars Running On Ethanol There are some cars on the market that run on E85 ethanol which is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. This emits 15%-20% less CO2 than just gasoline. GM has started a program called flexfuel which makes their cars able to run on E85 ethanol. Some other companies with ethanol programs and cars are Ford, Nissan, and Volvo.

In Conclusion The U.S. and the rest of the world needs to find an alternative fuel for gasoline. Corn ethanol and Biomass ethanol both emit less CO2 than gasoline. Corn Ethanol would take a lot more land, energy, and money to produce than Biomass ethanol. Biomass ethanol is produced from switchgrass or waste paper. We think that Biomass is the better choice for an alternative fuel.

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