Corn as a Fuel Is it the best alternative to fossil fuels or just the first step of independence?

What is corn? Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Zea Species: Z. mays

Where did it come from? Several Theories Theory one It is a direct domestication of a Mexican annual teosinte, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis, native to the Balsas River valley of southern Mexico.

Where did it come from? Several Theories Theory two It derives from hybridization between a small domesticated maize (a slightly changed form of a wild maize) and a teosinte of section Luxuriantes, either Z. luxurians or Z. diploperennis

Earliest known Domestication is thought to have started between 7,500 and 12,000 years ago. The earliest maize cob was found at Guila Naquitz Cave in the Oaxaca Valley, Mexico. It dated back to about 6,250 years ago.

Original Cultivation Native Americans planted on hills Used a system called three sisters Planted with beans and squash. The beans used the corn as support and the squash covered the ground to stop weed growth. Before WWII corn was harvested by hand. This involved many workers usually occurred at a social event. The social event was to have many friends over and pick corn then eat and have a party.

Current Cultivation and Production More weight of corn produced each year than any other grain. Planted in two crop rotaions Alternating with nitrogen fixing crops: alfalfa and soybean USA produces almost ½ world production. Produces 23 billion dollars in revenue world wide. Silage is harvested when the plant is green and fruit immature Sweet corn is harvested from Z. mays after pollination but before starch formation.

Need for Alternate Fuels Price per barrel of oil 25.00 (2003) to 76.00 (2006) Green house gas increase Controversy over oil drilling and the rights. Controversy over importing oil from war torn countries.

What is E85? Refers to a gasoline made from corn ethanol. 85% ethanol; 15% gasoline US Government defines it as an alternative fuel.

Ethanol from Corn Corn is delivered to an ethanol plant The corn is loaded into storage tanks that is designed to hold enough to make ethanol for ten days The corn is passed through milling which hammers it into a fine powder. Mill is then mixed with water and enzymes that make a slurry mixture The mixture is sent to holding tanks to allow the enzymes time to breakdown the starches into fermentable sugar. Yeast is then added and allowed to ferment for 50 hours. You now have beer and other solids. The beer is then sent to distilling tubes to remove the alcohol (190 proof) and the solids. The ethanol is now dehydrated in tubes to remove the 5% water to make 200 proof ethanol. The solid left is washed and dried to become a very valuable feed for livestock and the ethanol is mixed with gasoline.

Ethanol Pros Current market value Corn/ bushel: 3.24 Oil/ Barrel 64.73 Renewable fuel that can end dependence on foreign oil. Might be able to reduce greenhouse gas because the source product pulls uses CO2 in it’s respiration process. Degrades quickly in water thus posing a less health risk if spilled as apposed to oil. Current market value Corn/ bushel: 3.24 Oil/ Barrel 64.73

Ethanol Cons Costs could be higher for ethanol than for traditional gasoline. Can’t drive as far on ethanol then traditional gasoline Not as available as traditional gasoline Expensive as a gasoline to produce: financially and energetically

Ethanol and the Environment Produces low amounts of CO Uses a source that when planted every year pulls out CO2. Corn is biodegradable so there are no risks in hurting the environment in it’s production. Production of the ethanol does produce CO2 that would not normally be produced. Corn production uses a lot of water and fertilizer. The fertilizer could have harmful effects.

Poverty vs. Ethanol 692 million tons of corn are produced each year. The US produces 280 million tons. 854 million people are estimated to be hungry 12.4 million people in the USA alone 25,000 people die per day from hunger related diseases. 1 person every three seconds.

Questions?? What do you think?