By: Kalli Dinger

 “From our cellulose waste products on the farm such as straw, corn- stalks, corn cobs and all similar sorts of material we throw away, we can get, by present known methods, enough alcohol to run our automotive equipment in the United States.” –Thomas Midgley  “Advanced biofuels from cellulosic material can play a key role in reducing the vulnerabilities, emissions and costs associated with imported oil, while also providing new economic opportunities for America’s farm communities.”-Ted Turner & T Boone Pickens

 Cellulosic ethanol has a low power density. It is about 0.4 watts per square mile compared to the 28 watts per square mile natural gas offers.  If the U.S. would replace 10% of its oil use with cellulosic ethanol:  10% of our oil usage is about 32 billion gallons  32 billion gallons of oil is the equivalent to 48.5 billion gallons of ethanol  48.5 billion gallons of ethonal would require 485 million tons of biomass.  485 million tons of biomass would require 65,800 square miles which is about the size of Oklahoma.  The production of cellulosic ethanol required about 42 times more water and emitted about 50% more carbon dioxide per unit of energy produced than standard gasoline.  Cellulosic ethanol can only be used to replace gasoline, it will not replace our use of crude oil. Much of the crude oil we import is used for other things like butane, asphalt, diesel fuel and jet fuel. None of which can be replaced by ethanol.

 Crude oil cannot be replaced with cellulosic ethanol. It will continue to be a primary source of energy for years to come. Summary

 Bryce, Robert. Power Hungry: The Myths of. Public Affairs, Print.