Experts Foresee Sustainable Ethanol Production

http://www.ccnmag.com/news.php?id=4817

As the search for alternative fuel sources intensifies, more and more attention has been focused on ethanol--a fuel many see as desirable because it burns cleanly and can be produced from plants.

In recent days, two MIT chemical engineering professors have weighed in on ethanol's potential -- Professor Gregory Stephanopoulos, in a Feb. 9 article for Science, and Assistant Professor Kristala Jones Prather, who testified during a Senate hearing on biofuels Feb. 1.

Both professors expressed optimism that biofuels can become a significant part of the U.S. energy supply but said that much more research must be done before ethanol can reach its full potential.

"Biofuels represent a grand challenge in technology," Prather told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. "There is no single silver bullet that will make a robust transportation fuels industry a reality."

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edit: this week's issue of Science is dedicated to sustainable energy issues...lotsa free on-line access too...

http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/sustainability/#section_this-week

report on. This is the kind of informative news that MSM news shows don't want to waste time on. they would rather report on Brangelina or some girl singer going commando.

I can't say I agree with the statement:

"Even if all U.S. corn went into ethanol production, there would only be enough for 4 to 5 percent of U.S. annual liquid fuel consumption."

perhaps if you include all the diesel fuel too this may be accurate. But Ethanol as a percentage of the total gasolline usage (which is what the high octane ethanol is a replacement for - bio-diesel can be used to extend petroleum diesel) ethanol will reach 5% of the total gasoline supply in about 2 years. Also, I thought the acreage devoted to corn for ethanol was more like 13% rather than 16% (could be wrong, but 16% sounds a little high).



MIT DIRECT ETHANOL INJECTION ENGINE GETS 30% REDUCTION OF GAS CONSUMPTION - WITH ONLY 5% ETHANOL.

The impact of ethanol will be affected by how we take advantage of the fuel. MIT researchers have designed and are now working with Ford to bring to mass production a Direct Injected Ethanol engine which reduces gasoline consumption by 30%. But also, it only uses 5% ethanol with 95% gasoline. If all the cars on the road were using this engine (they expect to have ready for mass production by 2011) the total gasoline demand would be reduced by 30%. BUT the amount of ethanol required to accomplish that would only be 5% of the total gasoline supply. Ethanol production will reach 5% of the total gasoline supply in 2-3 years.


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