Study: Ethanol not worth the energy

[Apex]

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0507/18/0auto-250871.htm


researchers at Cornell University and the University of California-Berkeley say it takes 29 percent more fossil energy to turn corn into ethanol than the amount of fuel the process produces. For switch grass, a warm weather perennial grass found in the Great Plains and eastern North America United States, it takes 45 percent more energy and for wood, 57 percent.

It takes 27 percent more energy to turn soybeans into biodiesel fuel and more than double the energy produced is needed to do the same to sunflower plants, the study found.

[johnnymk]

So much for alternate fuels :stupid:

I believe the Department of Energy figured this out decades ago after spending billions on studying tar fields, solar power, wind, coal conversion and other ideas which are still not cost effective. But you can't convince some people who actually believe the magic bullet is just waiting to be found.

[bachviet]

I want my nuclear powered cars now! :D

[InfiniteNothing]

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0507/18/0auto-250871.htm

I don't see where petrolium (or fossil energy) is needed in ethanol production? Don't you pretty much just set corn outside and let it rot?

From later in the article:

Ethanol producers dispute Pimentel and Patzek's findings, saying the data is outdated and doesn't take into account profits that offset costs.
Michael Brower, director of community and government relations at SUNY's College of Environmental Science and Forestry, points to reports by the Energy and Agriculture departments that have shown the ethanol produced delivers at least 60 percent more energy the amount used in production. The college has worked extensively on producing ethanol from hardwood trees.
Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. It is often blended with petroleum diesel to reduce the propensity to gel in cold weather.
:shrug:


So much for alternate fuels :stupid:

I believe the Department of Energy figured this out decades ago after spending billions on studying tar fields, solar power, wind, coal conversion and other ideas which are still not cost effective. But you can't convince some people who actually believe the magic bullet is just waiting to be found.

Here's the thing I've learned about "cheap"
A) Peoples well being is worth more than the profit saving
B) Technology moves fast. What is not economical today, may be a good option a few years from now.


I want my nuclear powered cars now! :D

I've daydreamed about running cars off of depleted uranium and power plant waste. It should be possible to use decaying waste to heat up an engine block and inject water rather than fuel which should vaporize creating energy to run the car. I think it's worth researching.

[attgig]

bunch of stuff going against that article:
http://journeytoforever.org/ethanol_energy.html



and how about this for alternate fuels:
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html

convert your diesel car to run on vegetable oil (conversion kit is about 1k). then get some used vegetable oil (usually for free from a restaurant that goes through it. Filter it, and fill it up.
you run on biodeisel till then engine temperature goes up to about 100 degrees, then switch to vegetable oil.
(anyone else watch 30 days last week? :-P)