Is Green Fuel really Green?
So what is Green Fuel and why all the concern about it? It's been said that Green Fuel will be the saving grace of our generation; the fuel of the future, low cost, less polluting and renewable.
Ethanol is being promoted as being one of the top green fuels going. Ethanol's use as a blend additive for gasoline has increased its demand and is in part responsible for sparking a frenzy of ethanol plants to spring up almost overnight - to take advantage of the government subsidies and grant money that became available because of new legislation. This legislation was originally intended to reduce the United States� dependence on foreign oil.
Hydrogen might be the green fuel of the future
One of the main advantages Ethanol boosters were promoting, was the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the tailpipes of cars using the new blended fuels which it actually does help in doing.
The irony that exists lies in the realization that in our effort to become
Green Fuel oriented we may have fallen on our own two edged sword. In our rush to boost ethanol blended fuel for transportation purposes, as a gasoline substitute, there were some miscalculations and overlooked consequences that have come to light. The issues which have reared their heads will likely overshadow the entire Green Fuel concept for which ethanol production was expanded in the first place.
A point that few people are aware of is the types of fuel consumed to produce the ethanol. Many of the new so thought of environmentally friendly ethanol production facilities are fueled by such things as coal, natural gas and other petroleum based fuels. So where is the advantage in doing this?
We burn an unspecified amount of fossil fuel to produce this new eco friendly fuel called ethanol, while at the same time spewing tons and tons of pollutants into the atmosphere that in turn increase global warming which is what we are trying to avoid in the first place, right? Don�t get me wrong, there are some plants now using a portion of the fuel they produce to fuel the production process, which is a good idea, for the plants and for the environment in general
Now let's look at the other edge of this double bladed sword that is cutting our throats from both sides. We know there is no such thing as getting something for nothing in today's world right? Well how about this. The real impact these loosely regulated new ethanol plants are having is far greater than just the burning of fossil fuels and the pollutants they spew.
The more dramatic and immediate result of ethanol production has been the propagation of a worldwide food shortage. Millions of archers of rich farm ground that in the past has been focused on producing grain crops for food now produce grain for fuel, leaving a giant chasm in overall food grain production. This drop in food grain production has cause the price of most of these food grains if not all to rise to their highest level in history, which in turn has caused the cost of food stuffs to rise as well. There is cut number two from that sword we spoke of, now for the third cut.
Primarily ethanol production uses grain crops to produce the alcohol known as ethanol that is used as fuel. The cut from the sword comes from the fact that 99% of all grain crops have a high carbon foot print they trail behind them. From the fossil fuels used in the machinery it takes to plant and harvest them, to the fuel used by the trucks it takes to transport them to the processing plant and so many things in the middle of the process. Things such as fossil fuels used in the production of commercial fertilizers and pesticides to the fuel consumed in the irrigation process.
So is ethanol a green fuel? Ethanol might not be as green as it first appeared. Does it serve a purpose? Of course it does. It does lessen our dependence on foreign oil but at a cost. To call ethanol eco friendly would be a stretch to say the least. Is the end result worth the effort being put into the promotion and production of ethanol? To arrive at an answer for that question one must weigh in all the facts about ethanol production, adding up the true cost. Is the pursuit of green fuel worth the effort, in the end the answer must be a resounding yes.
Ethanol can truly become a green fuel if the overall method of production is tweaked to find ways to better produce it from waist bio mass or other organic byproducts rather than utilizing food crop grains. If the production process is fueled by the ethanol that is produced, then it becomes a truly green fuel. For now, the cost of producing ethanol using these methods is cost prohibitive. So only when it matters enough for us to pay the price will it truly be green.
Then the question must be asked, are there actually green fuels available without such heavy cost of production, that meet the ideal of what we think a
green fuel should be? Yes here are other types of truly green fuels, what are they? Well that's something that in the weeks and months to come we will be discussing here at Green Fuel Planet.
More information
RFA - The Industry - Biorefinery Locations |
ACE Ethanol, LLC: Stanley, WI: Corn: 41.0: 41.0: Adkins Energy, LLC* Lena, IL: Corn: 40.0: 40.0: Advanced Bioenergy, LLC: Fairmont, NE: Corn: 100.0: 100.0: Advanced Bioenergy, LLC: Aberdeen, SD: Corn: 50.0: 50.0 More information?
|
Ethanol Plants |
Provides Biofuels and Ethanol News, finacial data, advertising ... Company Location Capacity Feedstock; Jilin Fuel Ethanol Co. 300000 LPD: Corn: Anhui: 300000 LPD More information?
|
FEECO - Ethanol Plant Construction / Custom designed Ethanol Coolers ... |
FEECO International - Custom designed Ethanol Plant Construction / Ethanol Coolers / Dryers for processing Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS). Your resource for up to ... More information?
|
Diversified Ethanol Corporation - Recycling Waste Into Gold! |
Install an onsite small modular ethanol plant; Use your waste sugars and/or starches as feed stock for the plant; Eliminate high BOD discharge fees utilizing advanced technologies from ... More information?
|
Ethanol Plants |
Farmer Owned Ethanol Plants……. New Generation Cooperatives may be combined with, converted to or organized as limited liability companies or partnerships. More information?
|
RFA - The Industry - Statistics |
Year: January 1999: January 2000 : January 2001 : January 2002 : January 2003 : January 2004 : January 2005 : January 2006: January 2007 : Total Ethanol Plants: 50: 54: 56: 61: 68 ... More information?
|
American Coalition for Ethanol : Home |
The American Coalition for Ethanol promotes the production and use of ethanol - America's renewable fuel. Ethanol is a biofuel made from corn and other crops and, soon, from ... More information?
|
Ethanol plant in Madera Co. closes |
Pacific Ethanol announced Friday that it will temporarily suspend operations at its production plant in Madera County beginning Monday, blaming "unfavorable market conditions" for ... More information?
|
Ethanol Plant Incidents |
Ethanol is a hazardous chemical. Hazardous chemicals are used in manufacturing ethanol. Odds are that the ethanol industry will have its share of disasters and near disasters. More information?
|
Ethanol Producer Magazine |
Plant Name: City: State: Feedstock: Capacity * Start Date: Abengoa Bioenergy Corp. York: NE: Corn: 55: December 1993 Abengoa Bioenergy Corp. Colwich: KS: Milo / Corn: 25: December ... More information?
|
Blue Flint Ethanol |
Great River Energy and Headwaters, Inc. have joined forces to build a 50 million gallon per year dry mill ethanol plant in Underwood, North Dakota. More information?
|
Ethanol plant closes; 40 employees laid off |
MADERA -- Pacific Ethanol announced Friday that it will temporarily suspend operations at its production plant in Madera County beginning today, blaming "unfavorable market ... More information?
|
Ethanol Still - Alcohol - Ethanol - Bioethanol - Cellulosic Ethanol ... |
Circle Biodiesel & Ethanol Corporation: Clean energy company specializing in renewable energy and manufacturing and consulting for algae biodiesel and algae biofuel processors for ... More information?
|
Ethanol plant greeted at port |
STOCKTON - Cold, blustery winds blowing Friday through the Port of Stockton, or figuratively through the steel canyons of Wall Street, were not enough to chill the crowd of 200 to ... More information?
|
Oswego County ethanol plant in bankruptcy |
2008 file photo, David Lassman / The Post-Standard Northeast Biofuels' distillation plant in Volney. Just five months after making its first sale, Northeast Biofuels LP , the owner ... More information?
|
Ethanol Producer Magazine |
... Technology offers next-generation fractionation and oil extraction for corn-based ethanol plants ... Assessing DDGS' Markets Staff Writer Ryan Christiansen tackles the domestic and ... More information?
|
Lowell eyes garbage-to-ethanol plant |
Lowell officials hope to put the town in the running for a $200 million plant that will convert garbage into ethanol. Powers Energy One, which received a 20-year garbage disposal ... More information?
|
Second ethanol plant slated for county |
Early Thursday the Verenium Corporation officially announced its plans to build its first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Highlands County. "I think that it's good ... More information?
|
Ethanol Boom Is Running Out of Gas - WSJ.com |
That is squeezing ethanol companies' profits and pushing some ethanol plants to the brink of bankruptcy. Financing for new ethanol plants is drying up in many areas, and plans to ... More information?
|
Levelland Ethanol |
Levelland/Hockley County Ethanol, LLC was formed to construct, own, and operate a 40 million gallon per year ethanol production plant. The plant was constructed on a ... More information?
|
Ethanol plant goes bankrupt |
One of Wisconsin's nine ethanol plants has filed for bankruptcy. The board of Renew Energy in Jefferson voted this week to seek Chapter-11 protections. Board chairman Paul Olsen ... More information?
|
Ethanol Information - MoDNR |
Regulating Ethanol Plants in Missouri. Everything you need to know about regulating your business with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. More information?
|
Wisconsin's Biggest Ethanol Plant To Reorganize |
But Renew Energy LLC Chief Executive Officer Jeff White said the company hopes to come out of bankruptcy around the middle of the year after reorganizing its balance sheet ... More information?
|
Adkins Energy LLC |
A corn-to-ethanol facility with a cogeneration plant which processes approximately 15 million bushels of corn annually in Lena, Illinois, United States. More information?
|
Texas Ethanol Plants |
Today's ethanol industry is unrecognizable from the industry of just five years ago, and will be unrecognizable to the industry of five years from now. Renewable Fuels Association ... More information?
|
Our First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant!!! | EcoGeek - Clean Technology |
The state of Georgia just granted Range Fuels a permit to create the first cellulosic ethanol plant in America. More information?
|
Plans for Robeson ethanol plant likely to be scrapped |
SUNSET BEACH — Robeson County commissioners are ready to scrap plans for an ethanol plant in the northern part of the county after the company failed to provide officials with ... More information?
|
Ethanol Plants |
The Agronomic Crops Network by the Agronomic Crops Team at the Ohio State University. We provide free, professional, unbiasied, educational, and research intensive information on ... More information?
|
Pacific Ethanol | Home |
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. Meeting The Demand for Clean Burning Biofuels ... Our new 60 million gallon per year plant in Stockton, California started production in September of 2008. More information?
|
Ethanol plant towns remain on idle |
WAHOO - The partially completed ethanol plant sits vacant on the eastern edge of this farm community, a sign of an idling ethanol industry that's affecting numerous Nebraska ... More information?
|