Quote:
Originally Posted by radz282003
So is there a problem with the production of E85 causing corn and rice prices to increase with any significance? That's the only opposition to E85 that I can think of off the top of my head.
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There's two sides to that argument. Both are plenty strong, and both have valid points -- so the jury's out. E85
from corn can raise food prices...but maybe not as outrageously high as some project.
Other opposition to corn-based ethanol is that it takes more energy to produce than it releases. This of course, depends on the scale at which the stuff is made, and the procedure, etc...But for the most part, this accusation is false...though only by a small margin. E85 can produce ~1.1 units of energy for every 1 unit spent to make it. Similar to gasoline.
There's a similar argument regarding water. It takes some 3 gallons of water to make one gallon of ethanol
from corn. Quite the waste.
Notice that all these arguments are only valid when talking about ethanol from CORN. That will not be the major source for much longer. Cellulosic Ethanol is catching on in a big way. This is ethanol made from broken-down plant matter, and not directly from the sugars from the corn curnels. The energy yield for this type is 7:1 (7 units are produced for every one used to make it). Some procedures require LESS than ONE gallon to make. And none of it is from food-crops.
The good part is that the ethanol, in the end, is all the same, either from corn, or cellulosic. And within the decade, Algae will become a big player...this alone has the potential to replace the nations
entire oil usage...