Introduction:

Finding a sustainable and cost-efficient way to fuel our transportation in America has been a topic of debate for numerous years now. We cannot continue to solely rely on fossil fuels as the number one source of energy for our cars. We must try to find alternatives to replace our current consumption of fossil fuels so that we can hope to live in harmony with the planet we live on. One of the solutions to this problem can be Corn Ethanol.

To see whether or not we should use corn ethanol as a source of fuel, we must see how much energy it takes to produce corn ethanol and whether or not it produces the same or even a greater amount of energy if it is used as a fuel. We also have to consider the environmental impacts of corn farming and how we create ethanol at corn ethanol plants.  Now whether or not we should use corn ethanol as our main fuel source or as a fuel additive is another topic of debate. Numerous countries around the world including the United States use Corn Ethanol as a fuel additive but Brazil is one of the exceptions for only using ethanol based fuels within their country.

 

Pros:

  1. Greenhouse Gas Reduction because it reduces GHG emissions by 18% to 29% per vehicle mile traveled compared to petroleum-based fuels. Ethanol also reduces the use of gasoline and dependence on foreign powers for fossil fuels by reducing the amount of carbon monoxide and other ground level pollutants compared to gas by up to 30%. 
  2. Positive Net Energy Balance – Corn-based ethanol has a positive net energy balance of 1.06btu per gallon for 1.00btu of energy used without ethanol by-product credits. With these credits, for things such as DDGS, corn-based ethanol has a positive net energy balance of 1.67btu per gallon for 1.00btu of energy used. Understanding the net energy gain is important because it is used in energy economics that refers to the difference between the energy expended to harvest an energy source and the amount of energy gained from that harvest.
  3. Biodegradable – in comparison to petroleum oil and the risk of oil spills, corn ethanol is made with organic materials. If by chance corn ethanol is spilled,  74% of it will be broken down within 5 days.
  4. Usable By-Products – The two chief by-products of corn-based ethanol are CO2 and DDGS (Distiller’s dried grains with solubles: the nutrient rich co-product of dry-milled ethanol production) both of which are usable in other industries. The CO2 can be captured for use in the food and beverage industry. DDGS can be used for cattle feed or even further crushed to extract corn oil for food or biodiesel production uses.
  5. Most Infrastructure In-place –  Most cars in the U.S. are Flex Fuel capable therefore it can be used by all vehicles that use gasoline in the United States at concentrations of up to 10% ethanol. With few alterations, vehicles can also be converted to E85 concentration of ethanol. 
  6. Economically Beneficial: It is inexpensive to produce and increases the amount of jobs in the economy. 

 

Data:  

This chart represents the mean ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions’ for each type of respective vehicle on the market, and the associated fuel types each of these vehicles is able to operate on. In all vehicles which are able to use Corn Ethanol fuel products, such as E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), their respective emission rates were far lower than that compared to petroleum gasoline or natural gas.

This chart represents the life cycle of all greenhouse gasses produced in the United States as a percentage of petroleum products. Petroleum products emissions are the highest, due to them being the 100% level for all other fuel sources to be compared to. Switchgrass ethanol is the lowest at roughly the -10% emission level, while corn ethanol produces roughly 78% of the emissions of petroleum products.

 

Based off of a representative Iowa ethanol producing plant (profitability):

  • Dry mill plant constructed in 2007
  • 100 million gallon annual ethanol production capacity
  • Plant construction costs of $2.11 per gallon of ethanol production capacity
  • 40% debt and 60% equity financing
  • 8.25% interest on 10-year loan for debt financing
  • A total of $0.21 fixed costs per gallon of ethanol produced
  • Non-corn, non-natural gas variable costs (including denaturant) of $0.21-$0.26 per gallon in 2007-2011
  • Non-corn, non-natural gas variable costs excluding denaturant of $0.16 -$0.17 per gallon after 2011
  • Variable denaturant costs after 2011 computed as 2 percent of wholesale CBOB price
  • 30 cubic feet of natural gas per gallon of ethanol
  • 2.80 gallons of ethanol (including denaturant) produced per bushel of n of ethanol and $4 per ton of corn processed
    • 16 pounds of dried distillers grain (DDGS) produced per bushel of corn processed
    • 0.55 pounds of corn oil per bushel of corn processed (starting in January 2012)
    • Netback (marketing) costs of $0.05 per galloModel based upon Representative Iowa Ethanol Plant to track profitability of ethanol

    Profit of ethanol production based off of representative Iowa plant:

    Four major cost components of producing ethanol on a large scale:

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Cons:

 

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Summary:

Now that we know both sides to the conversation of what corn ethanol is and its environmental impacts, we can come to a conclusion on whether or not we should use it as our main fuel source. to come to a final decision we must consider the economical, agricultural and environmental externalities that can occur if we were to implement corn ethanol as the main fuel source for a America.

Economics: In 2006 there was a rapid increase in the price of corn due to the increased production of corn ethanol. During this time, there was an ethanol mandate to implement more ethanol into our fuel economy. However, the extent to which higher corn prices are caused by ethanol subsidies is hard to calculate. The crop yield in 2006 was not as much as they expected which also contributed to higher prices in the corn market. To put the cost margin in perspective, if you were to invest in a 100-million gallon ethanol plant, that would cost 125 million dollars. In the summer of 2005 the plant could have been paid for in a single year due to the increase demand of ethanol as an additive and the growing gas prices as well.

Agricultural/Environmental Externalities: To convert our main fuel source to corn ethanol, we must look at the environmental impacts that may occur in the process of growing corn and the actual distillation and fermentation of the biomass, turning it into ethanol. Using corn ethanol as an additive decreased greenhouse emissions by 18% to 29% per vehicle mile traveled in comparison to petroleum-based fuels. It may emit less greenhouse gases, but it also doesn’t produce as much energy as gasoline does. Researchers at University Press of Colorado also noted that corn causes serious soil erosion at rates amounting up to 18 times faster than the rate of soil formation. Using corn ethanol in our current engines is possible if we use it as an additive at a 10% concentration. If we were to solely use ethanol gasoline in our engines we would have to account that ethanol gasoline is corrosive to steel. We would have to restructure our piping systems or completely change our engine system which has the potential to become a very expensive endeavor.

Conclusion: Now that we have looked at both sides of the argument on whether or not we should use corn ethanol as our source of fuel, we can come to a decision. Using corn ethanol as our main fuel source is not practical and would be to expensive to implement. The agricultural detriments that come with farming corn as well would add to the problem of soil erosion as well. The better alternative to implementing corn ethanol is to make it an additive to all of the gasoline we pump in our cars so that it can decrease the demand for gasoline and emit fewer greenhouse gases.

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References:

Introduction and Summary:

  1. Wang, Michael, May Wu, and Hong Huo. “Life-cycle energy and greenhouse gas emission impacts of different corn ethanol plant types.” Environmental Research Letters 2.2 (2007): 024001. Web.
  2. “How Ethanol is Made?” Renewable Fuels Association. N.p., 10 Mar. 2017. Web. 19 May 2017.
  3. “Background.” USDA ERS – Background. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017. <https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn/background.aspx>.
  4. Alcoparam. YouTube. YouTube, 06 Mar. 2011. Web. 03 June 2017.
  5. Press, Berkeley Electronic. “The Impact of Ethanol and Ethanol Subsidies on Corn Prices: Revisiting History” by Bruce A. Babcock. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2017.
  6. E., Dias De Oliveira Marcelo, Burton E. Vaughan, and Edward J. Rykiel. “Ethanol as Fuel: Energy, Carbon Dioxide Balances, and Ecological Footprint.” BioScience. Oxford University Press, 01 July 2005. Web. 05 June 2017.

Pros:

  1. Ethanol: Pros & Cons | GreenTheFuture.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017. <http://greenthefuture.com/ETHANOL_PROSCONS.html>.
  2. Hill, J., E. Nelson, D. Tilman, S. Polasky, and D. Tiffany. “Environmental, Economic, and Energetic Costs and Benefits of Biodiesel and Ethanol Biofuels.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103.30 (2006): 11206-1210. Web.
  3. Farrell, A. E. “Ethanol Can Contribute to Energy and Environmental Goals.” Science311.5760 (2006): 506-08. Web. 
  4. “Pros and Cons of Corn Ethanol.” Corn-Based Ethanol: Reinventing Renewable Fuel. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017. <http://corn-ethanol.weebly.com/pros-and-cons-of-corn-ethanol.html>.
  5.  Irwin, Scott. “The Profitability of Ethanol Production in 2016.” Farmdoc daily. N.p., 01 Feb. 2017. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2017/02/the-profitability-of-ethanol-production-in-2016.html>.
  6. “Maps and Data.” Alternative Fuels Data Center: Maps and Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://www.afdc.energy.gov/data/?q=ethanol>.

Cons:

  1. Wpadmin. “Pros and Cons of Ethanol Fuel.” HRFnd. N.p., 26 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-ethanol-fuel/>.
  2. “Ethanol: Pros & Cons.” GreenTheFuture.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://greenthefuture.com/ETHANOL_PROSCONS.html>.
  3. Greengarageblogadmin. “8 Pros and Cons of Corn Ethanol.” Green Garage. N.p., 13 Jan. 2017. Web. 19 May 2017. <https://greengarageblog.org/8-pros-and-cons-of-corn-ethanol>.
  4. “5 Common Ethanol Myths Exposed – as Crap!” Gas 2. N.p., 02 July 2011. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://gas2.org/2011/07/02/5-common-ethanol-myths-exposed-as-crap/>.
  5. Foundation, GRACE Communications. “The Rush To Corn-Based Ethanol: Not All Biofuels are Created Equal.” GRACE Communications Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017. <http://www.gracelinks.org/1181/the-rush-to-corn-based-ethanol-not-all-biofuels-are-created-equa>.
  6. Patzek, Tadeusz. “The Many Problems with Ethanol from Corn: Just How Unsustainable Is It? .” Phoenix Project Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017. <https://www.phoenixprojectfoundation.us/uploads/The_Many_Problems_of_Ethanol.pdf>.
  7. “Ethanol Vehicle Emissions.” Alternative Fuels Data Center: Ethanol Vehicle Emissions. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2017. <https://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/flexible_fuel_emissions.html>.
  8. “Corn and Other Feed Grains.” United States Department of Agriculture. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2017. <https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn/background.aspx>.