I was under the impression they already do. In Washington, the oxygenated gas was supposedly made from ethanol byproduct of the paper pulp industry, rather than the MTBE stuff. http://www.ethanol-gec.org/information/briefing/20a.pdf is an interesting report from 2000 on this.
On 1/31/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > A potentially weird aside: If woody feedstocks are effective, I wonder if > the paper industry could make ethanol from their pulp, and still use the > resultant stock for paper production? > > > > It's enough to drive Patzek and Pimental to drink: > > the drink you can drive does have a positive EROEI. > > > > From > > http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060126/sc_space/ethanolfuelmoreadvantageousthanthought > > ==================================================================Ethanol > > Fuel More Advantageous Than Thought > > > > Bjorn Carey > > LiveScience Staff Writer > > LiveScience.com Thu Jan 26, 3:00 PM ET > > > > Producing a gallon of ethanol gas from corn requires 95 percent less > > petroleum than producing a gallon from fossil fuels, a new study finds. > > > > This method might also slightly reduce the production of greenhouse > > gases that speed up global warming, but the results on that point are > > not certain. > > > > "It is better to use various inputs to grow corn and make ethanol and > > use that in your cars than it is to use the gasoline and fossil fuels > > directly," said Daniel Kammen of the University of California, Berkeley. > > > > Ethanol could be even more energy efficient and 95 percent free of > > greenhouse gas emissions, Kammen said, if produced from woody plants > > instead of corn. > > > > The study is detailed in the Jan. 27 issue of the journal Science. > > > > Booze it up > > > > Ethanol is produced by bacteria that ferment and break down carbohydrate > > sugars, such as the starch from corn. Humans have been fine-tuning this > > process for thousands of years, although mainly to brew alcoholic > > beverages. > > > > The study refined results from several previous studies by comparing the > > total energy that goes into making ethanol gas from corn, such as > > harvesting and refining, and comparing it to the energy needed to > > produce gasoline from fossil fuels. Kammen's team looked into levels of > > greenhouse gases produced by both the production and the use of each fuel. > > > > They found inconsistencies and errors in the previous work, which had > > suggested ethanol gas might not be beneficial. > > > > After correcting the errors—which ranged from incorrect unit conversions > > to reliance on data from outdated methods more than a century old—the > > researchers arrived at a very different conclusion: not only does > > corn-based ethanol gas reduce petroleum use by 95 percent, it also > > reduces greenhouse gas emissions about 13 percent, although that > > decrease is within a range of uncertainty for the imprecise data involved. > > > > "Making ethanol from corn is a good thing if you want to offset fossil > > fuels from overseas," Kammen told LiveScience. "On the greenhouse gas > > side of things, it is not clear if corn, as grown today, is a good > > thing. We just don't know yet, but it appears to be a mildly good thing." > > > > A woody solution? > > > > While corn-based ethanol is an improvement over gasoline, ethanol from > > woody, fibrous plants would pack even more energy. Willow trees, switch > > grass, farm waste and specially grown crops are all feasible sources. > > > > The main energy components of these plants are cellulose and lignin, > > which produce more energy per unit—in the form of breaking hydrogen > > bonds—than the starches from corn. > > > > "It looks to be that you can get just about twice the amount of energy > > by going the cellulose route, and greenhouse emissions are very small," > > Kammen said. > > > > Assuming replant rates equal harvests, there is a 95 percent emission > > reduction from producing cellulosic ethanol over gasoline production in > > all three production phases—farming, refining, and use. > > > > However, the real benefits of ethanol gas are not yet fully known, > > Kammen said, and the advantages could be even greater. > > > > Wheels in motion > > > > In the United States, some 5 million of the cars and trucks on the road > > are "flex-fuel," meaning that they can run either on traditional > > gasoline or E85, a mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. > > > > Converting an automobile to run on flex-fuel costs about $100. > > > > "This is actually one of the cheapest possible transitions you can > > make," Kammen said. "It cuts the cost of fuel by half at the pump." > > > > However, there are very few pumps offering ethanol fuel. Despite the > > number of flex-fuel automobiles—California boasts more flex-fuel than > > diesel vehicles—ethanol-blended fuel accounted for only 2 percent of all > > fuel sold in the United States in 2004. > > > > While it doesn't yet make sense to convert the entire economy to > > corn-based ethanol, Kammen said, improved methods for processing corn or > > using other ethanol-rich materials could drive such a change. > > > > "The people who are saying ethanol is bad are just plain wrong," Kammen > > said. > > > > Brazil has converted nearly all its cars and gas pumps to run on a 96 > > percent ethanol fuel produced from sugarcane. Brazilians have already > > seen the benefits of sugarcane fuel—not only is it cleaner burning, but > > since it is produced within the country, it is half the price of > > imported gasoline. > > > > Kammen and his colleagues have made the previous studies, as well as > > their new model and data, available on the UC Berkeley Renewable and > > Appropriate Energy Laboratory website: http://rael.berkeley.edu/ebamm/. > > Tailpipe Test: Study Finds Worst Polluters > > Experimental Hybrid Cars Get Up to 250 Mpg > > Longer Airline Flights Proposed to Combat Global Warming > > Dire Future if Fossil Fuel Use Not Curbed, Scientists Say > > Waste Not: Energy from Garbage and Sewage > > In a Twist, Forest Products Viewed as Green Energy > > 'Green' Car Sets Speed Record > > > > > > -- > > Darryl McMahon http://www.econogics.com > > It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will? > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Biofuel mailing list > > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 > > messages): > > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
