There is another way of making ethanol: from cellulose. There's a process
that uses an enzyme that converts the cellulose to sugar from which it is
converted to ethanol. The process is proven; ethanol is being produced
this way.
Nobody seems to have taken notice of this process, which was pioneered by a
company in Ottawa. The main (apparent) drawback was how to get feedstock
for the process; in other words the logistics of procuring cellulose
(preferably waste) and getting it to the plant. The answer is very simple,
and nobody has listened to what I've said about it. It doesn't lie within
the energy industry, it lies instead within the pulp and paper industry, an
industry that is well acquainted with handling both "clean" and waste
(stumpage, leaves, etc.) cellulose.
It's a long but simple story, but in the end, the pulp and paper industry -
with (at least in Canada) all these mills closing down or losing money -
could be at the forefront. The whole approach depends on NOT thinking big
(apparently one energy corporation was/is considering spending about $250
million on such a plant to produce... 20 million gallons of ethanol per
year; about a 15 year payback. Real insanity. Far better to build many
small plants (using an improved/evolving process) where the feedstock and
the handling expertise are.
P.
At 06:03 PM 1/19/2007 -0500, you wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jed Rothwell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <vortex-L@eskimo.com>
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2007 1:30 PM
Subject: [Vo]: Yomiuri: Bush to promote ethanol in State of the Union
Well, at least there has been some anti-ethanol press lately. I saw
articles in Sci. Am., Consumer Reports, and the Atlanta Journal calling
into question the use of ethanol. One of them reported a horrifying
statistic: filling up a 25 gallon tank with ethanol fuel uses up as much
potential nutrition from corn as a human being consumes in a year.
I don't know if it is as bad as all that, but word I hear is the massive
use of corn for ethanol is playing hell with the Mexicans. Apparently, the
price of corn (a major food stuff there, as I am sure you are all aware)
has been driven up over there. Fingers are being pointed at the ethanol
business. There is no bound it seems to human stupidity. We are literally
talking about burning our food for fuel. Why? This is the most inefficient
use of solar energy there is.
Sunlight + nutrients + fertilizers derived from petrochemicals + labor +
uncertain growing conditions ----> extremely low efficiency conversion of
ethanol + hungry people and more slash and burn agriculture. Why not save
a few steps? Sunlight ----> electricity via steam turbines + synthetic fuels.
BTW, what was the real story behind Solar One (think this is the one I am
thinking of) anyways? Did it just not perform well, or was it axed?
--Kyle
