More than a third of U.S. corn is used for animal . January 19, 2022 / in Corn ethanol by Chris Malins. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, annual spending by the Department of Agriculture on farm Digital assets that rely upon a process known as proof of work use a lot of electricity. For example, in corn ethanol plants, dried distiller's grains with solubles, syrup, and corn stover can be used to produce electricity and process steam in order to reduce GHG emissions. The biomass in the ethanol adds fermentation, a system that breaks down any chemicals or other substance in any liquid. Even as corn ethanol spread into more and more filling stations, scientists and watchdog groups questioned its environmental benefits, noting that carbon emissions are not necessary lower than those of gasoline alone and pointing out the significant amount of water and land required for corn ethanol production. These evaporative emissions contribute to the formation of harmful, ground-level ozone and smog. I mean, who eats corn cobs? Increasing our reliance on corn ethanol in the coming decades is doubling down on a poor bet. Under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a law enacted in 2005, the nation's oil refiners are required to mix some 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol into the nation's gasoline annually. In the second of our two-part series on ethanol, Julie Grant reports that some of that conservation is being stalled: A good hard rain can wash a lot of valuable soil off a . Instead, its production may have made things worse. Carbon that is released to the atmosphere from combusting biofuels is carbon that was photosynthetically produced in the first place. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. improve the environment over the past twenty years. Why pass an E-10 standard? 3) It's better for the environment. You used the term methanol in the text of your question but linked to a USDA blog post on ethanol. Corn-Based Ethanol May Be Worse For the Climate Than Gasoline, a New Study Finds Long touted as a renewable fuel emitting 20 percent fewer greenhouse gasses than gasoline, ethanols' emissions. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Here is a link to our most recent work on the energy balance of corn ethanol: 2015 Energy Balance for the Corn-Ethanol Industry. Cellulosic ethanol -- considered by many to be the ultimate biofuel is fuel generated from a plant's non-edible parts. But as to the extent of its use on cornfields, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in 2015 that such tillage practices were used on a little more than 30 percent of all U.S. corn acres in 2010-11, mostly outside the Corn Belt This is a lower percentage than on soybeans, wheat, or even highly erosive cotton. Projections warned of an increase in GHG emissions from tilling native grassland, and converting wetlands and forests for corn production. Rare photos show chimps treating their wounds with insects, Pumpkin pollution is a problemhere's what you can do. according to research reported last year by a team led by nobel prize-winning chemist paul crutzen, ethanol derived from corn may generate up to 50 percent more greenhouse gases than gasoline, because up to twice as much nitrous oxide may be released by the production process due to increased use of nitrogen fertilizers on corn (one of the most Initially reported by Reuters, this research paper indicates that the carbon intensity of corn-based ethanol is "likely at least 24% higher" than conventional gasoline, not a promising figure . Affinity For Water. Biofuels from switchgrass, if grown on. A key argument of E30 proponents is that higher-ethanol blends would reduce the need for alternative fuel additives that may have negative health effects. Ethanol has had its highs and lows. At present, though, fewer than 2 percent of filling stations in the U.S. sell higher than 10 percent ethanol blends. Obviously, corn ethanol is presenting ethanol by corn. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/11524/argonne-lowers-land-use-chang, Review and Evaluation of Studies on the Use of E15 in Light-Duty Vehicles On a life cycle analysis basis, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reduced on average by 40% with corn-based ethanol produced from dry mills, and range between 88% and 108% if cellulosic feedstocks are used depending on feedstock type, compared with gasoline and diesel production and use. The revisionist effort to increase the percentage of ethanol blended with U.S. gasoline continues to ignore the major environmental impacts of growing corn for fuel and how it inevitably leads to higher prices for this staple food crop. For example, ethanol-fueled vehicles produce lower carbon dioxide emissions . Ethanol consumption has severe drawbacks pertaining to its effect on the environment. Given the trend toward better efficiency at corn ethanol plants, I would expect to find an even more favorable energy balance using more recent data. In much of Brazil a second 'safrinha' (off season) corn crop is grown after a soy crop, and Brazilian safrinha corn is now a major contributor to . All rights reserved, First used in 1826 to power internal combustion engines, Congress provide a tax exemption for ethanol-blended gasoline, that is, produced by fermenting the sugars contained in corn kernels, mandated that by 2012, 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels, cellulosic ethanol is not yet ready for prime time. By driving up the price of food and gas and causing costly engine damage, corn ethanol has been bad news for consumers. How corn is produced on farms and how refineries operate can also have a large impact on greenhouse gases, from the changes in soil carbon and the emissions associated with growing crops, to the GHG emissions from producing the fuel. It will not be long before CO2, CH4 and N2O reduction technologies are available to corn producers at much lower emission levels. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of . What would we do without it? Ethanol's Economic Impact High Octane - Low Carbon Risks of increasing gasoline's ethanol content by 50 percent - from E10 to E15 - include: Environmental Damage: Increased greenhouse gas emissions; Waterway pollution from chemical runoff; Loss of biodiversity; Public Health Concerns: In fact, thanks to the corn ethanol mandate, we have lost more than wetlands and grasslands in the last four years than in the previous 40. The Results of Using Ethanol in Gasoline The use of ethanol as a biofuel is driving up the cost of food (corn is a feed for livestock) and gasoline (it is more difficult to ship and process. Third, proponents of E30 blends submit that corn used for ethanol now about 30 to 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop is no longer a threat to food prices due to increases in agricultural productivity and that, anyway, U.S. corn is fed mainly to livestock. Since 2010, ethanol refineries have evolved by adopting more efficient processes to produce more ethanol per bushel of corn. Environmental advocates have long warned that incentivizing ethanol production could be a net loss for the planet. Ethanol is a relatively low-cost alternative fuel that boasts less pollution and more availability compared to unblended petrol, but there are a number of benefits and drawbacks to this newer form of fuel. These results, the study noted, reinforce recent evidence that increased demand for corn in biofuel production has intensified threats to natural habitats in corn-growing regions.. Shrouded in the political fumes and corrosive influence of special interests, the economic fundamentals of ethanol are clear in the light of day. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, vehicles typically go 3 to 4 percent fewer miles per gallon on E10 and 4 to 5 percent fewer miles per gallon on E15, because ethanol packs only about two-thirds the BTUs of gasoline. Reuters and Bloomberg both reported that against a backdrop of lower crude oil prices, ADM is looking at strategic options in its ethanol business after spending $1.3 billion since 2006 to build two new ethanol plants and seeing its fourth-quarter 2015 profits fall. Spurred by the absurd biofuel volumes mandated by the Federal Renewable Fuels Standard, farmers in recent years have plowed over 5 millions of. A groundbreaking study says yes. First is that a reevaluation of a 30-percent ethanol blend, or E30, is timely in light of the EPAs current fuel economy standards review, because its efficiency in high-performance engines may be an improvement over the losses in miles per gallon with a 10-percent ethanol blend, or E10. In 2010, the agency published a 1,100-page document that . As climate disasters grow more costly, who should pay the bill? For corn, that's the stover (e.g., the leaves, husks, stalk, and cobs). As ethanol production took off in the mid-2000s, aided and abetted by a panoply of federal and state subsidies, it chewed up so much corn so fast that it was hoisted on its own petard as corn prices rose to record highs in 2007 while oil prices weakened. When corn is cheap and oil prices are high, ethanol margins are fat. Lastly, water pollution due to ethanol is escalating. Economically, cellulosic ethanol is not yet ready for prime time its too expensive but industry is pushing ahead and in many cases with government support. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Hill said the study confirms long-held suspicions about corn ethanol's environmental impact and could affect how the EPA decides to move forward with biofuel blending requirements. Even so, removing federal support of corn ethanol has proved difficult. Combined with efficiency improvements in refineries, such as switching to biomass as a process fuel, these improvements could result in a 70 percent lower GHG emission profile for ethanol over gasoline by 2022. Fuel that is blended with ethanol is also damaging cars, especially older ones, as well as boats, recreation vehicles and gasoline-powered tools. But in recent years, its economic benefits have been questioned (see here, here, here and here). . Theres generally a whole lot more cellulose in plants than sugars compare a corn cob to its kernels. DAN THORNBERG/SHUTTERSTOCK, The Case Against More Ethanol: Its Simply Bad for Environment, including former Senator Tim Wirth and attorney C. 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Cellulosic ethanol, which was supposed to supplant that made from corn in meeting the mandate, has proven a monumental disappointment, and the EPA has taken a big step back from requiring its use. By Douglas Fischer, The Daily Climate on February 12, 2010 The Obama administration last week gave the green light to corn ethanol as a low-carbon renewable fuel - in apparent contradiction to. Is ethanol fuel good for . All this research aside, there are certainly environmental tradeoffs involved in ethanol production. Today, oil prices remain low and corn prices are strengthening again. Methanol and ethanol are different types of alcohol with different production processes and uses. 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While any amount of ethanol blended below the 15-billion-gallon intention of the RFS is detrimental to American corn farmers, as well as the environment, there were a few bright spots coming from Washington today. That will determine whether it is a good candidate for replacing fossil fuels when they run out in the future. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Ethanol boosters say now is the time to ramp up the ethanol/gasoline blend to 30 percent because it will reduce harmful particulate pollution, improve gas mileage, and lower gas prices. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Consider its response to research confirming corn ethanol's damage to the environment. Two prices determine its profitability: the price of corn and the price of oil. Biofuels like corn-based ethanol directly replace petroleum-based fuels - and they're renewable. New research is confirming that corn ethanol also has more greenhouse gas benefits than previously thought. They have been using it for over 20 years. Brian Wright, an agricultural economist at the University of California at Berkeley has noted that real corn prices have nearly doubled since the ethanol mandates of 2005-2007. A study we just published in the journal Biofuels found that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corn ethanol are about 39 percent lower than gasoline on energy equivalent basis. These forever chemicals pollute water, dont break down, and remain in the environment and people for decades. While ethanol fermented and distilled from corn is considered a renewable fuel because corn growth, which removes carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis, offsets carbon dioxide. As a result of the mandate, corn cultivation grew 8.7% and expanded into 6.9 million additional acres of land between 2008 and 2016, the study found. The EPA's own data show that corn ethanol is worse for the environment than conventional gasoline. Ethanol demand for corn has also contributed to major withdrawals of acres from the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which were taken out of production precisely because they were highly vulnerable to erosion. Carbon monoxide production from ethanol fuel is significantly . Ethanol proponents underscore emissions savings, cost stability (ethanol is distilled from domestically grown corn) and reduced reliance on (foreign) oil as benefits of more drivers filling up their tanks with E85 instead of gas. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Visit EWG's 501(c)(4) organization, EWG Action Fund. The Case Against More Ethanol: It's Simply Bad for Environment The revisionist effort to increase the percentage of ethanol blended with U.S. gasoline continues to ignore the major environmental impacts of growing corn for fuel and how it inevitably leads to higher prices for this staple food crop. We only would have to change a small converter in any automobile to use ethanol.Doesn't producing electric for charging batteries produce green house gases and the price of electric cars is very high. Cellulosic ethanol is created by using the cellulose, or the fibers of the plant, instead of using the fruit or the seeds that are produced. Most drivers are already using ethanol-blended fuels. Now is the time to reduce the use of corn ethanol in our gasoline. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2022 National Geographic Partners, LLC. For environmental purposes, ethanol is less harmful than unblended petrol. The process to harvest and produce corn-based ethanol creates more harmful emissions than normal gasoline, according to a new report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Not to mention that the batteries used in electric cars are at times dangerous they have the ability to explode. Any form of energy production has social and environmental costs. Using the current corn-to-ethanol conversion of 2.8 gallons of ethanol from a bushel of corn, total U.S. corn production could result in approximately 37 billion gallons of ethanol, which would provide approximately 26% of . A new study suggests that those fears may be well-founded. Unauthorized use is prohibited. What are the benefits of using ethanol? @Tibor Nemeth - thank you for your inquiry. Making biofuels from corn cobs slated for livestock feed will affect food supplies as well as land use and greenhouse gas emissions. Whats more, burning corn ethanol in gasoline releases more benzene, a known carcinogen, and other toxic air pollutants that have been linked to asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory ailments. Over the past two decades, the demand for renewable fuels including corn-based ethanol has helped drive a strong domestic market for corn, and supported rural America by generating jobs (PDF, 1.5 MB). A new study, conducted by scientists at Harvard and other universities, shows that corn ethanol's carbon intensity is 46% lower than that of gasoline. The study, titled " The greenhouse gas benefits of . The Science study concluded that ethanol releases "modestly lower total emissions" than gasoline but only if people are eating less; not if growing and harvesting more corn is required to feed them. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the nation's biofuel policy, is considering changes to the program. Is either good for the environment? However, in a country like Brazil, they use sugarcane as the primary substance. "corn-based" ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years. Without such a break in the blend wall, the renewable fuel standards mandates are in trouble. This is how corn ethanol is made. Ecologically Effective. The best-case scenario for corn-based ethanol is a 20-percent reduction in carbon emissions. In fact, any cars manufactured in 2001 or more recently will have the capability to . Cellulosic ethanol, for example, can be formed from virtually any type of living plant, even algae. These include adopting conservation (PDF, 7.6 MB) on corn farms, such as cover crops, no-till, and precision agriculture technology, which can decrease emissions on the farm level. Yet despite years of bad ethanol reviews, some prominent figures (including former Senator Tim Wirth and attorney C. Boyden Gray in the accompanying article) offer a revanchist argument: Ethanol is not really so bad after all, and we should significantly increase its blending with gasoline from 10 to 30 percent. The idea that ethanol demand has no effect on corn prices would come as news to economists documenting its continuing pivotal role. And by driving up the price of food, corn ethanol is also costing all of us money by increasing the cost of federal programs like food stamps and school lunches. In 2005, spurred by rising oil prices and perceptions that corn ethanol was a renewable, carbon-neutral fuel, Americas love affair with corn ethanol grew. Corn cultivation appears to be responsible for ethanol's less-than-ideal environmental impact, according to new research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Do bees play? Earlier estimates of ethanols GHG emissions assumed the increased price of corn (caused by increased demand for corn ethanol) would result in farmers bringing new land into production (otherwise known as land-use change). Currently, we use approximately 40 percent of corn grown in the U.S to create ethanol, and 36 percent to feed animals. Could you specify the average EROI for corn-based methanol in the US? Ultimately, because biofuels and food both require land to grow, decoupling the two is difficult. Ethanol, a biofuel derived from plants, is actually bad for the environment, the study found. This study confirms work that we released in 2018 (PDF, 3 MB) and adds to the mounting evidence of ethanols GHG benefits, which have been often overlooked. Today, Teflon-like compounds called PFAS are found in the blood of almost all Americans. Corn ethanol brings nothing to the table in terms of either energy security or helping the environment. The Pros of Corn Ethanol. In addition, the study found that some corn ethanol, depending on how it's made, can achieve up to a 61% reduction in GHG emissions. "Corn ethanol is not a climate-friendly fuel," said Dr. Tyler Lark, assistant scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment and lead author. I say 'once again,' because this isn't the first study to reach this conclusion - there have been a few others over the years (listed below). Corn ethanol is a colorless liquid that is made through the fermentation of starches and sugars found in corn. If growing biofuel has more earning power, land meant for growing food will likely be diverted for biofuels. Corn ethanol was supposed to help the climate. 1250 I Street NW The essence of the argument that we need more, not less, ethanol in our gas tanks is linked to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys upcoming mid-term review of President Obamas fuel economy standards, established in 2012. Corn ethanol is ethanol produced from corn biomass and is the main source of ethanol fuel in the United States, mandated to be blended with gasoline in the Renewable Fuel Standard.Corn ethanol is produced by ethanol fermentation and distillation.It is debatable whether the production and use of corn ethanol results in lower greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline. The EPA proposed the denial of 65 pending RFS refinery waiver petitions which is good news for the ethanol industry. The latest science on E15 clarifies the fuel's damaging impacts on the environment, public health, and consumers. https://www.anl.gov/article/landuse-change-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions, Fuel Ethanol Produced from Midwest U.S. Corn: Help or Hindrance to the Vision of Kyoto? America and Corn Cob Ethanol: The Beginning of a New Love Affair? Cellulosic ethanol could be produced from any potential living plant organism, including algae or grass . Protect your health. Last week the Energy Department announced a $105 million loan guarantee to a company proposing to make ethanol from corn cobs. Given that ethanol typically comprises 10 percent of commercially available gasoline, that means. President Joe Biden's administration is reviewing policies on biofuels as part of a broader effort to decarbonize the U.S. economy by 2050 to fight climate change. DuPonts Teflon changed our lives, but also polluted our bodies. A study we just published in the journal Biofuels found that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corn ethanol are about 39 percent lower than gasoline on energy equivalent basis. Corn ethanol production is energy inefficient and expensive. . And so theres a lot more feedstock for making cellulosic ethanol than for making traditional, grain-based forms of ethanol. For environmental purposes, ethanol is less harmful than unblended petrol. Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by David Gregorio. The policy was intended to reduce emissions, support farmers, and cut U.S. dependence on energy imports. More recent research shows that, while there has been some conversion and reallocation of land, things did not end up playing out the way these earlier projections anticipated. These systems are now on test across the Great Plains and the PNW. Unfortunately, in their never ending greedy mission to force more of their poison down our throats, the oil industry keeps trying new ways to present their same old lies against ethanol and therefore keeps having their shills pretend like they've found new evidence against ethanol. But this would mean further EPA regulatory backing for E30 to assure its availability.
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