Report: US Ethanol Production up 37% in Q1
6 April 2008
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/04/report-us-ethan.html
BENTEK Energy, LLC, an energy markets information company, estimates that the US ethanol plant fleet has produced 1.9 billion gallons of ethanol through the first quarter of 2008. This outpaces last year’s production in the first quarter by 517 million gallons, or nearly 37%. Average daily production through the first quarter of 2008 was approximately 21.4 million gallons per day [about 509,524 barrels], which compares to an average of 15.6 million gallons per day in the first quarter 2007 and an average of 17.8 million gallons per day for all of 2007... The US has approximately 134 ethanol plants in service in 2008 compared to 68 plants five years ago in 2003, with a production capacity of 7.229 million gallons per year (mgy), according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). An additional 77 plans under construction or expanding could bring a potential additional capacity of 6.217 mgy onstream.
[US ethanol production appears to equal .0246301542 US petroleum consumption, about 2.5%]
Basic Petroleum Statistics (data for 2006 except where noted)
http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/quickfacts/quickoil.html
Gallons of Oil per Barrel — 42
U.S. Crude Oil Production — 5,102,000 barrels/day
Texas - 1,088,000 barrels/day
Top U.S. Petroleum Refining States #1 - Texas 4,241,000 barrels/day
U.S. Petroleum Consumption — 20,687,000 barrels/day
U.S. Crude Oil Imports — 10,118,000 barrels/day
Share of US Oil Consumption for Transportation — 68%
U.S. Total Petroleum Exports — 1,317,000 barrels/day
Brazilian diesel trees, or Copaifera langsdorfii... According to Purdue University, a 100 acre plot of trees could produce about 25 barrels of oil per year.
http://gas2.org/2008/04/03/farmers-invest-in-diesel-producing-trees/
(yeah, that makes so much more sense than ethanol)
Renewable Fuels Association: How Ethanol Is Made
http://www.ethanolrfa.org/resource/made/
Corn prices nearly doubled between 2005 (about $2.25 a bushel) and 2007 (about $4 per bushel; now about $5.00 per bushel) and there was a 15% increase in U.S. corn acres last year. The scientists projected that much of this increased acreage would come from land in soybeans (50%), the Conservation Reserve Program (25%), and hay and pastures (25%). Recent data indicate that much row crop conversion was from cotton as well as soybeans.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401112400.htm
42 gallon [US, liquid] = 1 barrel [US, petroleum]
2,000,000 barrel [US, petroleum] = 84,000,000 gallon [US, liquid]
There are in excess of 200 million vehicles; if only 84 million burned one less gallon per week, it would save 84 million gallons of gas (irrespective of the fuel economy of any given vehicle).
U.S. Petroleum Consumption — 20,687,000 barrels/day
Share of US Oil Consumption for Transportation — 68%
Dependence on Net Petroleum Imports — 59.9%
2000000/7=285714.28571 (2 million / 7 days in a week)
20687000*.68=14067160 (bbl per day times .68)
285714.28571/14067160=.02031072979 (about 2 per cent of consumption)
.02031072979*.60=.01218643787 (if evenly split, would save 1.2 per cent of imports)