Posted on 07/28/2007 7:45:52 PM PDT by P-40
Cellulosic ethanol is the next step in making a definitive replacement for foreign oil. The reality is becoming ever closer, now in large part due to Range Fuels. The State of Georgia has just awarded them a permit to build the first plant to employ their patented technology to produce 100 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year.
Part of the apparent brilliance to the K2 process, as it is called, is that it is a modular design, meaning the processing equipment can be scaled to the need and location, and doesn't necessarily require a monstrous factory. Theoretically, a biomass supplier could cut transportation expenses by sending their material directly into an on-site processor, making the whole thing much more efficient. The K2 process eliminates expensive enzymes by using a two-step thermo-chemical conversion, first converting the biomass into a synthesis gas, and then processing the gas into ethanol.
This new technology and first of many plants employing it is beneficial for two main reasons. We've already covered the lessened dependency on foreign oil. It also means that with the alleged simplicity and adaptability of this processing method, we could see a boom in the number of ethanol plants across the country, thereby producing much more supply of ethanol, lessening demand, and lowering the price to something far more competitive to gasoline. That would then make the decreased efficiency of ethanol-burning engines more tolerable. Of course, as that technology advances as well, fuel efficiency could soon be on par with its oil-based competition.
Am I wrong? Show me how.
Emotion?
http://feinstein.senate.gov/05speeches/ethanol-oped.htm
it takes the equivalent of 1.29 gallons of gasoline to produce enough ethanol to replace one gallon of gasoline at the pump.
Uh, let me look for a better source. UGH!
What’s it mean — How much is this costing the US taxpayer? You got to believe that if venture firms are investing the subsidies or tax write-offs have got to be good. Wonder how the costs get calculated? With or without subsidies?
One can’t help but wonder wouldn’t US drilling be cheaper? The CO2 is the same.
I might listen to cellulosic butanol, but ethanol? Bah!
Hell yeah it would be cheaper, without having a serious effect on our foud sources. We just need to get rid of all the environMENTALists to do it.
I’d agree with you there. Her statement doesn’t even make any sense. She has about as much credibility as Pimentel when it comes to ethanol. For cellulosic ethanol production, there is not going to be much out there in the public domain yet.
Uh oh, looks like I may be eating my words, and going off of outdated info. Damn, is it too late to invest in corn futures, so i can at least have money while we starve?
If it’s waste, or otherwise useless biomass, no biggie, but I hate the idea of croplands used for fuel. It’s already played heck to a degree with food prices.
DRILL THE USA!
Ah the need for the old permission slip, and who would we need that from? Why the same people who are trying to destroy capitalism now, enviro-whackos. Odd don’t you think?
I don’t buy the CO2 argument, the vast amounts of land needed to grow the fuel feed stock is too great and if you calculate the forest area lost you aren’t gaining on the problem. We are talking areas the size of large states need to be put into cultivation of fuel crops. You don’t think the enviro-whackos are not going to complain about that?
Now if we switched all electrical generation, save for a few peaking units, to nuclear like France has done, then you have a positive gain. The fact we don’t hear everyone clamoring to do this tells you a lot about motives.
I say skip the subsidies and tax breaks, they pervert the market. If the costs are there then the switch will come because of market forces. The original fuel for cars was ethanol, and for diesels peanut oil. So biofuels are old friends.
Let the market decide, with no fingers on the scales.
But when you burn cellulose with coal you do not need to add heat to gasify it and you do not have to add heat to turn it in to ethanol.
I believe Khosla ("Cole Slaw"?) is also a major backer of Verenium which is taking the enzyme approach and opening a cellulosic plant in Louisiana of similar size.
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