An Energy Revolution

The American Enterprise Magazine ^ | Robert Zubrin

[jmcenanly]

CONSERVATION AND ALTERNATIVE-FUEL DAYDREAMS

The key to energy independence, rather, is liquid fuel to power cars, trucks, trains, ships, and airplanes. Hydrogen is not a source of energy. Either process necessarily consumes more energy than the hydrogen it produces.

THE ALCOHOL SOLUTION

The alcohols so employed could be either methanol or ethanol.

Ethanol is made from agricultural products. Cars capable of burning such fuel are no futuristic dream. Flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) offer consumers little advantage right now, because the high-alcohol fuels which they could employ are not generally available for purchase. Instead of being the world’s largest fuel importer, the United States could become the world’s largest fuel exporter. Recently, however, the comparative economics of alcohol fuels and gasoline have changed radically.

Two developments make a rapid transfer to high-alcohol fuels possible. ETHANOL OR METHANOL?

To date, all FFVs have been either methanol/gasoline designs or ethanol/gasoline designs. Combined methanol/ethanol/gasoline FFVs have not yet been produced. Methanol is cheaper than ethanol. Ethanol contains about 75 percent of the energy of gasoline per gallon, compared to 67 percent for methanol. Methanol is more corrosive than ethanol. A fuel system made acceptable for methanol use will also be fine for ethanol or pure gasoline.

If the Methanol produced from coal or natural gas has about the same impact on global warming as gasoline.

So if we are to use alcohol fuels to achieve energy independence, a broader resource base is needed.

[jmcenanly]

The author of this piece is best known for his attempts at the exploration and colonization of Mars.

You can find a short biography here http://www.cgpublishing.com/Author_Bios/dr_robert_zubrin.html

[rellimpank]

-bttt-

[Mikey_1962]

Alcohol never solved my problems, but they were more bearable...

[Lee'sGhost]

Deserves a bump.

[expatpat]

Sounds good, but how much oil and other energy is used to till the fields, harvest, make and spread fertilizer, and process the vegetation into alcohol?

[Question_Assumptions]

Thermal Depolymerization. It generates more energy than is used to run it and there has already been a pilot plant running that does it. See:

http://www.changingworldtech.com/

http://www.kantor.com/useful/oil.pdf (A HUGE PDF of the Discover Magazine article on the process)

Yes, the pilot plan at the turkey plant was running but it ran into some odor related problems that have caused problems with local residents. It was making oil somewhere in the $60-$80 a barrel range. While it's had some snags and costs are currently high, there are good reasons to believe that the snags can be worked out and the price can drop substantially.

[IronJack]

Pro-ethanol bump.

But keep your head down. The haters will be zeroing in soon.

[Bean Counter]

yah

Bio-diesel is getting hyped the same way. Why pay three dollars a gallon for regular diesel when you can pay six bucks a gallon for bio-diesel...

[soccer_maniac]

http://www.wnbiodiesel.com/

[rellimpank]

--actually, it's a fairly reasonable article.

And as I always say, I eagerly wait the usage of alcohol-based fuel in the farm implements raising corn--then we'll know its day has arrived--

[IronJack]

I eagerly wait the usage of alcohol-based fuel in the farm implements raising corn

Those burn mostly diesel fuel. Not gasoline. Ethanol won't replace diesel. But the diesel is going to be burned regardless of whether the corn is being used as fuel or feedstock.

[Decepticon]

Heck, the hippies have had this nailed for years.....a little tweaking and you can drink it or turn it into ethanol.....heh,heh,

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html

[Voltage]

The United States uses 380 million gallons of gasoline a day. If we were to replace that entirely with ethanol we would have to harvest approximately four times as much agricultural output as we currently grow for food production.

Great! We can import our food as clearly there will be no land available to grow it here. And I am sure there is a never ending supply of fertilizer to grow all of this corn?

The only economically viable solution is to convert coal to liquid fuel....this will soon been seen as we cannot fool ourselves forever. Which has the additional advantage that we can use our land to grow food.

[bkepley]

Doesn't do anything about "global warming" though, which may be a good or a bad thing for all we know.

[Sonny M]

Yes, the pilot plan at the turkey plant was running but it ran into some odor related problems that have caused problems with local residents.

Check the follow up on that.

The "complaints" were coming from competitors, not from actual residents, i.e. lies and fraud.

I'm trying to find out if a lawsuit was filed for harassement and other charges then.

[Sonny M]

And I am sure there is a never ending supply of fertilizer to grow all of this corn?

Aye, You haven't visited the halls of congress as of late, have ya?

[Question_Assumptions]

They got shut down again because of local complaints. It's not unreasonable to think that it's possible that turkey waste, if not properly contained throughout the the process, might really emit a horrible odor. That said, it's not a show-stopper problem, just a bump in the road.

[NewJerseyJoe]

> The only economically viable solution is to convert coal to liquid fuel

South Africa has been doing this for years:

During its years of diplomatic and economic isolation, South Africa developed the world's largest and most sophisticated synthetic fuel and petrochemical industry headed by two state-owned companies Sasol and Mossgas. Sasol is the world's largest manufacturer of oil from coal and produces about 150,000 bbls/day at its Secunda plant as well as petrochemicals at Sasolburg. Mossgas produces about 45,000 bbls/day from natural gas and condensates produced offshore in Mossel Bay.

From http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/Resources/News%20Features/worldcap/safricaprofile.html

[SuziQ]

I think that "Anything Into Oil" Idea is intriguing!! Sure would preclude the need for massive landfill areas.

[SuziQ]

We can import our food as clearly there will be no land available to grow it here.

Oh please! There is more than enough land to grow food as well as the plants needed to create the fuel. We've been producing more food on less and less lnad each year. It's a simple matter of economics. If it can be sold for a reasonable profit, it will be grown. One reason more domestic oil isn't produced is because it is cheaper to buy it overseas. When those costs get closer to even, or when the regulations don't strangle them, it may be worthwhile for domestic producers to open those wells again.