Campaign to vilify ethanol revealed

ethanol producer Magazine ^ | May 16, 2008 | By Kris Bevill

[Kevin J waldroup]

The “food versus fuel” debate being waged in the United States has been nothing more than a cleverly planned public relations campaign. A request for a public relations proposal put forth by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the media campaign response by the Glover Park Group prove that there has been a concerted effort to attack the ethanol industry. Both documents were recently made public by long-time ethanol advocate, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

The GMA represents more than 300 food, beverage and consumer household goods companies in the United States. The association released a request for a public relations campaign to combat the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The request states: “GMA has concluded that rising food prices, global shortages of basic commodities, and new studies on the environmental impacts of corn ethanol create a window to change perceptions about the benefits of bio-fuels and the mandate and, ultimately, to build a groundswell in support of freezing or reversing some provisions of the 2007 Energy Bill…”

The response to the GMA’s request by the Glover Park Group lays out a strategy to undermine the ethanol industry: “First, we must obliterate whatever intellectual justification might still exist for corn-based ethanol among policy elites.”

[pabianice]

Ethanol is senseless when we have enough used animal and vegetable fat annually to run 65% of America’s diesel trucks for a year. Companies like SafeRenewables and Aegis Biofuels are already doing this. I guess biofuel from fat just isn’t sexy enough yet. Wait until we get to $6 diesel fuel.

[jmaroneps37]

Ethanol is the biggest hoax next to global warming.

[MarkL]

E85 is only 15% ethanol. So do reduce your mileage you need to reduce to 85% (the part from gas) and 70% of 15% = 10.5% (the part from ethanol. This would make the efficiency of E85 95.5% that of gasoline.

Actually, you've got that backwards. E85 is 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline. E10 and E15 are common, using ethanol as an oxygenator, but even there, you'll find a marked reduction in gas mileage and power - enough to notice. This is also is why you have to have a "Flex Fuel" car in order to use E85. If you don't, the car simply can't deal with the different fuel/air mixture requirements, and as a bonus, if you can get it to run at all, expect to have some serious repair bills in the not too distant future, as you'll probably need to replace fuel lines, seals, and valve guides at the very least.

Mark

[wastedyears]

The government of the US will destroy the US.

[count-your-change]

Let’s investigate the obscene profits of distilleries.

[Amendment10]

Given that Congress has evidently been out to lunch in addressing oil independence since the 1973 oil embargo, I'm keeping an eye on developments in biofuel production.

First, the bad news about ethanol. Ethanol fires are evidently harder to control than gasoline fires.

Ethanol fires hard to control 1
Ethanol fires hard to control 2

Hopefully, ways will be developed to make controlling ethanol fires easier.

On the brighter side concerning ethanol, there's now evidence that people might get as much, or more, bang per buck for their gas dollars with gas / ethanol mixtures.

Gas-competitive gas / ethanol mixtures

Also, I was surprised by the introduction of a machine (popularly known as a still) for making home-made ethanol.

EFuel100

In stark contrast to the 1700 gallons of water required to make one gallon of corn-based ethanol as indicated by the OP, the EFuel100 uses only 170 gallons of water to produce 35 gallons of ethanol In other words, the EFuel100 uses less than 1% (about 0.2%) as much water as corn ethanol, under five gallons, to produce one gallon of ethanol. But also note that the water used in the EFuel100 process does not take into account the water needed to produce the sugar that is used for this process.

And watch out for fines for violating biofuel regulations.

Fines for violating biofuel regulations

Also, progress is being made in the development of other non-corn ethanol production technologies as well.

Non-corn ethanol

Next, I've also been hearing good things about biodiesel production but need to find some links.

Finally, although I don't use this product, since people are starting to use bicycles more, people might be interested in this autoshifting bicycle.

Autoshifting bicycle

[Swiss]

Tell me how?

[VideoDoctor]

I saw this on CNBC.
http://www.efuel100.com/

Any vehicle that runs on gasoline can run on ethanol.
And now the patent-pending technology in the EFuel100 MicroFueler™ makes home ethanol distillation possible, cost-effective, and safe.

See product details for information and photos. They did a 5 minute interview with this guy. He's the inventor of something that was a technological advance in video gaming some time back

He has invented an ethanol maker. It's quite impressive in it's thought thru design and not bad at all for the first shot out of the box. Sounds promising.

The fact that it can be turned into a "do it yourself" process could be the beginning of a new era for folks.

Remember when you had to go to a printer to get something printed? I'm sure you get my point.

[crz]

http://biopact.com/2007/08/chemrec-and-newpage-team-up-to-produce.html

[sitkaspruce]

My goodness all this anti ethanol propaganda and none of it’s detractors can remember all the tax credits given to the oil industry. Hmmm

[HardStarboard]

The world is awash in BS.....this is part of it!

[FredZarguna]

Well my friend, the oil companies will still get their depletion allowances and other tax credits, because it takes nearly a gallon of oil to produce a gallon of ethanol. All the folks posting here in favor of ethanol leave this out of their calculations: ethanol cannot get us out of our dependency on foreign oil because it requires foreign oil to produce it. Brazil is the only country in the world which may -- and I say may -- actually be able to replace oil with ethanol. No one knows the full extent of Brazil's subsidy, so it's hard to tell. But in Brazil they don't (foolishly) produce ethanol from corn, but from cane sugar--a much more energy efficient process.

This foolishness with ethanol has gotten so far out of hand in this country that there are now a number of referenda in the Corn States to outlaw the production electricity with coal. Hello? Any of you geniuses in Kansas not understand that US reserves of easily mineable thermal coal total over 500 billion tons? Any of you people in Iowa not understand that if we don't burn our own coal then people in China, India and Japan are perfectly willing to? Any of you "environmentalists" realize that the environmental cost of transporting coal halfway around the world will be far greater than burning it here?

Like most environmentalist hype (hydrogen, solar, wind, geothermal) ethanol is a technology that can't deliver. Unfortunately, it flourishes because of a manufactured constituency and poor science education.

[mad_as_he$$]

Ethanol cannot be distributed by pipeline. It is trucked everywhere. So if you put ethanol on a truck burning diesel and deliver it the station you are spending more fossil fuel to deliver ethanol then if you were delivering gas which is 30% more energy per gallon. Just dumb.

[Maringa]

“Why shouldn’t it be vilified?!

at best it converts about 1 gallon of oil into 1 gallon of ethanol.”

For the sake of argument...when, not if, it becomes cheaper to produce ethanol vs. a gallon of gas, would it change your mind?

“sucks up enormous amounts of water
can’t be transported far because of its hygroscopic properties”

I think this is already begin worked on...Pipeline transportaion, etc...it’s just a matter of time that this problem is resolved...

“requires fuel systems with special corrosion-resistant materials”

Already engineered and worked on. Already proven that vehicles E-85 and other cars overseas have no problem with this fuel. Old cars...yes...definetly a problem.

“depletes our soils”

You mean edible corn also depletes our soils? We should ban corn altogether!!!

“causes untold amounts of fertilizer runoff”

Just like many other crop (food or commercial)....

“starves the world”

I think we’re depriving the our country less than 10% of the corn to ethanol....Do we want to feed the world or not?

“All of this because celebrities, gutless pandering politicians and a few lunatic fringe envirowackos outlawed domestic exploration and drilling.”

I’ll give you this one...it is a crime what our politicians are doing. And I fully agree that ethanol should not be subsidized...it should stand on its own. If ethanol was not subsidized and it was significantly cheaper than oil (someday), would all of you change your mind?

What’s not to like about this “fuel”?

It’s an option...not a full replacement of oil...Everyone who supports oil (including myself) have nothing to worry about oil ever being replaced by ethanol. But we should be the leaders in this world to work and develop other fuel alternatives. Right now, we are over exposed to one product. It’s like having your 401K all 100% fat and happy on one stock that has done well, but then you find out that it is Enron stock.....

We need to have a couple of aces in the hole. We need to work around our politicians who are too heavily drunk on oil and can’t make a good energy policy...

I admire some of the oil companies that are beginning to diversity their energy portfolio and are doing heavy research into alternative fuels..but their hands are tied...

[ApplegateRanch]

And sometimes, an ‘attack’ is justified, no matter who much the rapist cries about being shot in the back during the act.

[ApplegateRanch]

I’m pretty sure E-85 is 85% ethanol, not 15%.

You're right.

Here, we have the choice of E-85; E-30; and "regular gasoline"--10% ethanol added--. The numbers never come out 'right', though the more alky, the lower the price.

The other numbers don't come out 'right' either. When I can get REAL gas, the difference in milage is more along the lines of a 15-20% drop with 10% ethanol.

Even with a choice of having an E-85 vehicle, I wouldn't buy one: SUVs are dangerous enough when sober, let alone turning an alcoholic one lose on the streets!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Let me be more blunt. Where is the logic in using a costly chemical process to convert a natural liquid energy source (ie, oil) into another liquid form (ie ethanol)? From an engineering economics perspective, this makes no sense at all. It’s a complete waste of resources with no economic benefits, just costs.

[clodkicker]

And if ethanol were gone what would gasoline be? Lower? The ethanol plants are added refining capacity which the oil companies have refused to build on their own. Keeps the price of gas high you know.

[Swiss]

Went past the station that has E85 today and the price of E85 was only 30 cents cheaper than gasoline. Don’t know if the station made a mistake a few weeks ago on the listed price or else the price of E85 has really jumped.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Look! It's an energy perpetual motion machine! I was wrong. This is our energy salvation after all! What's not to like here??