Can we make fuel that is inexpensive and won’t harm the environment? Burning fossil fuels is destructive to the environment and our dependence on foreign fuel sources constitutes a threat to America’s national security. Energy and oil companies, entrepreneurs and researches all are busily engaged in the quest for tomorrow’s clean fuel. No single solution, no magic bullet exists to solve the problem. Instead, industry and vehicles in times to come will probable by powered by a variety of different sustainable energy sources.
Biofuels may offer the solution as entrepreneurs and scientists work to produce a sustainable, environment friendly alternative to petroleum based fuels. Ethanol is a sustainable and cleaner fuel than gasoline but current methods of producing it poses some pretty serious problems.
Fuel Ethanol from Corn
Ethanol is perhaps the most widely used alternative fuel. Much of the gasoline available today contains 10% ethanol and E-85 is used in many flex fuel vehicles. Gasoline containing ethanol does cost less but that fact can be misleading because ethanol is less efficient than gasoline according to Consumer Reports.
First generation ethanol is a product beset with problems both ecological and economic. It takes more energy to produce a gallon of corn ethanol than can be generated by that same gallon of fuel ethanol large scale corn agriculture rapidly depletes the nutrients from the soil so that the land can’t be used to grow other crops.
Large scale corn agriculture also poses a danger to land and aquatic ecosystems due to runoff of nitrogen based fertilizers. Rainfall causes excess nitrogen fertilizers to wash out into the streams and lakes. The fertilizer causes the rapid growth of algae that reduces sunlight into the aquatic ecosystem, depletes the oxygen level and can cause massive die off of aquatic life. Monica Bruckner reports in “Microbial Life” that the dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River covers over 6,000 square miles.
Cellulosic Fuel Ethanol is made from organic biomass
Cellulosic ethanol is produced from wood or plant cellulose fibers instead of using food crops. This approach to making fuel ethanol eliminates many of the problems associated with food crop ethanol.
A wide array of feed stocks can be used to produce cellulosic fuel ethanol including agricultural wastes, grasses and fast growing trees like Paulownia. Some companies are even converting trash into fuel ethanol and gaseous fuels like methane to generate electricity.
This approach is still land use intensive but it doesn’t have an adverse affect on global food supplies and in some cases the plants being grown for cellulosic ethanol production will actually help restore poor soils and clean up contaminated soils by sequestering the toxins inside the plants.
Making Fuel from Sewage-Algal Fuel Ethanol and Biodiesel
From Poop to Power
It’s slimy and icky, can live on sewage water and just may be the salvation of the world. Algal oil lipids can be extracted to produce bio diesel and the cellulose and starches contained in algae can easily be used to produce fuel ethanol.
Not only fuel for vehicles-algae derived fuel offers a possible solution to powering the turbines in electric power plants. An algal fuel facility could be constructed as part of municipal waterworks and use the waste water to feed the algae.
This will turn the cost of water treatment- a negative- into a positive as the fuel generated by the algae facility can then be sold to the power plant as less expensive alternative to the petro diesel or coal used to generate electricity. Any fuel that isn’t used by the power plants can be sold at market prices. Utility bills go down and city budgets are lowered which can cause taxes to go down as well. Best of all, algae doesn’t require thousands of acres of land to grow.
Fuel ethanol isn't the only answer, just a hopeful beginning
Ethanol and other bio-fuels won’t completely solve the world energy crisis but the development of ethanol from safer, sustainable energy sources offers a real hope for the future.Creating clean fuels from sustainable sources gets us one step closer to being energy independent. Continued development of other alternative energy sources coupled with positive engagement by governments and citizens alike will get America off fossil fuels. Get involved to create a cleaner and safer world for your children and their children. They'll thank you for it.
Sources:
Living Green Magazine: Electricity from Trash
Consumer Reports: The Great Ethanol Debate
Microbial Life: The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
Biofuels Digest: Leveling the Playing Field for Algae Based Fuels
Ronnie Daniels - Since 2008 I have striven to provide quality content for web and print publication. Let me create something unique for you.
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