Alternative Fuel

Using Corn to Produce Ethanol

Diminishing Supplies of Fossil Fuels

Estimated reserve of fossil fuels 70 – 105 years of fossil fuel reserves This includes crude oil, natural gas and coal.

Ethanol vs. Gasoline as a fuel

Heat of combustion of Ethanol 1406.8 kJ/mol, 24.12 kJ/mL

Heat of combustion of Gasoline 5508.9 kJ/mol, 33.76 kJ/mL

Approximately 29% less energy in Ethanol

Ethanol as a fuel additive Replacing MTBE

Can be used as an oxygenate instead of MTBE, which can pollute soil and ground water

MTBE as an additive reduces engine knocking by increasing oxygen and allowing for more complete combustion of gasoline

E85 gasoline 1 out of every 40 cars and trucks currently on

the road are capable of using a mixture of 85% Ethanol and 15% gasoline

Making Ethanol

Converting starches to sugar Enzymes break down cellulose and starches

in to glucose

Fermentation

The glucose is then fermented producing ethanol

Ethanol production process

Effects on the Economy Costs of producing Ethanol

Prices of other corn related products to rise As the demand for corn increases due to ethanol other corn

related products such as fuel will also increase in price Farming costs

Current farming techniques require the heavy use of fossil fuels. Because of this many researchers believe that producing ethanol from corn requires more energy than it produces

Government subsidies Between 1995 – 2003 the USDA contributed 37.4 billion

dollars in corn subsidies Total production of Ethanol possible

12 billion liters of Ethanol produced in the US in 2004

Effects on the Environment

Fertilizers needed to grow corn can be harmful for the environment.These fertilizers also require significant amounts of energy to produce

Other possible ethanol crops: Sugar Cane and Switchgrass

Bibliography http://petroleum.berkeley.edu/papers/patzek/CRPS416-Patzek-Web.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060224.html http://www.webmo.net/curriculum/heat_of_combustion/heat_of_combus

tion_key.html http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5173420 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7806281 http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/

Ethanol_fuel_presents_a_cornundrum.html http://www.myhusky.ca/media/visuals/ethanol_process.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE http://www.blog4brains.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/starch.GIF http://www.kcpc.usyd.edu.au/discovery/

9.2.2/9.2.2_CellulosetoEthene2.html