Ethanol

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This is not just hype — it's dangerous, delusional bullshit. Ethanol doesn't burn cleaner than gasoline, nor is it cheaper. Our current ethanol production represents only 3.5 percent of our gasoline consumption — yet it consumes twenty percent of the entire U.S. corn crop, causing the price of corn to double in the last two years and raising the threat of hunger in the Third World. And the increasing acreage devoted to corn for ethanol means less land for other staple crops, giving farmers in South America an incentive to carve fields out of tropical forests that help to cool the planet and stave off global warming.

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Are there any problems with ethanol?
Oh, yes. Ethanol can't travel in pipelines along with gasoline, because it picks up excess water and impurities. As a result, ethanol needs to be transported by trucks, trains, or barges, which is more expensive and complicated than sending it down a pipeline. As refiners switched to ethanol this spring, the change in transport needs has likely contributed to the rise in gas prices. Some experts argue that the U. S. doesn't have adequate infrastructure for wide ethanol use.

Also, ethanol contains less energy than gas. That means drivers have to make more frequent trips to the pump.

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Alcohol Dries You Out and Eats Through Your Food Security

Disturbing facts about ethanol production in the US:

* In 2008, the United States was responsible for 52 percent of ethanol production in the world production, fermenting mostly corn to 9 billion gallons (~34.1 billion liters) of fuel ethanol.

* Ethanol production rose by 38.5 percent in 2008 compared to the previous year (from 6.5 billion gallons, or 24.6 billion liters in 2007).

* United States imported an addition 557 million gallons of ethanol in 2008, from Brazil, Jamaica, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica.

* Federal mandates encourage more ethanol production [not less overall consumption.]

* The U.S. target for for 2015 is 15 billion gallons, though it’s difficult to see where the industry is planning to get the water from. [Data from the Renewable Fuels Association.]

* As of January 2009, at least 170 ethanol biorefineries were operating in the United States with 24 additional ones (new location or expanding plants) being planned.

* Corn is a thirsty crop requiring about 109 gallons of water for each pound (910 liters of water for each kg) of corn (shelled maize). [Other estimates include 20 inches of soil moisture per acre of maize planted, producing about 150 bushels of corn per acre). Most of the water usually comes from the rain.

* Research performed at Cornell University showed that 26.1 pounds of corn is needed to produce a gallon of ethanol (3.13kg of corn per liter).

* Based on various sources, fresh water consumption is increasing globally by at least 1.2 percent per year, and the rate is rising.

* Typical ethanol plants use about 4.2 gallons of water to make one gallon of ethanol, says the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. However, the ethanol industry insists the water requirement is 'only' a ratio of 3 to 1.

* Annual harvest of corn in the US (2008) was 12,101 million bushels (307.37 MMT). [Source: USDA]

* Total amount of corn used to produce ethanol in 2008 was a staggering 3,600 million bushels (91.44MMT), or 29.75 percent of the annual US corn harvest.[Source: USDA]

* Total amount of water needed to produce 15 billion gallons of ethanol, the US production target for 2015, is about 22 million-million gallons (83.5 trillion liters). That is about a fifth of the estimated volume of water in Lake Erie.

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Op vrijdag 4 december 2009 20:37 schreef fruityloop het volgende:
Niks nieuws, daarom wordt er ook al hard gewerkt aan zgn. 2^e generatie biobrandstoffen die gemaakt worden door algen...

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1- The weather pattern changes we call global warming are not caused by carbon dioxide (CO2) but rather methane(CH4), low level ozone forming pollutants (VOC’s), low level ozone (O3), and their reactions with sun light and atmospheric water vapor (H2O).

2- Gasoline and diesel fuel can be refined to give 20% more mileage with 70 percent less pollution using polymer additives that are produced in the same kinds of refineries that gasoline is.

3- Anhydrous (water removed) ethanol, the kind of ethanol added to gasoline now, causes high emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), a low level ozone precursor. It also causes loss of mileage, produces huge amounts of ozone forming pollutants where it’s refined while pumping billions of tons of water vapor into the atmosphere mixed with pollutants, and has to be transported in trucks, trains, or barges because it’s too corrosive for pipelines.

4- Hydrous ethanol (water left in or added) can be used as fuel by itself or mixed with gasoline while causing no mileage loss, no increase in emissions, and can be transported through pipelines. It’s also cheaper to produce greater volumes of it while causing fewer emissions at the refinery.

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Op vrijdag 4 december 2009 20:40 schreef Resonancer het volgende:
Andere invalshoek dan aardbevingen::
[..]

Zeg je corn dan zeg je Monsanto, past weer mooi in elkaar
http://www.monsanto.com/r(...)allenges/energy.asp.

Ethanol en ExxonMobil past dan weer minder:
Who doesn't like a good conspiracy tale? Stanford ethanol study under fire.

Ethanol may lead to more ozone-related deaths

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Op vrijdag 4 december 2009 21:05 schreef BasementDweller het volgende:
Je hebt het over uitstoot van ethanol. Maar als het goed is wordt die ethanol verbrand in de motor, waardoor het geen ethanol meer is maar CO2 + H2O+ nog iets.

Ik ben geen scheikundige dus ik weet niet wat dat nog iets is... ik zou zeggen zoek dat eens uit en check dan of het een schadelijke stof is.

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Op zaterdag 5 december 2009 14:27 schreef 1-of-6Billion het volgende:
Haha, hier piepen over de schadelijkheid van de "uitstoot" van ethanol en vanavond jezelf de tyfus zuipen in de kroeg

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Op zaterdag 5 december 2009 15:46 schreef ToT het volgende:
Precies.

Met mate kan het echt geen kwaad!

Sowieso lijkt het me gezonder om alles met mate te doen en zo van het leven te genieten, dan krampachtig alles proberen te ontwijken.