U.S. ethanol use rising

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=d6fe7f3af28dbcbe


U.S. refiners have boosted their use of ethanol as a gasoline blend stock in preparation for a federal renewable fuels mandate.

The American Petroleum Institute also said Wednesday that by the first week of April, some 40 percent of all gasoline produced in the United States was blended with ethanol, up from 33 percent at the same time last year.

The API also noted that high fuel prices have led to decreased demand for gasoline and other refined oil products.
more...
Ethanol is on the rise...

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Ah. I thought we we talking about the WH's hard liquor useage n/t

[Demeter]

8. Not To Mention That of His Long Suffering Victims!

I sweear, if I had the time and the capacity, I'd be an alcoholic by now....

[melm00se]

2. if this is corn based

ETOH, then either watch for corn prices to creep up and as that happens, folks'll switch to corn causing a price spike of other "staple" crops.

ETOH is a good alternative but not the panacea the ETOH crowd would have you believe:

1) it still burns, producing CO2 (greenhouse gas) as well as other airborne nasties
2) the economy would shift from being dependant upon 1 finite resource to another finite resource (you can only crow so much corn per acre/per year, not sure if that would be a positive net gain.
3) as i understand it, you'll need more ETOH at a higher concentration (as part of an air/fuel ratio) to generate the same amount of energy as gasoline.

[benEzra]

7. Ethanol from hemp or switchgrass would make much more sense

than ethanol from corn. IMHO the corn-ethanol push is as much a subsidy-to-agribusiness issue (ADM, anyone?) as it is an environmental issue.

Is it still illegal to grow hemp as a cash crop in the U.S.? I know it was last time I checked.

[happydreams]

9. Oh that's all we need....

Car exhausts pumping out "Weed" smoke, getting us high instead of coughing to death on fossil fuel fumes. :bounce:

[benEzra]

11. LOL!

Actually, the hemp/switchgrass/whatever is shredded and put in a vat, and bacteria break down the cellulose into sugars, from which ethanol can be fermented and distilled. Sort of like brewing beer.

[happydreams]

12. Did you ever hear about Dupont and William Randolph Hearst

in the 30's creating a big scare against hemp? It's a remarkable story I stumbled across while researching the FDR coup. Hearst bought some timber property from the Duponts in the 20's. The latter had recently started the paper from wood-pulp manufacturing process. Even back then the alarm about the environmental dangers from wood-pulp manufacturing were being sounded. Dupont saw hemp as competition against their paper making process so they put their considerable wealth and power into making it illegal, which happened in 1937. :crazy:

[benEzra]

14. That's infuriating... n/t

[Dogmudgeon]

3. Why not use Hemp, too?

Hemp, ethanol -- maybe they can work in tobacco and cheap guns as fuel sources, too!

I'm still waiting for the LSD-fueled aircraft/spacecraft/time machine. Right after they deliver my jetpack via monorail.

--p!

[noonwitch]

4. I think if you take enough LSD, you will see that spacecraft

I don't know about the jetpack-I've wanted one ever since I saw Gilligan use one.

[Dogmudgeon]

6. The Earth is already a spacecraft.

I think I'll call it "Spaceship Earth".

That has a nice ring to it. Psychedelic and all that.

--p!

[BiggJawn]

5. If things get much worse...

...I'm gonna start using Ethanol again...

[sofa king]

10. And when there's no more oil to make and transport the fertilizer....

What will happen to the ethanol industry then? It will die, just like the rest of us, in twenty years or less.

[Phoonzang]

13. Been reading too much James Kunstler?

:P

[sofa king]

15. Sorry. A depressing thought to express out loud.

Nevertheless, I fear that soon nobody's going to need to say it at all.

[Phoonzang]

16. Oh I understand...I get the same way.

If peak oil is real, it's one of the many ways the human race can be annihaliated in the near future. My fav right now is nuclear war though.

[wuushew]

18. We will never run out of fertilizer

Production of ammonia can be built anywhere in the world where raw material/labor costs are sufficiently attractive. Bulk fertilizer can then shipped in cargo ships and to farms via railroads.

Assuming you have ample electricity hydrogen for ammonia and other synthesized compounds can always be obtained from electrolysis of water.

[davepc]

17. How much energy is requited to turn the corn into fuel?

Is this a net gain if we need to burn more coal in power plants to generate the electricity to power the ethanol creation process?