which ethanol is better? by: brian barron mark ryden
TRANSCRIPT
Which Ethanol Is Better?
By:
Brian Barron
Mark Ryden
Ethanol
• A flammable, colorless chemical compound.
• Common in alcoholic beverages and thermometers.
• Also known as Ethyl Alcohol or Grain Alcohol
History of Ethanol
• Started being used in the U.S. as lamp fuel in 1840
• In 1908, Ford Model T’s could be run on ethanol
• When Prohibition started in 1920, ethanol fuel sellers were suspected of selling alcohol, so they stopped the production
• Ethanol was forgotten about until recently
Production of Ethanol
• Produced as a petrochemical, or a product made from raw materials of petroleum and hydrocarbon origin.
• Made through the hydration of ethylene
• The hydration of ethylene is written as:
• C2H4(g) + H2O(g) = CH3CH2OH(l)
• This process was first used for large-scale production by Shell Oil Company in 1947
Global Warming Theory
• It is highly possible that global warming is caused from the emission of CO2
• Cars with gasoline are one of the major contributors to CO2 emission.
Oil Dependency
• The U.S. is extremely dependent on other countries for oil to produce gasoline.
• About 40% of energy used in the U.S. comes from oil.
• The U.S. is 5% of the world’s population, but it uses 25% of the world’s oil
• We cannot control the prices, and oil is a non-renewable resource.
Problems From Oil
• Not only is global warming a problem from oil, but many conflicts have started between countries for oil.
• As the demand remains the same or increases and the supply decreases there could be more conflicts to come from oil.
Alternative Fuel
• Gasoline emits significantly more CO2 than ethanol.
• Also, gasoline is predicted to run out in the next 50 years.
• Ethanol could be an alternative to gasoline because it is much more efficient and it is renewable.
Production
• Since the need for an alternative fuel increases, the production of ethanol has gone up substantially in the past 30 years in the world.
U.S. Production
• The U.S. production of ethanol has increased greatly due to the rising gas prices, and is still increasing today
World Production
• The U.S. and Brazil are two of the major contributors of ethanol production in the world.
Types of Ethanol
• Two major types of ethanol:
• 1.) Corn Ethanol
• Corn ethanol is produced from corn
• 2.) Biomass Ethanol
• Biomass ethanol is produced from either waste paper or switchgrass
Corn Ethanol
• A type of bioethanol that is used as an alternative to gasoline.
• It is made the same way as alcohol, by the process of fermentation
• Corn ethanol delivers 25% more energy than it takes to produce.
Problems With Corn Ethanol• The process of
growing and making corn ethanol uses a lot of energy, so the profit is not great.
• Corn ethanol requires a lot of land to produce and there is not that much land available.
Land Restriction
• The Senate recently agreed to increase the amount of corn ethanol produced by 21 billion gallons by 2022.
• To produce this much ethanol, we would need to have 67,148 square miles.
• Illinois is 57,918 square miles so we would need to have an area bigger than Illinois to grow this ethanol.
A Better Solution
• Biomass Ethanol works the same way as corn ethanol, but it is made differently.
• It can be made from waste paper or switchgrass.
• Switchgrass is naturally grown around the U.S.
Switchgrass
• Tall grass that grows naturally in fields is usually switchgrass.
• Grows very easily and almost anywhere.
• It can be grown in a variation of climates, so almost all over the U.S. as well as the world.
Switchgrass• Switchgrass
delivers 540% more energy than it takes to produce.
• The U.S. Department of Energy is trying to incorporate Biomass ethanol into the plan for an alternative fuel source.
• They are funding the construction of six biorefineries that will cost 1.2 billion dollars.
Waste Paper
• Biomass ethanol could also be created from waste paper known as cellulosic ethanol.
• A company called BlueFire was able to harvest the methane from garbage dumps to produce cellulosic ethanol.
• Estimated that they could produce 40 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol which could be 1/3 of all U.S. transportation needs.
Cellulosic Ethanol
• Corn ethanol requires a lot of energy to grow but cellulosic takes waste and converts it into energy.
• If done right, we could create energy and get rid of waste at the same time.
CO2 Emissions
Current Cars Running On Ethanol
• There are some cars on the market that run on E85 ethanol which is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
• This emits 15%-20% less CO2 than just gasoline. • GM has started a program called flexfuel which
makes their cars able to run on E85 ethanol.• Some other companies with ethanol programs
and cars are Ford, Nissan, and Volvo.
In Conclusion
• The U.S. and the rest of the world needs to find an alternative fuel for gasoline.
• Corn ethanol and Biomass ethanol both emit less CO2 than gasoline.
• Corn Ethanol would take a lot more land, energy, and money to produce than Biomass ethanol.
• Biomass ethanol is produced from switchgrass or waste paper.
• We think that Biomass is the better choice for an alternative fuel.
The End