energy.agwired.com

Here is a link to an article from The American Enterprise by Dr. Robert Zubrin, president of the aerospace engineering and research firm Pioneer Astronautics, who wrote The Case for Mars and other books. Basically, he’s a rocket scientist. “An Energy Revolution” discusses in detail the “alcohol solution” to America’s dependence on foreign oil, including a relatively balanced comparison of ethanol and methanol, detailing their pros and cons. Here is a portion of that comparison:
Methanol is cheaper than ethanol. It can also be made from a broader variety of biomass materal, as well as from coal and natural gas. And methanol is the safest motor fuel, because it is much less flammable than gasoline (a fact that has led to its adoption by car racing leagues). ***please note that major car racing leagues, like Indy, are now switching to ethanol – cz***
On the other hand, ethanol is less chemically toxic than methanol, and it carries more energy per gallon. Ethanol contains about 75 percent of the energy of gasoline per gallon, compared to 67 percent for methanol. Both thus achieve fewer miles per gallon than gasoline, but about as many miles per dollar at current prices, and probably many more miles per dollar at future prices.
Methanol is more corrosive than ethanol. This can be dealt with by using appropriate materials in the automobile fuel system. A fuel system made acceptable for methanol use will also be fine for ethanol or pure gasoline.
Both ethanol and methanol are water soluble and biodegradable in the environment. The consequences of a spill of either would be much less than that of petroleum products. If the Exxon Valdez had been carrying either of these fuels instead of oil, the environmental impact caused by its demise would have been negligible.
Now, Dr. Zubrin’s ultimate conclusion is that methanol is better in the long run – my conclusion is that there is room for everyone in this domestic fuel boat, but that’s just me. He also completely discounts hydrogen as an alternative fuel possibility -but I would say that it may have its niche as well. Again, that’s just me – and I am no rocket scientist, just an observer.
Thanks to Gary Dikkers for pointing me to this article.

FFA members from Illinois helped Chevy unveil their newest E85-powered vehicle last week at the Chicago Auto Show. A dozen blue jackets took part as Chevrolet made public the new 2007 Avalanche at the nation’s largest auto show on February 8. According to an FFA release pairing with Chevy to introduce the new truck, shows the FFA members dedication to finding new and innovative ways to succeed into today’s global economy. The Avalanche is the latest in an explosion of flex-fuel vehicles to hit the marketplace as American auto makers rush to try and outdo each other climbing aboard the ethanol express. Chevy’s idea to have the FFA kids – who, by the way, are among the best and brightest youth in this country – introduce the new vehicle was a nice PR move to highlight ethanol’s farm connection.

Two syndicated articles out today express differing opinions about ethanol. Actually, one is a purely editorial piece, written by Kevin Hassett, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and distributed by Bloomberg. With the title “Ethanol’s a Big Scam, and Bush Has Fallen for It,” it could hardly be more negative about ethanol – mainly stressing the facts that corn farmers receive government subsidies and that it does currently require a significant amount of fossil fuels to produce ethanol. The commentary also cites the controversial Pimentel/Patzek study that has been discredited by other sources, including the newest report out of Berkeley just released a few weeks ago. In my opinion, the worst thing about a commentary such as this is that it offers only criticism, with no constructive suggestions.
Contrast that with this AP article, which discusses research being done to find cheaper ways to produce ethanol. The article begins – The key to kicking what President Bush calls the nation’s oil addiction could very well lie in termite guts, canvas-eating jungle bugs and other microbes genetically engineered to spew enzymes that turn waste into fuel. It quotes Nathanael Greene with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and discusses the work in the field being done by Iogen. It talks in a positive, constructive way about research being done to address some of the issues brought up in the negative commentary. I especially like this quote from the article: Thanks to biotechnology breakthroughs, supporters of alternative energy sources say that after decades of unfulfilled promise and billions in government corn subsidies, energy companies may be able to produce ethanol easily and inexpensively. Positive and constructive thinking is what it will take to overcome obstacles in making good domestic fuel economical and viable.

With all the buzz about ethanol, some market watchers are predicting an increase in corn futures, while sugar futures are high and expected to go even higher, or maybe not. Market Watch Commodities Corner quotes CKFutures.com analyst Chris Kraft saying, “Corn futures have the potential to explode higher due to increased demand from ethanol production.” Demand for the alternative fuel has already helped sugar prices double in the past six months to trade over 19 cents per pound on the New York Board of Trade — their highest levels since 1981. Corn has a long way to catch up. March corn trades around $2.25 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, a five-month high. High sugar futures caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal this week as well, an article which was critiqued by Elliot Wave International’s Futures Focus. Sugar has tripled in value during the past two years. Prices have doubled in the past five months. They jumped 20% in just three sessions in mid-January. In short, sugar has been rallying. Just in time to explain the move, Thursday’s (Feb. 9) Wall Street Journal includes an in-depth look at this soft market that seeks to explain “Why Sugar Costs More And More.” At the top of their list: Ethanol. … Yet ironically, on the same day that the Journal finally devoted a thorough news story to sugar’s surge, prices for the soft saw their biggest single-session decline in months.
Bottom line – who really knows?

Expect the a lot more plants like this one to be built to lessen the ethanol industry’s dependence on natural gas. Archer Daniels Midland has announced its fourth coal-fired co-generation (Co-Gen) plant in Columbus, Nebraska to help power its corn milling and ethanol operations. According to the company release, the plant will be permitted to burn a blend of fuels, including high and low sulfur coals, tire derived fuel and biomass to produce process steam and electric energy. The addition of this Co-Gen plant will help lower ADM’s overall energy costs and lessen its vulnerability to energy market price fluctuations. Co-generation reduces the amount of fuel burned per unit of energy output, and reduces the corresponding emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. ADM currently operates similar Co-Gen facilities in Decatur, Illinois and Cedar Rapids, Iowa and has another under construction in Clinton, Iowa.

The American Coalition for Ethanol is trying to clear up some confusion in the minds of the public about the term “ethanol.” According to an organization release, ethanol means different things to different people. Because of the way the terminology is used, two misunderstandings frequently arise: people mistakenly believe it takes a special car to run on ethanol and that ethanol is only available at a few gas stations in the Midwest.
“Every single automobile on the road today is ethanol-capable,” said Brian Jennings, ACE Executive Vice President. “All vehicles can operate on a 10 percent blend of ethanol with gasoline, and Flexible Fuel Vehicles can use E85, an alternative fuel containing 85 percent ethanol.”
Ron Lamberty, ACE Vice President / Market Development, added that ethanol is much more widespread than many people realize: “Ethanol-blended fuel is available at thousands and thousands of America’s gas stations, literally from coast to coast. E85, the alternative fuel that is 85 percent ethanol, is available at a smaller number of stations and that figure is growing very quickly.”
ACE also has a page on it’s website providing information about cellulosic ethanol for the public.