Cellulosic ethanol could compete with gas, study says

The joint study sees cellulosic ethanol as a viable alternative for reducing oil dependence while protecting food crops.

(Credit: Sandia / Randy Wong)

The U.S. can replace one-third of its annual gasoline use with ethanol by 2030, concludes a joint study released Wednesday by Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors.

Of the 90 billion gallons of ethanol that need to be produced in 2030 to meet that goal, the study says, 75 billion gallons could come from cellulosic ethanol.

Using cellulosic ethanol--or ethanol produced from forestry or agricultural waste--is considered a way to prevent the displacement of crops that feed humans.

Corn-based ethanol has been blamed by some for higher food prices and shortages because food producers are at times forced to compete with energy companies for the grain. Some also argue that the growing demand for such crops is also responsible for indirect land-use change, the destruction of rain forests and wetlands to make room for more farmland.

Proponents of cellulosic ethanol argue that because the fuel is produced from agricultural byproducts, it has no impact on the food supply or land use.

Cellulosic ethanol could be competitive in price without the need for incentives when oil is at $90 per barrel, according to the study. That cost analysis includes factors such as land and water use, transportation of feedstocks, construction of plants, and the energy used to produce cellulosic ethanol.

The inference here is that the biofuel may not be competitive if gasoline prices fall while the cost of making the biofuel does not.

Something else to consider: General Motors is an investor in the cellulosic-ethanol company Mascoma.

The Sandia-General Motors report follows a University of Minnesota study published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

That study found that cellulosic ethanol could help reduce air pollution in more ways than previously thought. The research group found that cellulosic ethanol not only emits less greenhouse gas than gasoline than was previously known, but also emits fewer fine particles into the air. The researchers also came up with a formula quantifying the long-term health and environmental costs from the fuel production and use of three types of fuel.

"For each billion ethanol-equivalent gallons of fuel produced and combusted in the US, the combined climate-change and health costs are $469 million for gasoline, $472-952 million for corn ethanol depending on biorefinery heat source (natural gas, corn stover, or coal) and technology, but only $123-208 million for cellulosic ethanol depending on feedstock (prairie biomass, Miscanthus, corn stover, or switchgrass)," the University of Minnesota report said.

[rucknrun]

It doesn't mention anywhere how difficult it is to produce cellulosic-ehtanol. Right now it is unrealistic.

[Vegaman_Dan]

The oil companies have made it very clear they want it Ethanol to fail. They have gone out of their way to prevent the sale of it in their market areas.

Until someone like Walmart or other large company can step up and use their power to brush past and ignore the big oil companies, I don't see this taking off.

[killer_monk]

Ethanol is a false hope. Ethanol contains less energy than gasoline leading to more Green House Gases being produced by ethanol than gas in the same distance traveled. Also it is very hard to transport since it can't be moved through pipelines.

[The_happy_switcher]

Ethanol made by corn is a boondoggle that needs to go away. The cost to produce, transport--not to mention the food inflation it has caused--make ethanol a waste of resources. If this other method can be accomplished without the drawbacks of corn ethanol I'm all for it.

[forever4now]

If the next generation of vehicles move to an electric drive train with a ICE for extended distances AND cellulosic-ethanol can eventually be produced efficiently THEN we really could evolve to a petroleum-independent transportation system. Nice!!

Of course, if electric cars can ultimately be quick charged (<5 minutes), then the need for combustible fuels (including ethanol) will diminish even further.

[ikciwatslrac]

WHY NOT PROCESS CELLULOSE INTO METHANOL [WOOD ALCOHOL], NOT ETHANOL [GRAIN ALCOHOL]. METHANOL SEEMS A LESS COSTLY WAY TO GO.
COMMENTS WELCOME.
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[fuelguru]

Methanol was added to gasoline for 30 years as MTBE. MTBE was taken out of gasoline because of lawsuits against oil companies from drinking water supplies that were contaminated by MTBE blended gasoline that was leaking from underground storage tanks (LUST). This was a golden opportunity to get MTBE off the market and replace it with ethanol. The problem was the U.S. EPA did not do their job of preventing old leaking underground storage tanks from contaminating drinking water supplies. You can drink grain alcohol to an extent, and live, but one has a good chance of dying from drinking methanol. I am of the belief that one should not drink gasoline, MTBE or ethanol blended.
As far as GM recommending ethanol? how much of GM does Du Pont own, or has owned? Du Pont is a leader in the corn business with their Pioneer Hi-Bred brand genetically modified corn seeds, fertilizers, and insect and disease control products. Does the ethanol industry and it?s ties to GM make more sense now?