The Pros And Cons Of Ethanol Fuel

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Thinking about what ethanol fuel actually is, many may not know. Right now everyone pretty well uses either gasoline or diesel to run their cars. However if we were to switch over to ethanol fuel, using gasoline and diesel would be long gone. As (Nrcan.gc.ca, 2013) states ethanol fuel is a liquid alcohol which has hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon being added to it. However the actual ethanol is not made until a crop such as wheat or corn undergoes the process of fermentation.

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Furthermore, biofuel is a good thing but is not the greatest thing. Barack Obama, United States President implies that biofuel will help us cut back so that America does not need as much foreign oil (Mufason). Bob Dinneen, C.E.O of Renewable Fuel Association writes that biofuel saves drivers over 1,200 dollars a year because it cost less (Dinneen). Obama believes that the use of biofuel helps prevent oil spills from happening again like the one in the Gulf of Mexico (Mufason). For instances, wind energy could also help with our energy crisis.

Let’s start with the pros; ethanol is less harmful than unblended gasoline as carbon monoxide production from ethanol fuel is lower than that of gasoline engines. Since it can be made from processed corn it helps local farmers and manufacturing economies. In spite of pros there has to be cons. Some cons include, 2.4 to 2.8 gallons of ethanol can be produced per bushel of corn. As a result, there has been massive media coverage over the use of food as fuel.

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If we switch over to all electric engines, the gas industry will have a drastic decline in business and could possibly go out of business. Gas stations make it easy to just fill up and go more miles, while electric needs time to fill up, and also needs special electric service requirements of 220 volt plugs sometimes and higher amperages to charge the vehicle. Gas stations also provide a place to buy food for the road. I believe that gasoline engines overpower electric for many reasons, mostly because electric is les reliable than

There is an ongoing debate about the problems and advantages associated with using coal as our main source of fuel in America. The American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy (ACCCE), formerly known as Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC), and Greenpeace International are two groups in the global debate about using coal for our main energy source. One group is for and one group is against coal, respectively. The American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy is based on the premise that “America's abundant coal reserves and our continued use of coal to generate electricity are key a component of a future that includes energy security”.

In a report by Frank Rusco, director of Natural Resources and Environment for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), “ethanol cannot generally be transported in existing multi-fuel pipelines because ethanol is a strong solvent, which can potentially cause corrosion of pipelines and degradation of seals and other pump components.” Trains and trucks, then, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, transport ethanol to ethanol production facilities. The U.S. has about 215 ethanol plants, most of which are concentrated in the Midwest, where corn is predominant (“Ethanol Production and Distribution” par. 1). Fueling stations for alternative fuels are becoming more available across the U.S. There are now over 2,000 fueling stations offering E85 in more than 40 states, and the numbers continue to increase (“Ethanol Fuel Basics” par.

Ethanol is a renewable, domestically produced alcohol fuel made from plant material, such as corn, sugar cane, or grasses (USDOE, 2016). The use of ethanol is important because it can help reduce oil dependence and CO2 emissions. About 20% more emissions are formed when fossil fuels are refined to produce gas (Boyle et al., 2012). Therefore, any reduction in the need for refinement of fossil fuel will result in a decrease in greenhouse gas emission. Ethanol fuel use in the U.S. has increased dramatically from about 1.7 billion gallons in 2001 to about 13.4 billion in 2014 (USDOE, 2016).

Ethanol Emissions Another goal of the ethanol mandate is to reduce harmful emission released into the atmosphere to preserve the environment. The Alternative Fuel Data Center (AFDC), a branch of the DoE claims that corn-based ethanol helps reduce anywhere between 19-48 percent, subject to the source of energy used during the production (n.d.). The claim only represents the reduction of emission in vehicles; it does not encompass the emission produced by households, factories, heavy equipment, and even ethanol plants. The U.S. ethanol production relies heavily on corn.

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Nowadays, the most common type of vehicle that we have is a conventional vehicle that uses fossil fuel as its main power source. A conventional vehicle that works with fossil fuel produces harmful chemicals as by-products. Since it has big drawback to our environment and health, people started to find alternatives to fossil fuel. Hydrogen showed up as one possible substitution, which produces much energy and non-polluting by producing energy from combusting hydrogen. Hydrogen cars use hydrogen gas to power an electric motor and this is called a fuel cell.