New study paves path for sustainable second generation biofuels

The world is addicted to oil.  Like any addict who knows they should quit but just can’t find a way how to do it, our collective global society is grasping at straws in the dark, hoping that the next technological breakthrough will ultimately save us all from societal and environmental deterioration.

Whether or not the American public is ready for next generation biofuels, a new study released by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and General Motors says that the U.S. could produce 90 billion gallons of ethanol per year by the year 2030 (75 billion gallons of cellulosic); that is 54 billion gallons more than the current federal ethanol mandates aimed for by the year 2022 and roughly 30% of current gasoline usage.

Whereas first generation ethanol concentrated on food crops that required copious amounts of water and fertilizer in order to be grown, second generation ethanol relies primarily on agricultural waste and energy crops, which includes switchgrass, corn stover, wheat straw, and woody plants.

In order for the ethanol industry to be viable, gasoline prices need to be around $2.50 at the pump.  Currently the average price of gasoline is under $2; but just last summer, the price of gasoline was high enough to allow the ethanol industry to get its foot in the door. The study points out that in order for ethanol to compete in today’s transportation fuel market, oil prices would need to be between $70-120 bbl. 

There have been numerous studies in the past couple of years claiming that ethanol was everything from society’s savior to its antichrist.  Since these studies rely primarily on computer models, the results are only as thorough as the considerations that the programmers cover.  The key to creating a practical study is to take manageable figures that make sense in today’s marketplace.  For example, focusing on crop-based ethanol ONLY in the study and claiming that ALL ethanol will cause food shortages is misleading and unrealistic; yet the media has been running these types of stories nonstop for almost a year now.  This report from SNL is the beginning of a change in that trend.

Accounting for the different feedstocks and the multitude of processes (and innovations) to convert biomass to usable transportation fuel, as well as all of the aspects of storage before and after distillation, figuring the logistics of transporting the feedstock to the plants and the ethanol to market, and finally installing pumps at local filling stations involves complicated mathematical formulas.  It is no wonder that so many different studies produce so many different results; don’t forget that many academic programs are paid good money to produce reports that are favorable to their many benefactors.  These are not lies that are being told, just subtle shades of grey being revealed.

The truth of the matter is...

Full article at: 

http://www.examiner.com/x-2903-Energy-Examiner
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