The Path of Ethanol and Beyond

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The Path of Ethanol and Beyond

• Allison Wilson Kelly Fuglsang
• Brandon Caldwell Ryan Bell

2
Current Issue

• Call for renewable energy
• Rise of fuel costs
• Medias attention on ethanol

3
Need of New Resource

• We are too dependent on fossil fuels
• Our consumption rate is increasing 5 each year.
• Our supply is running low.

4
Thesis

• Ethanol is a stepping stone for alternative
  energy.
• Should be utilized for a short-term solution of
  the energy crisis until other technology is
  developed.

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Ethanol

• Alternative fuel source
• Utilized stored energy in plants and biomass
• Converts starches of crops into ethanol

6
Ethanol Production Process
Source Renewable Fuels Association
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Crops
We'll also fund additional research in
cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not
just from corn, but from wood chips and stalks,
or switch grass. Our goal is to make this new
kind of ethanol practical and competitive within
six years President Bush State of the Union
Address 2006
Source McDonald, pg 2
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Research
Government Sponsored
Private Companies
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Research Topics

• Pretreatment
• Hydrolysis
• Fermentation
• Crop Usage

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Benefits

• Replacement of fossil fuels by a renewable fuel

• Eliminate need to drill in ecologically sensitive
  areas of the United States.

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Benefits

• Environmentally friendly.
• Greenhouse gasses and
• air pollution lowered.
• Creation of new jobs and economic growth outside
  the traditional grain belt.

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Use

• Many vehicles on the road today can run on blends
  of ethanol and gasoline.
• These blends include
• E10 (10 Ethanol and 90 Gasoline)
• E85 (85 Ethanol and 15 Gasoline)

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Ethanol Use by Motor Vehicles

• Car companies are producing flex fuel cars. But
  gas stations have fallen behind.

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Car Companies

• First widely used in the early 1900s
• In 1995 1500 flex fuel cars on the road
• In 2003 134000 flex fuel cars
• By 2000 most of big car companies offered many
  flex fuel models

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Gas Stations

• In the 1920s and 30s over 2000 ethanol stations
• WWI fall in production
• Production rose in 1970s
• Now only 1000 of the 170,000 stations have flex
  fuels

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The Future of Ethanol

• Long term effects of supply and demand
• Current dangers of ethanol
• Other alternatives?

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Supply Demand

• Half the crop land for 60 of gasoline.
• Ethanol Market isnt self sustainable.
• 1.5 times more energy used to create Ethanol than
  produced.

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Environmental Effects

• EPA found lots of problems at the plants.
• Ethanol in ground water causes violent deaths.
• Soil will never be
• the same.

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Where to Now?

• Other Alternatives
• Research should be paramount.
• The power of the individual.

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In Conclusion

• Ethanol is a good alternative energy source that
  can be used right now
• Has both benefits and problems
• Not the final solution
• Other energy sources should be looked into

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Any questions?