Ethanol

I think among all the proposed energy solutions, ethanol is the one that polarizes people the most.

On one end of the spectrum you have books like "Shuck the Sheiks", which claims that ethanol will solve all of our energy problems. It will replace petroleum, create jobs, develop a sustainable fuel and will end our military presence in the middle east.

On the other end are people who believe that the rise of ethanol fuel will be a disaster, for a number of reasons. Environmentalists will tell you that we are already working our planet beyond its agricultural capacity, and planting that much corn will deplete topsoil, aquifers, etc. Economists point to the fact that building up th ethanol industry disrupts global food markets, especially in North America. Some say it's a plot to get more government funding for corn farmers.

As is usually the case, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. I don't believe that ethanol will solve all of our problems. But we can't dismiss it entirely without trying to see if the predicted problems can be avoided.

One issue that frequently bothers me is the fact that those who oppose ethanol generally base their arguments on the assumption that the ethanol in question will be produced from corn. Granted, that's where most of it comes from now. But I think that there is solid scientific promise for a next generation of cellulosic ethanol that can be made from things like switchgrass and other easily grown weeds. So why are we getting hung up on corn all the time?

I think the more legitimate question regards the net energy balance of cellulosic ethanol. This seems like a hotly debated issue. Some say it costs more energy to make it than it produces. What's that based on? Is it possible that the fuel is worth that cost? Is that net energy balance an unavoidable thermodynamic law, or is it something that can be reversed with improved catalysts and other technology?

So many questions...

Penn DOE Grant

The DOE has just awarded part of a multi-million dollar grant to researchers at Penn. The principal investigator will be Dr. Andrew Rappe of the Chemistry Department, who is studying how semi-conducting ferroelectric materials might convert sunlight into hydrogen.

Dr. Rappe is a member of the Energy Working Group at Penn (site: http://www.energy.upenn.edu/). The EWGP brings together researchers from various fields, but is particularly strong in solar and fuel cell research.

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Airplane fuel

The US Air Force has announced a plan to go 50-50 (no more than half of their fuel will be petroleum-based) by 2010. The air force burns a lot of fuel, and doesn’t want to be tied down to petroleum sources.

However, the options they are considering don’t look so great from a global warming perspective. They are considering fuels derived from coal, natural gas and oil shale. These fuels would reduce dependency on petroleum, but would emit just as much – if not more – CO₂.

Air travel is a disproportionately high contributor to global warming. On the one hand, tackling air travel would make a significant dent in the overall level of emissions. On the other hand, our multitudes of air vehicles represent a crucial cog in the machine of global economics and politics.

So is fuel derived from coal, gas and oil shale a step in the right direction? It still hurts the environment, but it may be a good petroleum-free transition.

Full REDORBIT article click here