Biofuels
Facts and Figures
- Even if all possible arable acres of land in the U.S. (~427 million acres) were devoted to growing corn for ethanol production, at current yields ethanol would satisfy only 12% of transportation fuel demand;
- Similarly, if all soybean crops currently produced were to be refined into biodiesel, only 6% of U.S. diesel demand would be met;
- Ethanol currently represents just over 2% of gasoline sold;
- Studies indicate full scale CELLULOSIC (not corn-based but developed from switchgrass, woodchips, etc), ethanol could be produced for 60 cents per gallon (NRDC Biofuels Study);
- Research shows that it takes about 0.75 BTUs (British thermal units – a measure of energy content) from fossil fuels to create 1 BTU of ethanol, compared to 1.23 BTUs to create 1 BTU of traditional oil-based gasoline (Dr. Wang, et al). So ethanol is a more efficient energy source than oil.
Cost of Increased Use 5
Current technology is cost competitive if oil prices do not drop, but limits to production will raise prices without technological breakthroughs.
Environmental Impact 5
The combustion of biofuels generates less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels, but fossil fuels are usually used in the production of biofuels, with the accompanying negative effect on the environment.
National Security 1
All the biofuels we need can be produced domestically.
Implementation 7
While biofuels can and are being developed today, any large volume of biofuels in the U.S. transportation energy portfolio will require technological breakthroughs in cellulosic or new biofuel types to become economically feasible.
Political Toxicity 2
Biofuels have received significant political backing and subsidies for some time.
Pros of Use
- Biofuels can be domestically produced from a number of available agricultural products (e.g., swithgrass, woodchips, animal waste, etc);
- Biofuels burn cleaner than most traditional fossil fuel sources;
- Biodiesel can utilize current distribution systems and run in current diesel motors.
Cons of Use
- At some point (arguably happening currently), food supplies are compromised and food prices rise as a result of additional agricultural products being sold for the creation of biofuels;
- Limitations in the total transportation fuel supplied by biofuels exist using current technology;
- There is not a readily established, high volume distribution system in place for the transport of ethanol as there is for oil (which currently enjoys a national pipeline system);
- Ethanol requires the use of slightly modified, “flex-fuel” engines.
Barriers to Future Use
- Ethanol production will need to take place locally, or distribution pipelines will have to be constructed in order to transport a large quantity;
- The U.S. vehicle fleet must convert to “flex-fuel” capability in order to utilize ethanol;
- Diesel infrastructure is lacking in the U.S; not all stations carry diesel and few diesel-model vehicles are available.
Incentives/Technology Breakthroughs Needed
- Any substantial amount of biofuels in the U.S. transportation fuel portfolio requires a breakthrough to make cellulosic (as opposed to corn ethanol) production possible at an affordable price;
- Currently, ethanol producers already enjoy a 51 cent per gallon tax credit and significant government mandates for ethanol use (7.5 billion gallons of ethanol by 2012 and 250 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol by 2013);
- Incentives are needed to properly value biofuels by monetarily acknowledging the economic impact of decreased oil use on our environment, our foreign policy, and the defense of our economic and national security;
- Other fuel research and development (such as biobutanol) needs to be conducted to determine if some of the technology shortfalls of ethanol can be minimized or avoided. Government incentives and mandates would help considerably.
Most Important Fact
To displace a meaningful amount of transportation fuel via biofuels, large investments in crop production and distribution systems will be needed, for which government incentives and mandates will be required.
Bottom Line
Despite some limitations, biofuels offer a domestic source of liquid transportation fuels, and are therefore an important component of any future transportation fuel portfolio. However, production needs to be optimized to create the greatest amount of biofuel possible per acre of feedstock, and in the case of ethanol, will need to become primarily cellulosic-based to provide meaningfully high volumes of affordable biofuel.
