Yes, corn ethanol is inefficient, but in Brazil, they use sugar cane which gets 2.5 more ethanol per acre and has a higher BTU content. This makes it 3 times better than corn for the same dollar. 727-870 gal/per acre for sugar cane vs. 321 gal/acre for corn.
This is pretty accurate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_Brazil
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmimac351
Ethanol is less efficient!!!
It requires 1,500 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of ethanol. (Woe be unto hippies)
If the entire corn production of the US was devoted to ethanol production it would replace a whopping 9% of our gasoline use.
We have plenty of oil. Environmentalists are hell bent on making America weak and they are getting help in Congress. This problem is a government-made problem. If the market were permitted to work, there would be no issue. When there is a better alternative fuel (read: lower cost, more efficient) the market will bring it about. |