Why don't we produce more ethanol?
494834
some in the US are working on conversions from gasoline to ethanol and even mixing the two together, some gas stations have pumps for both, some cars can run on either or, or a mixture\nethanol can be made from corn, and other grains
751058
with air yeast wil grow and thrive.\nwithout air it will produce ethanol and eventually die when the concentration of ethanol rises.
643278
You mean Ethanol. In the upper mid-west of USA it is corn (cool climate). In tropical(hot) climates it is sugar. Both require much heat (energy) to reduce or change the product into ethanol.
1005445
Yes we can, and yes we will.  There is a finite amount of fossil fuels in the world.  We certainly have more (a fair bit more) then the doomsayers would have you believe, but eventually they will run out.  Before they run out, the price will go up, and up, and up, until alternate clean sources of energy become marketable.  This will happen, it's simple economics.  In the mean time we, as a country, should be pushing to increase our domestic supply, and start now with serious research on how to create a new usable transportable source of energy.  I'm personally like the idea of hydrogen burning engines.  They're combustion engines like you have in your car, but they burn hydrogen, and emit water (h2o), that's their exhaust.  The only trick is you need alot of electricity to separate the hydrogen from the O2 in the first place, and we don't have a safe fuel tank for transport yet.  In the mean time, write your congressmen and senators, let them know this is a priority of yours and that it is a priority for our country.  Talk with friends, and increase awareness.  I work in the oil field, and trust me, I certainly recognize that our country, our planet needs to be thinking of the future.
947689
Ethanol fuel is made from sugar cane. Brazil is now using 40% of\nethanol fuel to run their vehicles because Brazil is the  no. 1  producer of sugar cane in the world . Based on their reports, ethanol run cars have 25% more mileage compared to gasoline feed cars? Sugar cane production is less costly in Brazil compared to other countries.
547026
sugar cane is recognized as having the least trouble creating ethanol. In Brazil this works wonderfully. They have removed the need to import oil and are actually exporting ethanol. In the US sugar cane doesn't grow as well. sugar cane is best in tropical climates. \n\nIn the US corn is the most common for ethanol. It isn't the best crop but is efficient enough for now. Industry best(meaning in the lab) for producing ethanol is above 1 btu of fuel produces 2 btus of ethanol. \n\nFor non-tropical climates cellulose based ethanol is also making big waves. It's advantages are that every living plant tissue is at least 80% cellulose. Dead tissue like wood is around 30 to 40 percent cellulose. A farmer could sell the normal corn seed, and then bale the corn stalks, which are usually left on the ground, for ethanol. Another advantage is that on irrigated and fertilized lands you can grow better than 10 tons of cellulose per acre per season if grown for harvesting cellulose verus the 2.5 tons per acre of corn seed. critiria for a plant for this process is a plant that grows a lost of mass per acre. \n\nEthanol is meant to replace gasoline fuel not diesel fuel.\nDiesel engines don't have spark plugs, so they can't ignite high octane fuels like gasoline and ethanol. Instead they hammer-strike the better performing low octane deisel fuel. \n\nMost gas engines out there probably can be converted to work with ethanol. There are a number of conversion kits available. It is likely to work better however if they come from the factory. \n\nBio-deisel is wonderful for most diesel engines. I'm afraid I don't know a lot about that topic.
1014207
I would say Paul's answer is very good and level-headed (best answer).\n\nTo add to his answer:\n\nTruth is that petroleum and its products have a very high energy density.  The trick is to find alternate fuels that can compete with that high energy density and use technologies that preserve our fossil fuels (hybrid cars is a good example).  We have these technologies now, it is just going to take a little while before they can be easily and efficiently implemented world-wide.\n\nAlso, we can use more electricity from the power grid to power transportation vehicles and other petroleum-using devices.  It is more economical for a large power plant to use massive amounts of an alternative fuel than a single individual car.  Also, power plants can regulate their gas emissions easier than individual cars.  Plug-in hybrids and other technologies are poised to do great things (see PopSci article linked below).
584362
The gas shortage was because they had to completly empty out the underground storage tanks (USTs) to completly remove any water that might be in there before putting the 10% ethanol fuel in there! \nEthanol is a cleaner burning fuel and hopefully will be our new gasoline soon. Ethanol can run in all vehicles and once they figure out how to make ethanol more economically, then I believe it will be a main fuel for the U.S.A.
666036
That depends on whom you believe. If you believe the oil industry it takes 1.5 btus of oil to produce 1 btu of ethanol. If you believe the US Department of Agriculture it takes 1 btu of oil to produce 1.67 btus of ethanol on adverage. \n\nPersonally I believe the USDA. I have read both views, and both take into account fertilizer, fuel, etc. The problem with the one that originally said 1.5:1 was that it hasn't reflected changes in efficiency in farming in the last 30 years. That view keeps changing under the force of criticism, and it really looks like they are trying to prove a perconcieved notion rather than come to a conclusion.\n\nSo I believe that ethanol production is efficient.
206833
Because we can't make it.  While it isn't a biological entity it is a biological medium.  It can't be produced chemically, only by decaying organic matter.
355639
yes, and we are far behind other countries in mass transit. I used 10 percent Ethanol 10 years ago. Paid less for it than Gas. The oil companies took it off the market. If HisBushyness had any clue what was going on in America he could fix the problem with one executive order. That will not happen. He will not cut off the hand that feeds him. If he puts price caps in place and the supply goes up then the price will go down and that would stop his cash flow from the wealthy oil corporations who own Congress.
367126
because we don't have enough control over the individual molecules to move them. We also have no idea where the wall molecules are.
992217
a rather good question would be: WHY don't we secrete cellulase? \n\n.........must have left the capability somewhere along the evolution chain. good thing too. i don't like the taste of grass ;)
496070
I would like to say yes but at this point I would have to say no. I worked at an ethanol pilot plant and anyone in the industry can tell you to break down starch in the corn you need what they call a jet cooker. This uses high pressure steam at appx 400-600F. There is no way in hell solar panels could heat water to this temperature effeciently and consistently. Plus a lot of ethanol plants run 24 hours a day and that right there pretty much shoots that plan in the ass. A good thought though. Ethanol will become more effecient once the enzyme industry catches up and can CHEAPLY use switchgrass as a fuel source.
492014
1. Ethanol burns cleaner, without all the pollutants associated with petroleum products.  BY adding ethanol to gasoline, the percentage of petroleum related pollutants goes down.\n\n2. Ethanol is a renewable resource. Petroleum isn't.
531056
We have air in abundance it surrounds the earth , it's a mixture of Oxygen and Nitrogen etc.\nWhy do you want to make more??
400004
corn based ethanol is going bye bye. cellulose based ethanol will replace it over the next 10 years. \n\nWhy? well cellulose convertions are said to be more efficeint than corn based. Corn produces 2.5 tons per acre per season. Cellulose producing crops like Industrial Hemp(legal in canada but not US) produce upwards of 10 tons an acre and is grown without subsidies required to hold down the price of corn. \n\nAlso cotton is more profitable than corn, so is industrial hemp produced for the textile industry. Industrial hemp is also more profitable going to all other uses besides ethanol.\n\nThe food and clothing is already more expensive than ethanol is, so that is an additional shield.