How efficient is ethanol production?
Production of corn-ethanol is energy efficient, in that it yields 34 percent more energy than it takes to produce it, including growing the corn, harvesting it, transporting it, and distilling it into ethanol.
What is the main problem with producing cellulosic ethanol?
The main current disadvantage of cellulosic ethanol is its high cost of production, which is more complex and requires more steps than corn-based or sugarcane-based ethanol.
How much cellulosic ethanol is produced?
Currently, one dry short ton of cellulosic feedstock yields about 60 gallons of ethanol. Projected yields with anticipated technological advances are as high as 100 gallons of ethanol per dry short ton of feedstock.
What is the energy ratio of cellulosic ethanol?
The ratio of energy output to fossil energy input is favorable (> 4) for production of cellulosic ethanol, and can be expected to improve further as the technology matures.
What is the efficiency of ethanol production from various biomass sources?
Under anaerobic conditions, yeast S. cerevisiae metabolizes glucose into ethanol. The maximum conversion efficiency of glucose into ethanol is 51% by mass.
Is ethanol more energy efficient than gasoline?
Ethanol contains less energy per gallon than gasoline, to varying degrees, depending on the volume percentage of ethanol in the blend. Denatured ethanol (98% ethanol) contains about 30% less energy than gasoline per gallon.
What is the benefit of cellulosic ethanol?
Cellulosic ethanol and other advanced biofuels are an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable solution to improve energy security and reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector in the near term. Source: UNCTAD, 2016. E2G can remove significant volumes of GHG with minimum impact on the land use.
What are the advantages of cellulosic ethanol?
The biggest benefit of making ethanol from cellulose is the inexhaustibility and convenience of cellulosic biomass. It’s more available than corn or any other source of ethanol, or for that matter, any existing source of fuel. When done wisely, cellulosic ethanol production can get rid of waste and make fuel.
How much CO2 is produced from ethanol production?
A typical ethanol plant producing 50 million gallons of ethanol per year will also produce roughly 150,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. About 40 percent of the North American merchant market for CO2 is sourced from ethanol plants.
Why does ethanol produce less energy?
Ethanol molecules include oxygen atoms, whereas gasoline molecules don’t. That’s part of the reason why ethanol has less energy than gasoline. Another effect of the oxygen from ethanol is that ethanol blends tend to run “leaner” than pure gasoline because there is more oxygen available in the fuel-air mixture.
How is cellulosic ethanol beneficial for both the environment and the farmer?
Cellulosic ethanol has multiple environmental benefits: A single cellulosic ethanol plant can reduce emissions by up to 210,000 tons of CO2/year. The Poet / DSM plant uses agricultural waste (corn stalks, husks, cobs) that would normally be left on the field to decompose.