Does it take more fossil fuel energy to make corn ethanol than the ethanol provides as a fuel?
• Why should we care about the energy balance for corn ethanol? • Can corn ethanol help us reduce our reliance on petroleum products? • How does corn ethanol compare to gasoline in terms of greenhouse gas emissions? • Is corn ethanol better than gasoline in terms of other environmental impacts? • Is corn ethanol more expensive than gasoline? • How much of our gasoline use can corn ethanol replace? • How does biodiesel do as compared to diesel fuel? • What is cellulosic ethanol and how does it fit into this picture? Does It Take more Fossil Fuel Energy To Make Corn Ethanol than the Ethanol Provides as a Fuel? Answer: No. The public debate around corn ethanol has focused almost to the exclusion of other issues, on whether it takes more fossil fuel energy to make than it actually provides as a fuel. One way to think about the net energy balance for corn ethanol-which is almost certainly positive-is to think about the fossil fuel inputs as liberators of the corn’s solar and chemical energy
Related Questions
- How can something be "sustainable" if it requires fossil fuel for shipping and energy, and uses corn as animal feed and ethanol production?
- Does it take more fossil fuel energy to make corn ethanol than the ethanol provides as a fuel?
- How does ethanol from the Novus Energy RGL process compare with the ethanol made from corn?