Pros and Cons of Ethanol Production – Updated Article With New Information

Ethanol is a biofuel that is produced by breaking down plant material into simple sugars and starches. These are then fermented to form alcohol. There are various types of ethanol, and in the US corn ethanol is the most common, which, as the name suggests, is a biofuel produced from corn. The ethanol production process is quite simple, and many countries are now learning how their economy can benefit from it. Politicians and environmental groups, as part of a campaign to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, have recently began promoting this alternative type of fuel, and it is hoped that it will become widely used in the not too distant future.

Here are a list of the main pros and cons of the production of ethanol:

Pro 1 – Environmental benefits: Ethanol fuel, when combusted, releases 15 percent less harmful gases into the atmosphere compared to regular gasoline. In addition, the combustion of ethanol does not lead to the release of toxic materials such as lead. The more ethanol we burn, and the less gas, the less greenhouse gases we will release into the atmosphere.

Pro 1 – Its origins are organic: Brazil is current the world’s largest producer of this type of fuel, and they use sugar cane as the base material. This is a renewable source that is grown by local farmers, who get a good price for it.

Pro 3 – Ease of use: A regular car can take 10 percent ethanol with gas and no modifications are needed. Even better, only small modifications are required in order to run a car on a 85 percent to 15 percent ethanol to gas mixture respectively.

Con 1 – The cost and availability of ethanol in the US: It is more expensive on the coasts as it is produced in the Midwest. Ethanol processing plants are few and far between across the country, and many more need to built in order to lower the costs of ethanol. As of now, ethanol is not widely available. In fact, many cities do not sell it at all.

Con 2 – The energy needed to produce ethanol: Corn ethanol is energy intensive to produce. In fact, it requires not much less energy to produce it that it eventually provides. This, however, is set to change, with more efficient ethanol fuels such as cellulosic ethanol currently under development.

Con 3: In order to produce sufficient sugar cane, farmers in countries like Brazil have to restrict what other crops they can grow. As a result, the commodity prices for basic foods such as flour and wheat can be higher than they would be if ethanol was not produced. In the US, where ethanol is made from corn, the country could not meet all of its needs even if all the available farmland was used exclusively to grow corn.

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The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.