Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
I went through the same process of thinking H2 would be the greatest fuel, then ethanol
|
Placing all the bets at a single fuel to become the "miraculous" one-size-fits-all replacement for petroleum was a mistake. Just like there was no gasoline-only or Diesel-only strategy going to succeed, different operating conditions might turn out to be more beneficial to either ethanol, biomethane, biodiesel or synthetic fuels made through carbon sequestration from the atmosphere.
Quote:
|
but at least in the US ethanol production consumes too much land area and doesn't deliver enough energy to displace fossil fuels.
|
Relying on a single feedstock for ethanol has always been a problem. Ethanol made out of corn is not so bad, once we look at the usage of distillation grain to feed livestock for instance, but outside the United States it's often pointed out as an environmental disaster mostly because of politics. Even in Brazil, nowadays some sugar and ethanol mills also process corn while sugarcane is out of season, and the distillation grain yelds a faster weight gain for beef cattle.