Ethanol Production (buy, sell, company, money)

[Donald Cleveland]

A company named Southridge Ethanol, Inc. is reporting that it is going to build an ethanol plant in Sledge, Mississippi. Does anyone have any recent information on this activity? My posting is 10/05/07.

[Starshine480]

Good morning Don. No, I haven't heard anything about this, but will be glad to see it. What reports have you heard about us being able to use ethanol in regular cars? I'm hearing conflicting stories about it and wondering about it.

[Squidlo]

A lot of GM vehicles are already set up to burn a mix of ethanol called E-85 a mix of gasoline and up to 85% ethanol. Costs of ethanol production are still pretty high and are being subsidized with grants and research money. It takes a lot of material to create ethanol. Corn is one item that can be used to make ethanol (moonshine anyone?). Users of feed corn fear that ethanol production will drive up corn prices. Brazil favors the use of sugar cane stalk. The costs are about 1/2 of corn. Brazil has been at this much longer than the US. Bio-diesel has great potential as well. It will take longer for it to viable. A little research says that bio fuels are coming and here to stay. As far as this new plant is concerned I have no information. I hope it brings jobs and some steady economic growth to the area.



Squidlo

[Starshine480]

I drive a KIA Sportage made by Kia Corporation, so don't know if that's still GM or not? Yes, I'm a dummy when it comes to this. I hope the new plant at Sledge will bring lots of jobs and help out the people around there. I still owe $11,000 on my car and will be driving it for quite awhile longer..........

[jsherman9901]

I was watching the U.S. Farm Report on television this morning, and they are not very high on ethanol. True, it has helped some farmers by boosting the price of corn, but apparently it takes more energy to produce a barrel of ethanol than that barrel can produce itself. During the report, they talked about plans for ethanol plants being shelved, and possibly plants even closing.

Biodiesel, on the other hand, shows great promise. I'm hoping that more U.S. carmakers get back into diesel like the Europeans, because the fuel is so efficient and now burns cleaner than ever.

[Squidlo]

Just read an article about bio fuels in national geographic. The distilling process is the problem. The energy it takes to heat the boilers to get the ethanol out. In Brazil they burn the already processed sugar cane to heat the boilers. Maybe corn isn't the best either. Driving prices up doesn't help farmers and food producers that rely on corn. I agree bio diesel might be the way to go in the future. Bio diesel requires less processing and the by-products are usable. In Oregon where I am originally from more than just a few folks run bio diesel already. Its made from waste cooking oils in Oregon.


Squidlo

[recycled]

Squidlo has made some good points about ethanol with just a few simple sentences.

I've been to Brazil and seen the sugar cane distilleries, they are not much different in concept than a moonshine still. They are not super expensive or high tech affairs, rather simple and not very big in many cases. After the sugar cane stalk is cut off the plant, they leave the rest of the plant to dry out. They take the sugar cane stalk to the distillery, usually not far from the fields. That avoids the need to transport the raw sugar stalks a long ways just to process them. They burn dried out cane plant remains as fuel to heat up the sugar cane juice that is squeezed out of the stalk. A chemical separation occurs with heating up the sugar cane juice and sugar cane alcohol rises to the top and is siphoned through tubes at the top of the still. Sugar cane alcohol has more BTUs per than corn alcohol. In Brazil, since temperatures are warm year round in most parts, they sell a 100 percent sugar cane mix called "alcool" for "flex fuel" cars, not the 85 percent mix that is sold here in the US of corn ethanol + 15 percent gasoline. A majority of cars sold in Brazil are flex fuel, and some car models are only available as flex fuel. Flex fuel cars don't cost more there either. If you have a gasoline only car, even the "regular" gas you buy at the pump in Brazil has a 25 percent mix of sugar cane alcohol in it, and any car runs fine with that mix.
Here in the US, we don't have the vast land areas with tropical climate to grow massive amounts of sugar cane like Brazil. Even if we made friends with Cuba and bought all of their sugar cane for ethanol production, it would not be near enough to make a big dent in the supply.
I hear some talk about "switch grass" ethanol, don't know much about that but the first question that comes up is how much fossil fuel energy does it take to refine a barrel of switch grass ethanol?

[Squidlo]

I've done little research on switch grass. I have heard it discussed as a potential biomass item. Sounded like political sound bites rather than a realistic solution. Maybe its just me. But the few times I've heard the words "switch grass" its been a politician. edit here.. Switch grass has the "potential" for 1000 gallons of ethanol per acre. Balanced by a 45% penalty to produce it. Not viable at all, but it sure looks good at election time in the zones that can grow it (mid and upper mid west) end edit...I think America has more land that can grow sugar cane than you might think. Florida has a substantial crop. I think gulf states and Texas could pull it off as well. We would have to develop machinery to harvest canes. Cane grown for fuel production could probably be grown in places you wouldn't want to grow food crops. Plants grown for industrial use wouldn't be bound by food laws for genetic engineering or hybridizing either . Just a few thoughts. I am intrigued by the thought of renewable fuels and probably would be happy working in the industry.



Squidlo