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I have read some things about a proposed ethanol pipeline to NYC that will make it the first large market for ethanol. The pipeline is suppoused to run throgh Pennsylvania and that is why their is a huge ethanol plant being built in Clearfield Pa. Does anyone know any details?
I have read some things about a proposed ethanol pipeline to NYC that will make it the first large market for ethanol. The pipeline is suppoused to run throgh Pennsylvania and that is why their is a huge ethanol plant being built in Clearfield Pa. Does anyone know any details?
I think it's a myth.
From everything I've read, ethanol production cannot keep up with the demand that is already "out there." In addition, there have been a lot of ethanol plants close down, due to the price of corn hitting $7+ per bushel last summer, and the ensuing financial problems.
So I really cannot see how/why there would be an ethanol pipeline into NYC.
From everything I've read, ethanol production cannot keep up with the demand that is already "out there." In addition, there have been a lot of ethanol plants close down, due to the price of corn hitting $7+ per bushel last summer, and the ensuing financial problems.
So I really cannot see how/why there would be an ethanol pipeline into NYC.
Yup, when corn was sky high, all the alarmists blamed the ethanol industry for being the culprit for high food prices.
Corn price has tumbled ( some area elevators were paying under $3 a bushel yesterday.) Farm prices,overall, have tumbled.
Not much in the news now about the connection between ethanol and high food prices.
It is idiotic simply because of the costs involved, among other factors. Whether or not is used for feed after the processing is done is irrelevant. If it was cost effective we wouldn't be seeing all the plants we gave our tax dollars to going out of business. That pisses me off.
Any way you look at it growing corn is a fuel intensive, market sensitive, high fertilization concern.
I would rather see switch grass or another alternative as the main source with corn as a backup when market prices are reasonable (if ever compared to something like switch grass). Switch grass requires NO fertilizer, grows densely (how far apart does your corn have to be planted?), does not suffer overly in a drought (and your corns does what without the required minimum of rainfall?), will suffer too much water (again, how does your corn handle an overly wet year?) and the area in which it can be easily grown in the US is far wider than corn.
If the amount of research and money plowed into corn produced ethanol was given to switch grass then switch grass would be the predominate ethanol producer in this country. Of course that effort is hindered by farmers and their representatives.
In addition I would welcome some relief from all the crap dumped into the rivers here because of farming practices.
It is idiotic simply because of the costs involved, among other factors. Whether or not is used for feed after the processing is done is irrelevant. If it was cost effective we wouldn't be seeing all the plants we gave our tax dollars to going out of business. That pisses me off.
Any way you look at it growing corn is a fuel intensive, market sensitive, high fertilization concern.
I would rather see switch grass or another alternative as the main source with corn as a backup when market prices are reasonable (if ever compared to something like switch grass). Switch grass requires NO fertilizer, grows densely (how far apart does your corn have to be planted?), does not suffer overly in a drought (and your corns does what without the required minimum of rainfall?), will suffer too much water (again, how does your corn handle an overly wet year?) and the area in which it can be easily grown in the US is far wider than corn.
If the amount of research and money plowed into corn produced ethanol was given to switch grass then switch grass would be the predominate ethanol producer in this country. Of course that effort is hindered by farmers and their representatives.
In addition I would welcome some relief from all the crap dumped into the rivers here because of farming practices.
First of all, the reason Switchgrass is not commonly used for ethanol production is that, unlike corn, it does not have the simple sugars that can easily be extracted and fermented for alcohol production. It requires an extra step - a very complicated step - in the process of producing ethanol from Switchgrass.
It is very likely that technology will eventually make it feasible to use Switchgrass for ethanol production. But that technology is not currently available.
Moderator cut: No flaming
I specifically mentioned the amount of research and money that has been invested in the effort to make corn the ethanol choice instead of other resources (notably switch grass)
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so you would not have had to bring up the point of the extraction being more difficult, since I had already talked about it, albeit in passing.
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The loss of tax dollars is a fact as is the amount of pollutants introduced into our rivers by over-fertilization of fields in the effort to grow more corn. That's not an axe, that's a fact.
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Last edited by vec101; 07-04-2009 at 06:33 AM..
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