Biofuels In USA

Bio-ethanol as a Viable Environmentally Friendly Fuel Source for Vehicles in USA Michael Torrin 53425476 T-71 City University of Hong Kong Word count: 928

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Biofuels are a form of fuel made from living organisms, or waste matter from such organisms. There are many types of biofuels, such as biodiesel, ethanol, or hard biofuels. Biodiesel and bioethanol are most commonly used in combustion engines. Whereas hard biofuels are used in furnaces or other heating devices, in order to produce heat energy. In this case Bioethanol will be analyzed, which is growing in popularity for the use in vehicles. Biofuels in the form of ethanol cannot be used as a viable environmentally friendly alternative fuel source for vehicles in USA, due to the impact on the environment that producing this fuel source causes, (Benneman, J; Biofuel info). Bioethanol is produced by breaking down plant matter, most commonly corn or sugar cane, then fermenting the broken down plant matter through a microbial process. From this fermentation Bioethanol is produced. In order to create a concentrated amount of Bioethanol, the fermented matter is distilled to form bioethanol, which is at a 95-96% concentration. To further purify the bioethanol different forms of dehydration processes are used to separate water from the bioethanol mix. For the use in vehicles bioethanol can either be used directly in modified vehicle engines, or the most common alternative is to mix it with petroleum to create a specific blend of petroleum and bioethanol. This can be run direct in most vehicle engines, (Makebiofuel 2011). AS of 2007 there were 247 million registered vehicles in USA alone, not including unregistered vehicles. As of 2011 there were 9,946,091 vehicles than run on fuel flex Bioethanol alone. The number of vehicles using Bioethanol is rising, and so is the environmental impact

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from the use of bioethanol, (How Many Alternative Fuel and Hybrid Vehicles Are There In The U.S 2011; Vehicles Bureau of Transportation Statistics 2011). There are individuals that would argue for the use of bioethanol, as it is a cleaner fuel source then petroleum. Even cars which run on a mix of bioethanol and petroleum, produces less pollution then standard petroleum powered vehicles. It also reduces our need for oil, which has massive negative environmental impact, (Flex Fuel Vehicles: Advantages and Disadvantages 2012). Although what these individuals fail to take into account is the indirect environmental impact that Bioethanol has. The environmental impact that Bioethanol produces does not come from its use in vehicles, it stems from the production of Bioethanol itself. To produce enough bioethanol to supply the current demand, USA alone uses 26 percent of its corn harvest. USA has the highest production of liquid biofuel in the world at 43 percent, (Howarth, R 2009). This number will rise in the coming years, as the demand for bioethanol increases. The result of this will be the conversion of more natural land, and felling of woodlands, in order to accommodate new farmlands to support the increasing demand. Studies show that if USA used all of its current farmlands to produce crops solely for biofuel production, only 18 percent of the demand for fuel for vehicles would be met. This would also result in severe food shortages, as by using all the current farmland for biofuel production, there would be a severe drop in food production. In order to fix this issue USA would have to convert large quantities of natural habitats into farm land, so that is would be able to keep up with the demand for biofuel production and food production, (Mayer. P 2010). Given the increasing demand for biofuels it is likely that USA would out-source

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production of bioethanol to other countries. This would mean that the environmental impact of bioethanol production would not be localized; it would in fact be a global problem. This would be so, as much land from other countries would be converted into farmland, in order to meet demand. This problem is already seen in cattle industry. Brazil is constantly cutting down large areas of rainforest, in order to create more farmland for cattle and crops. If you were to add the demand for biofuel to this problem, the effects would no doubt be devastating to the natural environment, (Beltra, D 2009). Through the increased demand of bioethanol it is apparent that there will be a global negative impact on the natural environment. Vast amount of land will be needed in order to supply the increasing demand for bioethanol. This means that the negative aspects of the use of Bioethanol in USA, greatly outweigh the positive aspects. It is true that bioethanol is a much cleaner source of fuel than petroleum; although the negative environmental effects caused trough its production rival those of petroleum production. So if petroleum is substituted for Bioethanol, for the use in vehicles in USA, it would in effect be substituting one form of environmental degradation for another. This solves nothing as it still has the same negative externalities on the environment, and individuals wellbeing. Instead of increasing the demand for Bioethanol, the USA should focus its money, time, and technology in developing more viable, and environmentally friendly vehicles for example hydrogen or electric vehicles. Overall it is evident that Bioethanol cannot be used as a viable environmentally friendly fuel source, for vehicles in USA. The negative impact on the environment, through the production of bioethanol would be devastating. If the demand for bioethanol is increased we will see more and more natural land be converted into farmland. This will destroy much of our

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planets natural habitats, and decrease biodiversity. This will also have many other negative effects such as deforestation, land erosion, and potentially desertification due to land erosion, (Desertification 2013)

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References Beltra, D. 2009. How cattle ranches are chewing up the Amazon rainforest.Greenpeace UK. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/how-cattle-ranchingchewing-amazon-rainforest-20090129 Benneman, J. (n.d.). What are Biofuels?.Green Choices. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/energy/biofuels/

Biofuel Info. (n.d.). Information about Biofuel, what is Biofuel, renewable energy solutions, Ethanol uses. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.biofuelwatch.org/ Desertification. 2013. Greenfacts. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.greenfacts.org/en/desertification/ Flex Fuel Vehicles: Advantages and Disadvantages. 2012. Flex Fuel Vehicles: Advantages and Disadvantages. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.carsdirect.com/green-cars/flexfuel-vehicles-advantages-and-disadvantages How many alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles are there in the U.S.?. (n.d.).EIA. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=93&t=4 Howarth, R. 2009. Biofuels and Environmental Impacts. Unescodoc. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001831/183113e.pdf Meyer, P. 2010. Biofuel Review Part 3: Land Availability. IEEE-USA Today's Engineer. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.todaysengineer.org/2010/jan/biofuels-pt3.asp Vehicles Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 2011. Vehicles | Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/data_and_statistics/by_subject/vehicles.html makebiofuel. 2011. Biofuel Production. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from http://www.makebiofuel.co.uk/bioethanol-production)