Ethanol or Biomass to Electricity
Thursday, July 16th, 2009One of the major reasons for increasing the use of biofuels is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The same can be said for switching to electric vehicles.
Recently in a study done by researchers at the University of California, Merced, an electric SUV was compared to a SUV using ethanol for fuel. The electric vehicle was powered by bioelectricity created with the same amount of switchgrass used to make the ethanol.
Well, the electric vehicle won, are you surprised? The SUV powered by bioelectricity could travel 14,000 miles on electricity created from an acre of switchgrass. The ethanol fueled internal combustion engine in the other SUV could travel 9,000 miles on the same amount of switchgrass. Eliot Campbell, one of the researchers explained, “the internal combustion engine just isn’t very efficient, especially when compared to electric vehicles.” “Even the best ethanol-producing technologies with hybrid vehicles aren’t enough to overcome this.” The researchers concluded that the obvious course is to convert biomass to electricity, rather than ethanol. This course of action would double the greenhouse gas offsets to bring about climate change. The researchers warn that the problem is more complex than this particular study covered. These results only cover the issues of transportation and climate. The problems of water consumption, air pollution and economic costs were not addressed. What is your take on the subject? Leave a comment and we’ll have a lively discussion about this or any other issue involving saving our environment. Let’s talk, see you around the galaxy…
