JMT21

The most official study of the issue, which also reviews other studies, concludes that the "net energy balance" of making fuel ethanol from corn grain is 1.34; that is, for every unit of energy that goes into growing corn and turning it into ethanol, we get back about one-third more energy as automotive fuel. That may not sound impressive, but bear in mind that while the gasoline that ethanol displaces is largely imported and a high-level pollution source, the mix of energy inputs for producing bioethanol includes much domestic and relatively cleaner energy. On the basis of liquid fuels alone, the net balance is 6.34 (USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update).

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/...y_balance.html

JMT21

http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/reso...fpr_jun_06.pdf

Check out the chart on the bottom of page 3. The nationwide average price for fuel in gasoline gallon equivalents shows that as of June 2006 Gasoline=$2.84, E85=$3.43. Thats considerably more...high corn prices didn't help things out much I suppose. As technology improves I would imagine the gap will begin to close.

ToiletDuck

It takes 26.1lbs of corn to make a gal of ethenol and during the process you lose 55,000btu for each gallon in the process. It isn't all gravy like everyone thinks. If the machines making it burned ethenol and so forth you'd lose out. Rougnly 1k acres makes 250k gals. We still need oil. Until they grow a more hybrid form of corn with more starch in it we can't be completely dependent yet.

However on a side note ethenol would be great in planes because you can pour water into and it just absorbs it. As a matter of fact at around 17% water/ethenol blend you get an increase in performance. We successfully ran engines with up to 30% water in the blends. Cuts down on NOx however i believe there is a rise in SO4.

However ethenol will not lower prices. It still takes about $1.95 to make it. Some say much less around $1.15 and some say up to $2.50. So I dunno on that one. We never actually made it. Just played with it. In Texas they make you put 10% gas in it so we'd stop drinking it.

On another note about 60% of human waste can be turned into fuel. It's very low cost and actually effective. In japan they already have successful running utilities setup. However ethenol has a GIGANTIC downfall. And that's water. Ethenol plants require MASSIVE amounts of watter than would lower the watertable in many area's that cannot afford to have it lowered.