Biofuels continue to generate controversy - my guess is that this will go on for quite some time. As we saw in class last week, liquid fuels like ethanol really pack a punch (high energy density in Mj/l), making them very appealing for transport fuels. But, as we've also seen, the energy return on investment (E out per unit E in) is ... marginal. This is debated, and the promise of next generation biofuels based on conversion of non-grain hydrocarbons to ethanol remains. Next generation biofuels would have a higher EROI, in part since emissions associated with their production could be attributed to growing grain).
.
This article in yesterday's New York Times describes how the market for credits for ethanol in blended gasoline are lightly regulated and subject to manipulation by large financial institutions and energy companies. In my view, the problem stems from the law stipulating biofuel production - scheduled for 14.4B gallons (compare with 134B gallons of gasoline in 2011) in 2014. As the NYT article points out, gasoline use has declined recently, meaning that a growing amount of biofuel is being blended into a smaller amount of gasoline. Yet engines in most US cars are not capable of handling a blend with ethanol concentrations much greater than 15% (which is a common current blend), so producers are hitting the "blending wall." A policy targeting a certain blend for all US fuels (rather than an amount of biofuel) could be part of a solution, but one of the reasons for the current policy was to jump-start growth of the biofuel industry. A policy oriented toward a certain blend might undermine this incentive. Would that be a bad thing?
. This article in yesterday's New York Times describes how the market for credits for ethanol in blended gasoline are lightly regulated and subject to manipulation by large financial institutions and energy companies. In my view, the problem stems from the law stipulating biofuel production - scheduled for 14.4B gallons (compare with 134B gallons of gasoline in 2011) in 2014. As the NYT article points out, gasoline use has declined recently, meaning that a growing amount of biofuel is being blended into a smaller amount of gasoline. Yet engines in most US cars are not capable of handling a blend with ethanol concentrations much greater than 15% (which is a common current blend), so producers are hitting the "blending wall." A policy targeting a certain blend for all US fuels (rather than an amount of biofuel) could be part of a solution, but one of the reasons for the current policy was to jump-start growth of the biofuel industry. A policy oriented toward a certain blend might undermine this incentive. Would that be a bad thing?
No comments:
Post a Comment