Maybe corn isn't good...

[radz28]

As Wesley Snipes said in Blade: "Some m0th3rf*ck3r's always trying to ice skate uphill."

It looks like there is a stufy that corn-based ethanol is not all that friendly:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/new-stud...html#more-6608

Just when it seemed like we could rely on this "friendly" fuel, some jerks find a way to shoot it down...

JMHO

[mega_man_01103]

well that sucks!

[GTAHVIT]

The thread below addresses the benefit of cellulosic vs corn based ethanol

GM teams up with Coskata to produce bio-fuel .

I don't think this is new news. The cellulosic ethanol is thought to be the future of ethanol not corn based.

[DGthe3]

Corn ethanol bad. Cellulose ethanol good.

any questions?

[TAG UR IT]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Corn ethanol bad. Cellulose ethanol good.

any questions?

[radz28]

I'm behind because I didn't know there were two different kinds of ethanol. Thanks

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by radz282003

I'm behind because I didn't know there were two different kinds of ethanol. Thanks

Technically there's not. There are two different ways ethanol can be made. the cellulosic method, as DGthe3 mentioned, is MUCH more efficient that traditional corn-based methods.

[radz28]

AH HA!!! I'll just run on nitromethane...

[Killer CamAro]

So ethanol has a traditional way already, its only so new ha ha ha jk just thought i'd say that

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Killer CamAro

So ethanol has a traditional way already, its only so new ha ha ha jk just thought i'd say that

They've been making ethanol for thousands of years. the ethanol for E85 made the traditional way is, for all intents and purposes, moonshine. its the same as the stuff that gets you drunk in beer, wine, vodka, and all the others. Its just 100% pure as opposed to 40% for most spirits, thats why the need to mix it with gasoline to make it a fuel. otherwise people might drink it at the pumps.

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

They've been making ethanol for thousands of years. the ethanol for E85 made the traditional way is, for all intents and purposes, moonshine. its the same as the stuff that gets you drunk in beer, wine, vodka, and all the others. Its just 100% pure as opposed to 40% for most spirits, thats why the need to mix it with gasoline to make it a fuel. otherwise people might drink it at the pumps.

So what you're saying is that we can expect to see a huge siphoning problem with ethanol powered vehicles, but not for the usual reason...


Anyway, I'm sure with more development they can overcome these hurdles. No new idea is ever born perfect.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by stovt001

So what you're saying is that we can expect to see a huge siphoning problem with ethanol powered vehicles, but not for the usual reason...

anyone that drinks E85 will help to chlorinate the gene pool. While E85 is 85% alcohol, the other 15% is still gasoline. Last time I checked, there isn't a safe amount of gasoline to drink. So anyone who gets drunk on E85 won't ever try it again.

That being said, a basic summary is that they made E85 toxic to prevent drunk driving.

drinking 85% ethanol + 15% water = a fast way to get really drunk (moonshine)
drinking 85% ethanol + 15% gasoline = darwin award nominee (http://www.darwinawards.com/)

[Navy Blue]

well working in the "food" business i can tell ya if they make fuel from corn sure gass will drop but everything using corn in the food market will get costlier, example i started working in the whole foods store 2 years ago, when i started a 5 gal container (about 35 lbs) was worth under 20 american dollars, today's price is just over 35 us dollars, i'm not against or have nothing much else to say, but the cost of living wont really ever balance if they tap the food supply for fuels. my 2 cents

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Navy Blue

well working in the "food" business i can tell ya if they make fuel from corn sure gass will drop but everything using corn in the food market will get costlier, example i started working in the whole foods store 2 years ago, when i started a 5 gal container (about 35 lbs) was worth under 20 american dollars, today's price is just over 35 us dollars, i'm not against or have nothing much else to say, but the cost of living wont really ever balance if they tap the food supply for fuels. my 2 cents

And you're absolutely right; we can't tap into the food supply just to turn around and effectively...Burn it all up!

So that's why when Ethanol proved to be a BIG potential player in the alternative fuels sector (ease of access, and minimal powertrain modification in cars) - there was an uproar about using Corn solely as the raw source. From there, came the idea of using switchgrass - possibly the laziest plant in the world and it grows friggin' everywhere - to produce cellulosic ethanol. (Ethanol made from the Cellulose in the plant material as opposed to the sugars and starches). From there, that opened up the door for using waste plant material in addition to Switchgrass. (Corn stalks, etc).

And as of right now, the most promising Ethanol production method (as far as I can tell) is the production of Cellulosic ethanol via Coskata. (The company GM bought into and is helping out) They can turn, literally, garbage, into Ethanol. Anything with Carbon in it, they can produce Ethanol. That has shot Ethanol's potential as an alternative fuel through the roof in recent months.

As you can probably tell, I am extremely excited for ethanol. Mainly because it will let us keep our IC engines (V8 FTW!!), and burn them cleanly, too - so nobody can argue with us about what we're doing to the environment.