EPA proposal could impact local ethanol, biodiesel production
While this article does not exactly relate to our plight with industrial wind in Maine, I think it is indicative of the direction this administration is taking with regards to energy. The health bill got a "Cornhusker Bailout or Kickback" when it was passed, but they have been getting BILLIONS of dollars to produce corn for making ethanol to put into gasoline. In fact it is estimated that between the time it was passed to the present, we are approaching $30 Billion and the proposal for this year is $5 Billion. There is a theory that alcohol makes cars run better and cleaner, but it is a myth. Alcohol wreaks havoc with all parts of any kind of engine as it is hydroscopic meaning it absorbs WATER. Water does not burn very well in engines big or small. Alcohol reduces mileage, corrodes interior parts of engines, and causes engine failure. There is a reason they do not allow alcohol to be put in aviation fuel . . . . it becomes VERY unstable very quickly.
Anyone ever watch "Moonshiners"? To make alcohol, you must make a mash of some sugary vegetable, like corn, let it ferment to break down the sugar, boil it until the alcohol can be distilled off and collected. Boiling to make a few gallons of 50% alcohol would take more than an average BBQ grill tank of propane. (I know, Heh Heh) They propose to make 15 BILLION gallons of very highly proofed alcohol at close to 100% potency. Talk about an energy waster. Wouldn't that corn be better used for feeding people, pigs, cattle, and driving the price of food down? Couldn't that energy be better spent making electricity instead of all the windturbines they are building in Iowa?
But the ethanol critics have shown that the industry calculations are bogus. David Pimentel, a professor of ecology at Cornell University who has been studying grain alcohol for 20 years, and Tad Patzek, an engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, co-wrote a recent report that estimates that making ethanol from corn requires 29 percent more fossil energy than the ethanol fuel itself actually contains.
The two scientists calculated all the fuel inputs for ethanol production—from the diesel fuel for the tractor planting the corn, to the fertilizer put in the field, to the energy needed at the processing plant—and found that ethanol is a net energy-loser. According to their calculations, ethanol contains about 76,000 BTUs per gallon, but producing that ethanol from corn takes about 98,000 BTUs. For comparison, a gallon of gasoline contains about 116,000 BTUs per gallon. But making that gallon of gas—from drilling the well, to transportation, through refining—requires around 22,000 BTUs.
I hope the consortium of scientists they are bringing in to discuss the "climate change" issue gets to the bottom of real science and gets the EPA and Energy Department to revise their standards for picking winners and losers in the energy field.
http://www.newtondailynews.com/2017/07/13/epa-proposal-could-impact...
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/hey_wait_a_minute/2...
Views: 102
Comment
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Comment by Eric A. Tuttle on July 19, 2017 at 4:36pm
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58% increase in CO² during production to save 14% in transportation.
"FAKE Savings of CO²"
"FAKE Science"
"FAKE Wind Savings"
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"70 Percent More Energy Required to Make Ethanol than Actually is in Ethanol: Cornell"
► Source ◄
Adding up the energy costs of corn production and its conversion to ethanol, 131,000 Btu are needed to make 1 gallon of ethanol. One gallon of ethanol has an energy value of only 77,000 (76,100 per my chart from a different source in my research reference (close to agreement)) Btu. "Put another way," Pimentel said, "about 70 percent more energy is required to produce ethanol than the energy that actually is in ethanol. Every time you make 1 gallon of ethanol, there is a net energy loss of 54,000 Btu."
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Comment by Eskutassis on July 18, 2017 at 10:22pm
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Eric; As far as CO2 being the same whether it comes from ethanol or gasoline, and all the CO2 generated by making ethanol, BINGO!!!
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#Gasoline Fuel TypesBTU per Unit
BTU's 5 Conv Summer 114,500 /gal 2 Conv Winter 112,500 /gal Reform (ethanol)[3] 111,836 /gal Reform (ETBE)[3] 111,811 /gal Reform (MTBE)[3] 111,745 /gal (10% MTBE)[4] 112,000 /gal (regular unleaded)[5] 114,100 /gal 4 Diesel #2[5] 129,500 /gal 1 Biodiesel (B100)[5] 118,300 /gal 3 Bio Diesel (B20)[5] 127,250 /gal (LNG)[5] 75,000 /gal (LPG)[5] 84,300 /gal Methanol (M100)[5] 56,800 /gal 9 Ethanol (E100)[5] 76,100 /gal 8 Ethanol (E85)[5] 81,800 /gal 6 Ethanol (E10) 86,705 /gal Jet fuel (naphtha)[6] 118,700 /gal 7 Jet fuel (kerosene)[6] 128,100 /gal Human Breathing 2k-cal 8,189 /day Conventional Summer has 133.59 % of the energy of E10
[Real life] 19Mpg on E10 - 25Mpg on Conventional summer
difference - 131.57% better gas mileage.
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Corn Ethanol produces a lot of water when combusted. It is very low in energy causing a decrease in Gas Mileage by about 25% thus resulting in the need to purchase more (29% - 33%) to get the same work performed. It not only competes with food sources driving the prices higher, but also requires more fuel for transportation of the food. E15 - E85 meant for FFV (Flex Fuel Vehicles) can be deadly to small engines not designed to use it without an additive. 19% (stated) savings on CO² comes down to 14% when making up the difference with more gasoline for the same work output. Then there is the Added CO² in the production of the Ethanol which is greater than the savings. (They claim that CO² produced by burning Ethanol can be better absorbed back into plants) Huh..... isn't CO² the same no matter the source?
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I had a chainsaw and outboard motors from the 1960's and 70's that ran flawlessly until the introduction of ethanol fuels. Then the trouble started. Every year had to rebuild carbs or completely empty them after a month of running and refill them. Who has time for that. I started buying Aviation fuel about three years ago, about $5.00 a gallon, but have no problem and the gas lasts three years without degrading. I just make sure the last gas in the fall is avgas so I don't have to winterize.
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Comment by Long Islander on July 17, 2017 at 11:46pm
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I recall that one of the first real effects of the U.S. ethanol program was a large increase in food prices. Ask a chain saw shop what ethanol does to engines. Some will sell ethanol-free gasoline (very expensive) so you won't destroy your saw.
Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.
Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********
(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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