If ethanol won`t work here why does it work so good in Brazil?

[peanut2008]

I would like someone to explain this one to me.I also am one of those liberal idiots that thinks if we don`t get away from the control of oil companies our economy is never going to be stable.Not just foriegn oil domestic oil also.If the libs are stopping oil and gas exploration why are they drilling oil and gas wells here in KY.everywhere they can drag a rig they are drilling and are hitting more wells on a daily basis.I guess I am just one of those stupid hillbilly truck drivers that just don`t get it.I guess democrats are just as much to blame for this one as the republicans,we should have done something 30 years ago.Jimmie Carter tried to do something about energy but never got a chance it was Ronald Reagan that took the solar panels off of the White House,but what do I know I am just a dumb old truck driver trying to make a living and take care of my family.
P.S.My truck is a Ford Aeromax,my car is a Ford Mustang and my wifes car is a Ford Focus see I told you all I was stupid.

[Biker]

Ethanol is NOT the answer. The energy required to make it negates the savings you see at the pump and in your vehicle.

[Highballin]

Originally Posted by Biker

Ethanol is NOT the answer. The energy required to make it negates the savings you see at the pump and in your vehicle.

Yes and now they say Ethanol is bad on your engine.

[MedicineMan]

Originally Posted by Biker

Ethanol is NOT the answer. The energy required to make it negates the savings you see at the pump and in your vehicle.

That's no longer true. that comes from an old study. there has beenmany refinements in the process.

That said though I don't agree with the ethonol push. I don't think it is a product we need to concentrate so heavily on if for no other reason than just look at the corn prices. what are they $9 a bushell or something like that. up from like $2.50

[25(2)+2]

Originally Posted by MedicineMan

That's no longer true. that comes from an old study. there has beenmany refinements in the process.

That said though I don't agree with the ethonol push. I don't think it is a product we need to concentrate so heavily on if for no other reason than just look at the corn prices. what are they $9 a bushell or something like that. up from like $2.50

What has the oil complex been doing, lately? The prices for oil and other commodities is increasing rapidly, after languishing for years. When the Dollar strengthens, the commodities fall.

BTW, the current bid for corn at a local market this morning was $6.82, but the way the crop is looking, we might see $9.00 corn as well, probably like we will see $150 a barrel for crude oil. At least the BOT learned in '93 that rain doesn't always make grain

The plants being built now have been funded, and are going up, it takes about 2 years to get one up and running after construction starts. New plants are not being proposed right now, there are no investors available.

But there are also no new refineries going up and the old ones aren't being refurbished. Hope that I'm wrong about that.

[Drachen]

Ethanol works in Brazil because of their sugar cane industry. it produces more Ethanol per bushel due to VERY high sugar content.

the problem with oil in the US is that the places with the most oil fall inside wildlife areas and the enviro people say ANY drilling there is evil and kills everything, so it gets blocked by democrats.

Edit- i also think that the Brazilians use cellulosic methods which use ALL of the plant material. the method most common here uses JUST the corn or soybeans and not the cornstalks or actual plants.

[25(2)+2]

Ethanol from cellulose, is the promise of the future, at least for liquid fuels, but it has been set back, a Canadian firm has canceled plans to build a straw to ethanol facility in Idaho.

There is a process being studied that would convert the fiber directly to sugars using microbial reduction, and that resultant sugar is easily fermented into ethanol.

Switch grass can be grown on land too steep for row crops, it doesn't need tillage or planting, it is a very long lived and drought resistant, perennial grass. The big thing would be getting it to a still, it is already being used to fuel boilers.

[Biker]

Cellulose is also a good candidate for biodiesel. To date, I think that's where a lot of our research money should go.

[25(2)+2]

Originally Posted by Drachen

Ethanol works in Brazil because of their sugar cane industry. it produces more Ethanol per bushel due to VERY high sugar content.

the problem with oil in the US is that the places with the most oil fall inside wildlife areas and the enviro people say ANY drilling there is evil and kills everything, so it gets blocked by democrats.

Edit- i also think that the Brazilians use cellulosic methods which use ALL of the plant material. the method most common here uses JUST the corn or soybeans and not the cornstalks or actual plants.

I could find no evidence of using cellulose in Brazil to make ethanol. Sugar cane is a warm season grass, it produces tons of biomass per acre and much of that is sugar.

There is a plant being built in northern Spain at present to begin producing ethanol from cellulose on a commercial scale even though it costs half again as much per unit of fuel. Here is a link.

http://www.evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=10986

[aussiejosh]

No ethonol won't work simply because the big oil barrons say so until we the consumer say other wise that will be the case if over nite everybody stopped using diesil or petrol what do you think all the oil companies would do? its all about supply and demand oil seems to be the way cause thats what where used to getting but it don't have to be that way for example the first diesil engine was not actually using diesil it ran on peanut oil and you'd find that you still could run an engine on it i know heaps of people who go out and collect used cooking oils and dilute them witl diesil its so much cheaper cleaner and no tax . Diesil at the time when it was discovered seemed a good alternative to natural oils its cheaper and plentiful but there will soon be a time when all that will change.

Thats life
Aussie josh