The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 459
Berkeley. They are the grandfathers of the energy-negative argument against
ethanol (EROEI). Virtually every ethanol opponent has used information from
this study at one time or another, even if they don't know where the information
came from. All the opponents believe that the Pimentel-Patzek information was
never disputed or rebutted - or if they know, they act like it didn't happen. To
make matters worse, none of them conducted any of their own research, they
just relied on Pimentel and Patzek.
In fact, not only has the Pimentel-Patzek information been refuted, it was countered almost as soon as the information was released by people who have just
as many, if not more, academic credentials. For example, in 2005, Bruce Dale
(Professor of Chemical Engineering at Michigan State University), found that
the Pimentel-Patzek methodology is flawed. Dale stated that the measurements
of BTU used by Pimentel and Patzek are irrelevant and that the net energy of
ethanol is actually higher than gasoline (in other words, EROEI for ethanol is
positive, while the EROEI of gasoline is more negative).
Also in 2005, Professor Dale, along with John Sheehan, Senior Engineer - National Renewable Energy Laboratory, took on Pimentel and Patzek in a nationally televised debate. After watching the video of the debate it's hard to believe
that anyone ever took Pimentel-Patzek seriously. The entire video can be
watched by CLICKING HERE.
In 2006, professors and students at the Resources Group at UC Berkeley
(Patzek's home) published a study that contradicted the Pimentel-Patzek study.
Another study, conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, was
presented in 2007 at UC Berkeley - what a coincidence - by Roger Conway,
Office of Energy Policy and New Uses at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The report showed huge discrepancies in the figures that Pimentel and Patzek used to arrive at their conclusions versus the figures used
by USDA's efforts to conduct their own studies on ethanol vs. gasoline EROEI.
The USDA studies were significantly more favorable towards ethanol production.
In 2008, Tad Patzek left UC Berkeley to join the University of Texas at Austin.
Just a coincidence? I think not. Needless to say, Texas is the home of the petroleum oil industry in America.
