The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 618
energy needs for the poor and develop a sustainable local fuel supply, a
future much better than using fossil fuels.”
“The goal of the UC Berkeley analysis was to understand how six studies
of fuel ethanol could come to such different conclusions about the overall
energy balance in its production and use. Farrell, Kammen and their UC
Berkeley colleagues dissected each study and recreated its analysis in a
spreadsheet where they could be compared side-by-side. The team said
it found numerous "errors, inconsistencies and omissions" among the
studies, such as not considering the value of co-products of ethanol production - dried distillers grains, corn gluten feed and corn oil - that boost
the net energy gain from ethanol production. Other studies overestimated
the energy used by farm machinery.”
"The assumptions made by some of the authors were not based on the
best data, or were just a little bit too convenient, and had a strong impact
on the results," Kammen said.”
Included in the UC Berkeley review were the following:
Thermodynamics of the Corn-Ethanol Biofuel Cycle Patzek, T.W., Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences 23(6), 519-567 (2004).
Ethanol Production Using Corn, Switchgrass, and Wood; Biodiesel Production
Using Soybean and Sunflower David Pimentel and Tad W. Patzek, Natural Resource Research, 14(1), 65-76 (2005).
Josh Tickell, an award-winning documentary film maker has produced several
full-length films that address energy issues. In “Freedom,” the film that Josh and
his wife Rebecca produced in 2011, Josh interviews David Pimentel on the subject of ethanol EROEI.
CLICK image to play video
