The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 630
“Most of the lifecycle water used in ethanol production is for growing the
feedstock. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, almost all of that is from rainfall as less than 5 percent of corn used for
ethanol production is irrigated. Still, water requirements of the feedstock
represent the vast majority of the total lifecycle water use for ethanol production. POET is working with our feedstock producers to understand the
amount of irrigated corn coming into our facilities in order to identify opportunities to collaborate for additional water conservation.
“With many parts of the world facing water shortages, water conservation
has become a global priority. That's why POET chose reducing our water
usage at the first Ingreenuity™ goal. As of December 2011, we had cut
water use by approximately 770 million gallons.”
To support Poet’s comments, consider these comments made in 2011 by Forrest Jehlik, Research Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory:
“The amount of water used to make ethanol has declined dramatically.
Today, producing one gallon of ethanol requires about 3.5 gallons of water. That’s a little more than it takes to process a gallon of gasoline. Much
of the criticism about ethanol’s water requirements stem from the need to
irrigate feedstock crops in drier climates. But most ethanol is produced
from rain-fed crops grown in the Midwest.”
In addition, ethanol is not carcinogenic and doesn’t poison groundwater or the
ocean. Ethanol rapidly biodegrades. Concerns over ethanol spills are muted by
ethanol’s low toxicity. In fact, you’ll find ethanol in beer, bourbon, and other
happy-hour beverages you’ve probably consumed.
Water advancements are possible, they have been made, and they will undoubtedly continue. However, the key item I would like to point out to you in Mr.
Jehlik’s comments is the part, “Today, producing one gallon of ethanol requires
about 3.5 gallons of water. That’s a little more than it takes to process a gallon
of gasoline.” Yes, it also requires lots of water to make gasoline, but Bryce
would never think of telling that to his readers.
