The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 232
But you shouldn't be too harsh on your criticism about the content that media
outlets accept; after all, if it wasn't for their low standards you would never get
your empty comments published.
I am looking forward to your next try because I think this could prove to be the
most entertaining exchange yet on my Ethanol Chronicles blog.
August 23, 2015
Posted by WRENCHER:
Corn based ethanol is indeed a waste of time and resources. Even the studies
that show that you have a net gain of energy only have it at a razor-thin margin.
But there's a lot of cash behind this whole thing and nothing speaks louder than
$$$$. It's actually very strange since now you have environmental groups teaming up with oil companies to combat the ethanol lobbyists. Shared goals make
strange bedfellows.
That said, and since the sugar industry is arguably more influential than the
corn industry, why aren't we making bio-fuels out of cane sugar like they do in
Brazil? The energy density of the final product is much higher and sugar cane
produces more than double the amount of ethanol per acre of land. I know there
are challenges to growing a tropical crop in a largely temperate region but if
you've driven past a cornfield lately you'll know that we're pretty good at getting
plants to do what we want.
On a personal note, I run my V-Strom (Suzuki motorcycle) on whatever's cheapest. It hasn't complained yet. E10 seems to have a largely negligible effect on
performance and fuel economy.
Reply from MARC:
Hi Wrencher - I read through your comments and found them to be an interesting mix of positive and negative. On the one hand, you have found that the use
of E10 has no ill effects on your motorcycle, which mirrors my own E10 motorcycle experience, but on the other hand, you make negative statements about
EROEI (energy returned on energy invested).
