In article <
[email protected]>,
"The Adams Family" <
[email protected]> wrote:
> In reply to the how many gallons of diesel fuel it takes to produce a gallon
> of ethanol. I am not sure how many gallons they can get from a bushel of
> corn, but on my farm, I raise about 195 bushel average per acre and burn 4
> gallons of diesel per acre to get it. I am sure they get several gallons per
> bushel, so when you look at it there is no comparison. 4 gallons diesel =
> several hundred ethanol.
You're right, there is no comparison.
From the Oregon department of Energy:
The cost of producing ethanol varies with the cost of the
feedstock used and the scale of production. Approximately 85
percent of ethanol production capacity in the United States
relies on corn feedstock. The cost of producing ethanol from corn
is estimated to be about $1.10 per gallon. Although there is
currently no commercial production of ethanol from cellulosic
feedstocks such as agricultural wastes, grasses and wood, the
estimated production cost using these feedstocks is $1.15 to
$1.43 per gallon.
Because a gallon of ethanol contains less energy than a gallon of
gasoline, the production cost of ethanol must be multiplied by a
factor of 1.5 to make an energy-cost comparison with gasoline.
This means that if ethanol costs $1.10 per gallon to produce,
then the effective cost per gallon to equal the energy contained
in a gallon of gasoline is $1.65. In contrast, the current
wholesale price of gasoline is about 90 cents per gallon.
The federal motor fuel excise tax on gasohol, a blended fuel of
10-percent ethanol and 90-percent gasoline, is 5.4 cents less per
gallon than the tax on straight gasoline. In other words, the
federal subsidy is 54 cents per gallon of ethanol when the
ethanol is blended with gasoline. The subsidy makes
ethanol-blended fuel competitive in the marketplace and
stimulates the growth of an ethanol production and distribution
infrastructure.
xi%
