Oil crops on the other hand, generally yield 3-5 gallons of fuel out per gallon of input. Using waste veggie oil converted to biodiesel, it can go as high as 7 or 8 gallons out per gallon invested.
This has been studied a lot. Do a google search on the phrase:
Energy Returned On Energy Invested
Or EROEI for short.
So don't plan on saving the world growing your own ethanol, unfortunately. I wish it were that easy. As a junior and senior in high school, I was doing research on distillation techniques that would be appropriate for agriculture back when we were going broke raising cattle and hogs and growing corn in the late 70's. It was quite a shock to realize that it's essentially a losing proposition.
Good luck and have fun.
troy
Great points often lost on city folks who seem to think farming is simply tossing a handful of seeds on the ground and watching the bin fill!
Fuel, fertilizer, lubricants, repairs and oh did I mention capital investment in land and equipment?
Cheers.
TomW
"Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned."--Mark Twain[ Parent ]
Alan Sheets[ Parent ]
Summery: The U.S. ethanol industry grew from practically zero production in the late 1970's to over 1 billion gallons in 1994, spurred by national energy security concerns, new Federal gasoline standards, and government incentives. Each gallon of ethanol produced domestically displaces 7 gallons of imported oil. In addition, production of ethanol is energy efficient, in that it yields nearly 25 percent more energy than is used in growing the corn, harvesting it, and distilling it into ethanol.
Interesting data, good read what do you think? Bunch of BS or is the info good? Never talks about the price of ethanol, or the cost of anything. Just the EROEI. Have fun.[ Parent ]
Clearly the winner is biodiesel,
Sincerely,
troy[ Parent ]
