The Ups and Downs of Ethanol Fuel

Image Gallery Up to your ears in ethanol hype? Before you choose E85 at the pump, consider the complicated issues behind this biofuel. ISTOCKPHOTO/BILL GROVE

Recently you’ve probably heard some buzz about ethanol — through advertisements, magazine articles, news reports, etc. You may have even seen ethanol at your local gas station. But step back from the positive impressions you may have because despite the hype, ethanol isn’t an easy solution to our oil addiction. In fact, there are many nuanced and complicated issues around this biofuel. Whether it’s the current or future forms of ethanol, there are pros and cons, promises and perils.

What is ethanol?

Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, sometimes also called “grain alcohol.” In the United States, most ethanol fuel is produced from corn. In a nutshell, ethanol is made by fermenting the sugar and starch in the corn into alcohol, which is then separated from the water by distillation.

You’re far more likely to encounter ethanol as a gasoline additive rather than a full-fledged fuel. E10 (10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline) can be used in any gas engine and is much more widely available than E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline), which can only be used in “ flex-fuel” cars and trucks.

So what’s wrong with ethanol?

The first and foremost problem with today’s ethanol is it comes from corn, one of the most prominent food crops worldwide. Growing a crop for both food and fuel is problematic because the increased demand for the food crop leads to higher food prices. This, among other factors, has caused worldwide corn and grain production to struggle to keep up and prices have risen to record levels. 

Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, describes this as the beginning of a great tragedy. “The United States, in a misguided effort to reduce its oil insecurity by converting grain into fuel for cars, is generating global food insecurity on a scale never seen before,” he writes.

But that’s not all that pops the argument for corn-derived ethanol:

• E85 leads to about 30 percent less fuel economy than gasoline.
• E85 typically costs less than gasoline (As of this article, the average cost of ethanol was $2.80 a gallon compared to $3.20 a gallon for gasoline.), but only because of the support of federal subsidies (funded by our taxes).
• Its availability is dramatically limited compared to gasoline. There are only 1,200 stations across the United States that sell ethanol, and they are primarily located in the upper Midwest. In other words, there may be millions of flex-fuel vehicles on the road, but comparatively few actually use ethanol.
• Ethanol cannot be transported through existing pipelines because it is corrosive and easily absorbs water. So it must be delivered by trucks, barges and rail cars, producing more pollution.
• Switching from gasoline to ethanol may not always save energy. At best, the energy produced by the fuel is only slightly more than the energy required to make it.
• Converting prairie, forests and rainforests into cropland destroys carbon dioxide gobbling resources.
• Even if all of our corn and soybean production went to ethanol, we could offset just 12 percent of our gasoline consumption. When you look at the numbers, it would be far easier to meet our energy needs with solar-powered electric cars.
• Growing corn and producing ethanol could put pressure on local water supplies and increase water pollution.