Which is better for our long term energy needs, Ethanol or Bio Diesel?

Answer 1

Ethanol is cleaner to combust than biodeisel so is often considered to be more environmentally sound but it is currently quite energy inefficient to produce from scratch (requires a lot of raw vegetation for the sugar, so consider all the energy used to produce /harvest /transport a large crop of plants then the fermentation and distillation epuipment/costs on top of that) so the net energy saving is rather debateable.
Biodeisel can be made direct from crops like canola etc. or from recycled oil products so has a typically lower production energy and can produce a similar energy output per unit volume (depending on it's quality of course - and this is a bit of a problem with biodeisels) so personally I would rate it above ethanol at the moment, technology involving both of these fuels is improving all the time though so who knows what the future holds.

Answer 2

Ethanol has the best long term ability of meting our energy needs. As the technology improves we will be able to produce ethanol in quantities and at a cost the should easily rival the benefits of oil and bio diesel.

Answer 3

Bio Diesel is made from plants, namely corn. Ethanol can also be made from corn, but it also is one of the many products that comes from crude oil that is pumped out of the ground. Ethanol is better than regular gasoline and diesel because it burns cleaner. However, it is much more refined than gasoline or diesel, so for every barrel of oil that is taken from the ground, much more gasoline and diesel can be made than ethanol. So if we all drove cars that burned ethanol, we would have less air pollution, but we would run out of crude oil much faster, and it would also be much more expensive to fill up the tank.
So if you want to compare ethanol and bio diesel as both being made from agricultural products, bio diesel would better because it is easier to make from corn than ethanol is. More bio diesel would come from a pound of corn than ethanol. Nevertheless, a corn or agricultural based fuel supply would not be feasible either way because the world's potential corn supply could never meet the world's current energy needs. If corn based fuel ever became a serious alternative to petroleum based fuel, then none of us would be able to afford food, let alone afford to drive from point a to point b.
In the future, when we run out of oil and coal, we'll have to use nuclear energy and drive electric cars that recharge from home electric outlets. Hopefully batteries will work really good by then.


Fred, let me double check my sources, but I was under the impression that GM sells cars, not fuel. Hope this Helps!

Answer 4

Bio-diesel was made from hemp, without the need for agro-chemical inputs or lots of water. (however hemp provides no return for the large GM corporations, and would threaten cotton and paper pulp industries)

Ethanol tends to be made in vast monocultures and can use nearly as much energy to produce as it yields.

However, neither provide viable soultions to increasing world energy demands as arable land is lost to climate change and soil degradation by agri-business. Feeding the current population, especially if demand for meat continues to increase, will mean there is not enough land for bio-fuels; or will the powerfull countries just sacrifice poor people to fuel their SUVs?

PS batteries are already good enough to meet most of our motoring needs, eg tZero out accelerates a Ferrari and has a range >200 miles per charge. Look out for film due out end of June "who killed the electric car"

Answer 5

ethanol from corn is becoming more energy effecient to produce, but still isnt very competetive, there ARE forms and ways to produce ethanol. bio diesel has drawbacks too, ethanol from waste products is probably the best.