Is it true they use fossil fuels to produce ethanol?

Question

I have heard that corn growers use about 1/2 gallon of gasoline in the fertilizer to grow enough corn to make a gallon of ethanol.

Answer 1

You heard correctly. By the time corn is planted, grown, weeded, harvested, transported, and processed, the better part of a gallon of gasoline has been used to produce a gallon of ethanol. And the ethanol has only about 2/3 of the energy content of the gasoline. Hence, producing ethanol from corn is a fool's game -- nothing is gained.

Answer 2

Yes, but not necessarily in the fertilizer. Fuel for tractors and other farm equipment is needed to grow the corn, and there is not enough biodiesel for them all (if there was, the whole country could just use the biodiesel and we could just eat the corn). And the factories that process the corn into ethanol also use fossil fuel. Some even use coal, which produces more CO2 than oil does.

I have heard that if all the farming and processing were to use ethanol as the fuel, that 8 out of every 9 gallons of the ethanol would be used up in the growing and production, however that number is disputed. Sugar cane is much better, Brazil uses sugar cane in its thriving ethanol industry, but sugar cane does not grow in the U.S. because the climate is too cold. Maybe global warming will make sugar cane grow in Iowa!

Answer 3

Ethanol is produced from corn.

If you mixed gasoline with fertilizer and put it on a living plant, it would likely kill the plant. Additionally, this could be considered soil contamination, depending on the amount of gasoline used. In the best case, this is a bad idea. In the worst case, it's a violation of the law.

However, what you maybe thinking of, is that a farmer may use 1/2 a gallon of fossil fuel (gasoline or diesel) in operating his equipment to harvest enough corn to produce a gallon of ethanol. I don't believe this is true, but it sounds more plausible.

Answer 4

From what I understand ethanol is made from corn alcohol which is mixed with gasoline. However, to grow the corn uses gasoline in various stages from planting to processing.

Answer 5

About 5% (in 2003) of the ethanol produced in the world is actually a petroleum product. It is made by the catalytic hydration of ethylene with sulfuric acid as the catalyst. It can also be obtained via ethylene or acetylene, from calcium carbide, coal, oil gas, and other sources. Two million tons of petroleum-derived ethanol are produced annually. The principal suppliers are plants in the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Petroleum derived ethanol (synthetic ethanol) is chemically identical to bio-ethanol and can be differentiated only by radiocarbon dating.

Answer 6

As stated, gasoline in the fertilizer would kill the plant. And many farmers have switched from fossil fuels to biodiesel to run their farm equipment, thereby again cutting down on the use of fossil fuels.