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Ethanol: The Future of Renewable Energy

Nick Beals

University of Kentucky
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Abstract

This paper outlines a way to solve the non-renewable vs renewable energy crisis within the

United States. It lays out a plan in producing renewable energy via biomass and ethanol and

provides a detailed plan of how ethanol can be used for more than it currently is being used for.

To provide a general understanding, the example used in the paper is a power plant in Juiz de

Fora, Minos Gerais, Brazil which just so happens to be the first ethanol power plant and the only

ethanol power plant in the world. In addition, it backs up these claims with plenty of evidence

and provides reasoning in to why ethanol is the future of the energy business.

Keywords: renewable energy, ethanol, biomass

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Ethanol: The Future of Renewable Energy

Introduction

What do we do when we run out of coal? Every day we are faced with this question, and

every day we get just a little closer to solving this problem. Many scientists and

environmentalists recommend nuclear power, hydroelectric (power produced by water), solar

power, or wind power. While all of those recommendations are proving to be the future of our

energy problem in America, I’d like to highlight a less-known source for power and energy that I

believe can prove to be more effective than every other option so far.

What is Ethanol?

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC),

“Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from corn and other plant materials.” What is Ethanol used

for? Currently, ethanol is mostly used in petroleum, a website by the University of Illinois

claims. Additionally, the ADFC states “The use of ethanol is widespread, and more than 97% of

gasoline in the U.S. contains some ethanol. The most common blend of ethanol is E10 (10%

ethanol, 90% gasoline).” Mixing ethanol into gasoline seems to be its main usage in the United

States; however, with a few tweaks, ethanol can become a major key in powering the future.

Ethanol: Powering the Future

Ethanol, although never talked about, is a very important part of providing renewable

energy. Currently, there are no ethanol power plants in the United States. So, what’s the plan?

The only power plant fueled completely by ethanol is in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It

opened in 2010 and currently has the capacity to provide power for 150,000 residents. This plant

uses ethanol based around sugarcane and is even owned by state-operated Petrobras. (Power

Technology, 2018). The significance of this is beyond obvious – if Brazil can do it, so can we.
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Figure 1. Juiz de Fora Power Plant

Problems have arisen in the past when it came to getting the land and resources available for

solar power, wind farms, and, who really wants a nuclear reactor in their small town? Small

towns fuel America. Put a small ethanol plant in a few small towns in every state, and you can

power several cities. And, what’s another upside to this? Corn. Crops. Farmers live in small

towns. Farmers grow their crops in small towns. According to Bioenergy Australia (2016), “…

ethanol is made from waste products as sugar cane, the waste from starch production, and red

sorghum. This means that ethanol production does not interfere with food production at all.” So,

the food supply isn’t interrupted whatsoever in Australia to produce ethanol. Put all of this

together, and with modern science, the United States could make it work.
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Figure 2. Juiz de Fora Power Plant

Benefits of Ethanol

As expected, there would be lots of economic benefits if ethanol were used as a

permanent source of energy. The most important benefit would probably be the hiring of the

construction workers and contractors to build the plants, and then the hiring of workers to man

the plants. If one plant can provide power for 150,000 people, just imagine the amount of

factories that would have to be manned. The United States Census Bureau (2018) states that

there are currently 327.2 million people in the United States. 327.2 million divided by 150,000

equals 2181.3 repeating. So, that’s already 2,181 factories. Times that by the approximate 30

people it would take to run said power plant, and you’ve created 65,439 jobs. That’s just one
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economic benefit. Ethanol and its byproducts can be used many different ways. For example,

Green Plains Renewable Energy Incorporated not only produces ethanol, but they buy and sell

corn and ethanol byproducts like corn mash and other sludge produced after the ethanol to

surrounding farmers to feed to their cattle or to fertilize their fields. (Green Plains Renewable

Energy Incorporated, 2018). Placing an ethanol plant in small towns would definitely benefit the

United States economically. Environmentally, many would argue that biomass (ethanol is a

biomass) raise the same questions about water use and emissions that fossil fuel plants do;

however, I highly disagree. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, “Biomass power

plants share some similarities with fossil fuel power plants: both involve the combustion of a

feedstock to generate electricity. Thus, biomass plants raise similar, but not identical, concerns

about air emissions and water use as fossil fuel plants. However, the feedstock of biomass plants

can be sustainable produced, while fossil fuels are non-renewable. Sources of biomass resources

for producing electricity are diverse; including energy crops (like switchgrass), agricultural

waste, manure, forest products and waste, and urban waste. Both the type of feedstock and the

manner in which it is developed and harvested significantly affect land use and life-cycle global

warming emissions impacts of producing power from biomass.” This means that emissions from

ethanol plants are significantly lower than those from fossil-fuel plants. According to Power

Technology, the ethanol plant in Brazil conducted tests on their plant in 2009 and 2010. “During

the tests, the plant demonstrated significantly lower CO2 emissions and water usage. Between 31

December 2009 and 13 January 2010, the plant demonstrated a 30% reduction in nitrogen oxide

(Nox) emissions within 150 hours of power generation with ethanol. In comparison with natural

gas and diesel-fired plants, the plant releases lower Nox levels without lowering its power

generating capacity.” Emissions were significantly lower.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the future of the United States, and possibly the world’s, energy problems may

very well lay in the hands of renewable energy sources. There is a bright future for renewable

energy but it all comes down to what we do right now. Because, if we continue to wait, it’ll be

too late to take action.

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References

Ethanol: What Is It? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://web.extension.illinois.edu/ethanol/

Green Plains Renewable Energy Incorporated (2018) Green Plains. Retrieved from

http://www.gpreinc.com/about/overview/

Power Technology (2018). Ethanol Power Plant, Minas Gerais. Retrieved from

http://www.power-technology.com/projects/ethanol-power-plant/

Power Technology (2018). Juiz de Fora Power Plant [digital image]. Retrieved from

http://www.power-technology.com/projects/ethanol-power-plant/

United States Census Bureau (2018). U.S. and World Population Clock. Retrieved from

https://www.census.gov/popclock/

U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center (2017) Ethanol. Retrieved from

https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol.html