What are the facts about Bioethonol production from plants?
The government claims that there is more energy created than used at a ratio of 1.34. Other scientists claim that the energy balance is negative. But this just concerns production. One of the problems with ethanol is that it is corrosive to pipes, so it needs to be trucked. The ratios may change when you factor in the distribution. One way around that would be to have more regional producers. This isn’t possible with oil because the oil’s location is fixed. Ethanol producing factories could be anywhere. Another factor to consider is that using ethanol would reduce our dependence on foreign oil which has tremendous costs in terms of money, security, and prestige. Fuel Economy For vehicles with current (2006) design flexible fuel engines, fuel economy (measured as miles per gallon (MPG), or liters per 100 km) is directly proportional to energy content.[20] Ethanol contains approx. 34% less energy per gallon than gasoline, and therefore will result in a 34% reduction in miles per gallon[2
