Whats the skinny on corn ethanol as fuel and how effective is it really in reducing net carbon emissions?
The nation doesn’t produce enough corn to meet the nation’s gasoline needs through corn ethanol alone. That said, corn ethanol is still a highly effective “stepping stone” to what experts expect will be a much better environmental benefactor—cellulosic ethanol, which is derived from other plant materials like switchgrass. Contrary to a commonly held misperception, it does not require more energy to make corn ethanol than the amount released when it burns, according to experts at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), which maintains that corn ethanol provides 40%-60% more energy than is required during its manufacture. Tailpipe emissions from E85 are 85% lower than from petroleum gasoline.
