WORLD POPULATION
6.6 Billion people3.7 Billion malnourished
U.S. FOOD CONSUMPTION
2,200 lbs/person/year
Solar Energy Captured by Plants
All Plants = 0.1%Photovoltaics = 20%
FOSSIL vs BIOMASS
0102030405060708090
100
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
Biomass vs. Hydropower
Biomass Thermal = 3%Hydropower = 3%
Corn Production Inputs
Energy = 14 InputsFor average corn production260 gallons of Gasoline/Acre
Major inputs
Nitrogen FertilizerFarm Machinery and Fuel
Energy Inputs in Corn Production
Energy inputs to produce corn8 million kcal /Acre
Ethanol Processing
Corn (22 pounds per gal. Ethanol)Food for 10 people
Processing Ethanol
“Beer” = 10% ethanolWaste Water = 90%
Ethanol for Gasoline
95% ethanol (5% water content)Must be 99.5% ethanol
More energy required in conversion
Ethanol Energy Costs
Total Energy Inputs = 28,000 kcal/galEthanol Energy Output
19,400 kcal Minus 40%
Omissions Help Ethanol Return
• Farm labor omitted• Farm machinery omitted• Processing machinery omitted• Hybrid corn omitted• Irrigation omitted• Environmental Impacts omitted• Excess by-product credits 60%
Environmental Impacts
• 1,700 gallons of water / gallon of ethanol• Soil erosion more intense than any crop• Nitrogen fertilizer• More insecticides• More herbicides• More carbon dioxide• Air pollution
Sewage Effluent
12 gallons of sewage effluent per gallon of ethanol produced
Ethanol Production
DOE = 5 billion gallonsTotal oil = 1%20% of all corn
100% U.S. Corn
Total oil = 7%All U.S. and Brazil’s ethanol = 2%
Costs to Beef Production
Removal of Corn from livestock and Other products results in
$20 billion food costs to consumers
By-Product Credits
Byproducts = 60%Replacement for Soybeans = 9%
Subsidies for Ethanol
$6 billion/yearEthanol subsidy 60-times greater/gas
Burning Corn/Food
Ethics3.7 billion humans malnourished
Higher meat, milk, egg prices
SWITCHGRASS FUEL
10 t/ha/yr yieldEthanol = minus 50%
Cellulosic Problems
2-4 times more biomass than cornMore processing to secure starches
WOOD FUEL
3 t/ha/yr
Ethanol = minus 57%
Ethanol from Wood
5 kg per liter of ethanol = wood2.7 kg per liter = corn
57% more fossil energy
Lignin Fuel
25% of Wood is Lignin“Backbone” of trees
LIGNIN FUEL
Acid Dissolves LigninFrees Cellulose CellsStarches and Sugars
Lignin Fuel
Lignin in WaterSeparation Energy
1 kg Lignin = 1,000 kcal
Ethanol from Wood
30,000 kcal per gallonof ethanol produced
57% more fossil energy
Environmental Impacts
Global warmingSoil erosion
1,100 liters of water per liter
SUNFLOWER OIL
Production = 1.3 kcal: 1 kcalSunflower seeds = 26% oilBiodiesel = minus 118%
CANOLA OIL
Canola yield = 1,600 lbs/ASeeds = 30% oil
CANOLA OIL
Input/Output 1.7/1Energy = minus 65%
Soybean Production
Production = 1 kcal: 2.5 kcalSoybean oil = 18%
Biodiesel = minus 32%
Jatropha
Seeds = 30% oilGrows in arid regions
500 lbs/A/yr
Jatropha
Highly toxic to humansHighly toxic to cattle
Diesel Fuel Production
2 BTU Coal = 1 BTU DieselNo agricultural disturbance
No oil imports
BIOMASS ENERGY
Thermal = 3% U.S. EnergyElectric = 1 kcal: 7 kcal
6¢ / kWh
BIOMASS ENERGY
City of 100,000 people500,000 Acres of sustainable forest
1 person = 5 acres of forest
HYDROPOWER
10,000 kWh = person/year40,000 gals of water/person1 kcal: 24 kcal 2¢ / kWh
HYDROPOWER
75,000 ha Agricultural LandAquatic Ecology
WIND POWER
2% of U.S. Electric1 kcal : 5 kcal
7¢ / kWh
WIND POWER
13,000 ha (5%)Birds, Noise,
Esthetics
PHOTOVOLTAICS
1 kcal: 7kcal25¢ / kWhCleaning
PHOTOVOLTAICS
3,000 haChemicals
Transmission = $290,000/mile
HYDROGEN
1.4 kWh = 1 kWh Hydrogen3 kWh coal = 1 kWh Electricity
4.2 kWh = 1 kWh Hydrogen
Hydrogen
Tank 3 X$3 gasoline = $6 hydrogen
Difficult to handle
Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy = 46 quads17% of total U.S. land area