OT of an OT: Ethanol

[Thermodyne]

You make alcohol (hydrocarbon) with sugar (hydrocarbon), which most plants produce. Beets, Cane Sugar and Corn are the big three sources right now. And there is a good source for almost any agro climate. In the US, we hear about corn because the industry spends money to promote itself. Beets would probably be a better crop for production. A self renewing grass is the best. Problem with bio alcohol fuel is the energy it takes to make it and then the fact that takes 1.63 gallons of pure alcohol to equal the energy in a gallon of gas. As for emissions, we don’t wear gas masks in alky race gars because they look cool. One of the combustion byproducts of methanol is formaldehyde. Alcohol is hard to store, and it is so hydroscopic that it visibly absorbs water from the air. Also, methanol (the kind that comes from bio) is highly corrosive, it will eat through an aluminum fuel cell in less than a years worth of use. Bio only pans out if there is no oil. It does not offer a true source of substitute energy. Much of the promotion today is done in pursuit of US Federal subsidies. Public funds being spent on bio should be diverted into hydrogen research IMHO. Or…..Bio research should look at hydrocarbon based oils as fuel. Peanuts and soybeans being two sources already in production along with corn. It takes less energy to produce and returns more energy per gallon.