Tag Archives: ethanol

Book review of Underbug: an obsessive tale of termites and technology

Posted on February 23, 2019 by

Preface.  I read this book mainly to find out where “grassoline” stood. Scientists thought 10 years ago that we could recreate the termite biota system of digesting biomass to create biofuels.  But this appears to be far in the future … Continue reading →

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Power density of biomass, wind, & solar take too much land to replace fossil fuels

Posted on May 7, 2018 by

Volumetric versus specific energy density for selected energy carriers. Source: Palmer, G. 2020. Energy storage & civilization: a systems approach. Springer. Preface. Vaclav Smil writes “The fact that wind, solar, and biomass have incredibly low energy density per square meter … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Biomass, Coal, Hydropower, Natural Gas, Oil | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Peak soil: Industrial agriculture destroys ecosystems and civilizations. Biofuels make it worse.

Posted on August 31, 2017 by

Alice Friedemann. 2017. Peak Soil.  Last update Oct 23, 2017, first 2007 [ Formerly titled: Why Biofuels are Not Sustainable and a Threat to America’s National Security.  Shorter versions appear in the following books: Jacqueline Langwith, ed. 2008.  “Opposing Viewpoints: Renewable … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Biofuels, Biomass, Energy, Peak Biofuels, Soil, Soil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No, we’re not going to make ethanol out of CO2 and stop global warming

Posted on July 26, 2017 by

Preface.  In the article below Robert Rapier debunks the research paper proposing to convert CO2 into ethanol.  The researchers were honest and said “that the process is unlikely to be economically viable.” But the press spun it into a major … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Biomass EROI, Critical Thinking, Far Out, Other Experts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Why studies come up with different Energy Returned on Invest (EROI) results: can it be fixed?

Posted on March 21, 2017 by

[ There are many issues with biofuels beyond their trivial to negative energy return on investment (EROI). In Peak Soil I point out that current industrial farming techniques are destroying topsoil about 15 times faster than pre-fossil fuel economies — … Continue reading →

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Schlesinger predicts investments in 2006 will cause oil glut and denial of peak oil in future

Posted on May 4, 2016 by

Energy Security and Oil Dependence. Two Senate hearings from 2006. In these two 2006 hearings (excerpts below), there is a constant refrain of our dependence on oil,  yet now, many congressional hearings are about our energy independence.  Apparently congress has … Continue reading →

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Distribution – why it is so hard to add E15 or E85 at a gas station

Posted on August 2, 2015 by

[One of the huge hurdles to shifting from oil to “something else” is the chicken-or-egg problem of no one buying a new-fuel vehicle with few places to get it, so few vehicles are made, and service stations don’t add the … Continue reading →

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GAO on why ethanol, and other non-drop in fuels, face pipeline & installation at service station challenges

Posted on April 9, 2015 by

[The challenges that ethanol faces in being put into new or modified pipelines and added to gas stations are issues faced by all alternative fuels (methanol, CNG, LNG, DME, diesohol, CTL, hydrogen, and so on) in a transition from gasoline … Continue reading →

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Large agribusiness gets corporate welfare via illegal ethanol subsidies

Posted on October 22, 2014 by

What more proof is needed that the Energy Returned on Energy Invested of ethanol is negative?  They’re losing money and getting corporate welfare to keep the scam going, meanwhile destroying prime topsoil, poisoning the land with pesticides, and eutrophying the … Continue reading →

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Almost half of Rail Freight is Energy, increasingly Crude Oil

Posted on October 8, 2014 by

Source: American Association of Railroads. 46% of all tonnage hauled by freight trains is Energy: In 2014, crude oil will likely be 650,000 carloads — 2% of all carloads, 2.2% of tonnage.  In addition 2.6% of rail tonnage was refined … Continue reading →

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