Re: Oil potpourri-Mistake

Looking up the energy return of sugarcane vs. corn in Odum and Odum
(the only place I was able to find it): A Prosperous Way Down, 2001;
ethanol from corn has a energy return/energy input of 1.10 and from
sugar cane is 1.14 according to Odum and Odum, so sugarcane is
comparable to corn as an energy source in their estimation. The actual
energy return vs energy input is very difficult to nail down for almost
any energy source and subject to all sorts of controversey. In the
estimation of Odum and Odum the 9000 gallons of ethanol per acre would
require about 7900 gallons of input for a gain of 1100 gallons per acre
per year, but you would then have to include any nonenergy costs on top
of that as well.

Numerous people who make estimates similar to those of Odum and Odum
obviously think that energy production from corn and sugarcane is not
efficient and never will be. Politicians giving subsidies to Midwestern
corn farmers either don't understand this, don't know about it, don't
agree with it, or don't care if it gets them votes.

>>> "Al Koop" <koopa@gvsu.edu> 08/24/04 4:14 PM >>>
In the previous message I was remembering numbers from ethanol from corn
rather than from sugar cane. I am not sure what the energy input is for
sugar cane relative to the output, so just consider the conceptual ideas
rather than the numbers for energy returns.

AHK
Received on Tue Aug 24 17:56:37 2004