Bioethanol And Some Economic Implications
Friday, January 27th, 2012Ethanol is made by the fermentation of sugar and is a product that has been around for a very long time. It is used as a recreational drink but there are many other uses for this colorless, flammable liquid. It is used for heating and lighting. The most dramatic uses for which it is increasingly in demand is as fuel that can supplement or replace petrol.
Various crops such as corn, timber, sugar cane and even grass can be used to produce ethanol through a process of fermentation. In each case the economics of production will be different since input costs will vary.
When biofuels are used instead of fossil fuels carbon emissions are significantly reduced. Since carbon emissions are regarded as a serious source of the pollution that leads to global warming it follows that the planet will benefit substantially from the use of ethanol instead of oil as fuel. However, the motor industry seems very slow to switch over even though ethanol was commonly added to petrol in the 1950s.
In the process of biofuel production crops must be planted, grown and harvested. In the case of fossil fuels these steps took place eons ago. The fuels exist as non-renewable resources that simply have to be extracted from underground or undersea deposits. The economics of harvesting the sun’s energy are very different in each case. Even though the use of biofuels might be economically sustainable in the long term, the short term economic benefits of fossil fuels are undeniable.
The shape of the industrial world has been determined by this reality. It is a misshapen world with huge excesses of wealth bulging in desert areas above oil lakes and poverty in areas where hard work, stable government and endeavor do not count sufficiently. A shift from fossil to biofuels is underway but progress is slow due to market forces.
Currently there is an anomalous discrepancy between the need to use biofuels and the practical capacity to so do. There are too many cars and not enough production capacity to supply the biofuels that would be needed to fuel them with ethanol. This means that the oil industry has won, even if the victory must be short lived as non-renewable resources diminish.
The shift to ethanol and similar products is probably inevitable, but the process seem to be unnecessarily tortuous. The huge human population constantly stimulates the demand for cars and oil so that the oil industry is stimulated despite tacit admissions that the party cannot go on for ever. Meanwhile the production of biofuels is impeded by the fact that alternative energy is available at manageable prices. All these factors combine to make the transition process very laborious.
More and more individuals are wanting to know more about Ethanol for different reasons. One reason is because bio ethanol can run new cars.