Transcript Ethanol Presentation Eco5800_Bullard

Ethanol: A good
replacement for
Gasoline?
By: Christopher Joyce
Jan. 2006
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5173420
Ethanol
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With gas prices skyrocketing lately, many
corporations are doing research for alternative
fuels.
About 1 in 40 cars in the US can run on a mix of
ethanol called E85 which is 85% ethanol and 15%
gasoline.
Ethanol is an alcohol made from distilling the
sugars in crops – primarily corn in the U.S.
Why Ethanol?
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Ethanol is being marketed as an alternative
fuel due to the high prices and limited
supply of oil whereas there is a
hypothetically limitless supply of ethanol.
The US also would like to reduce its
dependence on foreign oil.
Ethanol greatly reduces CO (Carbon
Monoxide) emissions.
The Debate
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Critics say that there is more energy used in
producing ethanol than is gained from it.
Even if all of the U.S.’s current corn supply was
recruited for making ethanol, that would only
produce less than 10% of the amount necessary
for our transportation needs.
The environmental consequences of ramping up
pesticides to produce large-scale biofuel crops
also must be considered.
Analysis
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The demand for
ethanol as a
replacement will
decrease the
demand for
gasoline, causing
gas prices to
drop.
Price
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Quantity