Corn as a Biofuel - Research Paper Example

Bio Fuel Energy is the key to development. Starting from the very nascent stage of human civilization as humanity moved from primary to secondary and secondary to tertiary sector its consumption of energy increased at a gradual but steady rate to an unprecedented level. From historical times apart from woods oil and coal are the two most widely used source of energies. Ironically both are fossil fuel. One of the main problems with fossil fuels is that they are limited in availability. The amount or volume of fossil fuel in earth is constant and as we use them to get the required energy; they will surely be depleting. Courting this scenario an alternative source of energy is in its utmost need. At this background a series of alternative sources of energy such as solar energy, hydro electric energy, and atomic energy all made their entrance on the discussion table. However the most new form of alternative might be the bio fuel that nowadays has gathered much interest of the scientists. Among the bio fuels, Jatropha, Pongamia are some very common names, but the recent emergence of corn as a vital source of bio fuel and there by a source of energy might be nothing short of path breaking. However before moving into details regarding the corn fuel it would be wise to consider some associated points before hand. Crude Oil & USA United States of America is the largest consumer of crude oil and the third largest producer. In statistical terms USA produces around 10% of the global crude oil and consumes 24% of the same. Furthermore in order to keep its existence in export market the country indulges in exporting 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. A careful consideration of this situation clearly indicates a demand supple gap that needs to be filled with import of crude oil. It has been estimated that USA in the year 2007 imported 12MMBD that is in terms of percentage 58% of the total domestic demand (Energy Information Center 2008). Dependency of USA in terms of crude oil on other countries and overseas Among the total import of crude oil the Western Hemisphere constitutes 51% of the total import. Canada, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Nigeria are other oil exporting countries in USA in exact order. The following table depicts the dependence of USA in terms of crude oil import based on 2007 data. Name of the Country Percentage of Crude oil exported to USA Western Hemisphere (North, South, Central America along with parts of USA in Caribbean) 51% Canada 23.3% Venezuela 10.7% Saudi Arabia 10.4% Mexico 9.2% Nigeria 8.3% Source: Energy Information Association, 2008 Rickman, 2009 Alarming news is that this dependency without being reduced over the time is actually increasing and statistics reveals that import of crude oil has actually increased by 0.183 MMBD in August 2008 over the previous month. It should also be kept in mind that countries like Iraq, Brazil, Angola and Kuwait are kept aside of the above table who contributes at substantial level to the USA oil import. (Energy Information Center, n.d.; Energy Information Center 2008) Why should we look at alternative fuels? As mentioned earlier that fossil fuel is limited in availability and it is constantly depleting, at this rate either coal or crude oil can not sustain as the prime form of global energy source beyond 2025 to 2035. Humanity is in search for some alternatives that can be used and re used time and again as a source of energy or at least can be produced at one’s free will. The trade partners of USA in Crude oil and their unfriendly behaviour USA shares a hostile relation apart from Saudi Arabia and partially with Kuwait among al the Middle East countries. Among them Iraq and Iran are USA’s arch enemies. Saudi’s oil reserve is depleting and it can not hold for long its position as an important oil exporting country. Kuwaiti oil wells were set in fire long back during the Iraq-Kuwait war and that had eroded the country of the prime position it used to enjoy as oil enriched country. Again historically Middle East is an area that has been found to be indulged in frequent warfare that in no sense can be considered an environment promoting oil extraction at a good rate or paving a way for suitable trade relations between nations. Venezuela and Brazil are now under communist domination. It is a well known fact that USA has seldom shared a friendly relation with any country under communist domination. If either Venezuela or Brazil or both turns their face against USA dearth of crude oil might pop up. Angola and Nigeria are often indulged in internal or external warfare that hampers oil extraction and a healthy business relation to pursue. (Energy Information Center 2008; Energy Information Center n.d.) Rising price of crude oil and gas Where there is a gap between demand and supply, a price rise must follow suit and it is also true for crude oil. If the price increases for crude oil then that will be same for gas putting pressure on the disposable income of the common people. Not only that, a rise in price of the crude oil and gas also will put USA in a situation of deteriorating terms of trade; dollar will start to loose value and might well be the position of the prime currency of transaction in the world. In such case a cumulative blow towards the USA economy would be hurled in no time. Let us also not forget that rise in price of gas and crude oil is also capable of initiating an inflation spiral that might affect the other parts of the economy and unleash a catastrophe in no time (Energy Information Center 2008). Other alternative fuel sources Apart from corn, solar energy, bio fuels such as Jatropha and Pongamia, Hydroelectricity, and Ethanol can be considered as vital source of alternative fuels. Energy from sun is directly transformed into usable energy through photo electric cells of solar panels. As sun is considered as the prime source of energy hence this kind of energy is taken as sustainable, renewable and an alternative fuel source. Bio fuels such as Jatropha and Pongamia requires base standard land and provides seeds that are full of usable oil as fuel. Extraction of oil from both these seeds is quite easy and does not require any special skill. Hydroelectricity generation is perhaps the most ancient of methods that man has applied in his search for alternative energy. It uses dam to restrict the water at a height and then let the water freely fall upon the turbine to move it and generate electricity (Morgan, 2009). Ethanol produced from corn and many other raw materials and used as a bio fuel is gaining popularity; mostly used as a motor fuel, its consumption has realised a sharp increase. United States of America is the highest producer of Ethanol capturing more than half the percentage of global production (Renewable Fuels Association). Corn as a Biofuel A very small part of the corn plant is used to produce Ethanol. This small part named as corn kernels are taken out and the dried starch part of the kernel us turned into ethanol. Nowadays enzymes and yeast fermentation is also used to turn plant cellulose into ethanol. A more improved method has been resorted in recent times it uses pyrolysis that turns the whole plant into bio oil or syngas. In brief the production of ethanol from corn oil is a stage wise culmination of fermentation, distillation, and dehydration (Bassam, 2009). Pros: First of all it’s a bio fuel thus can be produced according to our need and also renewable. It is believed that it leaves lesser carbon foot print “a recent study by the US Department of Energy, concluding that corn ethanol could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 18% to 28%.” As USA stands first in energy consumption (though recently being surpassed by China), ethanol from corn can meet a vital part of that energy need. (McKenna, 2007) Cons: As share of corn gets directed towards production of ethanol it might put pressure on the availability of corn as food crop. It has been estimated that even if all the corns are used to produce ethanol it will only manage to meet 15% of the energy demand of the USA. A marginal rise in fuel efficiency of the car would meet the same level. Much hyped reduction in carbon foot print that is generally been associated with bio fuels often being claimed as vague by the scientists. Apart from these points the amount of subsidy that this sector enjoys and that helps it to reap profit has also hoisted several questions. (McKenna, 2007) Effects of Switching At the end the analysis of corn as a bio fuel, the most vital point economic viability of the project or of the topic comes in front of the curtain. The switching from fossil fuel to bio fuel would have a two faced impact; one on the home ground that is in USA and the other in the abroad that is in those nations from where USA imports crude oil (Frazzetto, 2003). The impact on USA would be reflected through the lesser volume of import of crude oil and an improvement in terms of trade with the oil exporting nations. If the much said lesser amount of carbon foot print is true for bio fuel then USA will also be bestowed with a greener environment. Global politics nowadays is often influenced by crude oil and USA has been alleged of maintaining a two face while dealing with the atrocities initiated by the oil exporting countries. Surely if the dependency on crude oil lessens, USA will also have an opportunity to raise its voice equally against all the odds irrespective of the nation of origin. On the other hand the oil exporting nations might suffer a blow to their GDP as export will decrease. In past the kind of attitude OPEC managed to display and put the rest of the world into jeopardy will also be eradicated. These nations have to look for other avenues of sustaining their economy other than crude oil exporting. After all they should also realise that eventually when the last drop of crude oil will be expensed nothing more will be left for them to sell to others that might earn them their daily means. References 1. Bassam, N.E. (2010). Handbook of bioenergy crops. Earthscan. 2. Energy Information Administration (2008), How dependent are we on foreign oil?, US Energy Information Administration, 2008, retrieved on May 31, 2011 from: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energy_in_brief/foreign_oil_dependence.cfm 3. Energy Information Association (2008), Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports, US Energy Information Administration, 2008, retrieved on May 31, 2011 from: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html 4. Energy Information Association (n.d.). Trade. US Energy Information Administration. n.d. retrieved on May 31, 2011 from: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/oil_market_basics/trade_text.htm 5. Frazzetto, G. (2003). White biotechnology. EMBO reports 4(9), 835–837, May 31 2011 from: http://www.nature.com/embor/journal/v4/n9/full/embor928.html 6. McKenna, P. (2007). Corn biofuel 'dangerously oversold' as green energy, New Scientist. retrieved on May 31, 2011 from: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12283-corn-biofuel-dangerously-oversold-as-green-energy.html 7. Morgan, S. (2009). Alternative energy sources. New York: Heinemann Library 8. Renewable Fuels Association (2011). Statistics. retrieved on May 31, 2011 from: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pages/statistics#E 9. Rickman, J. (2009). Energy Developments Global Report, Sustainable Virtual Biz, retrieved on May 31, 2011 from: http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://sustainablevirtualbiz.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/oil-reserves-world-map.359103027_std.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sustainablevirtualbiz.com/business_news_blog/all_energy_opportunities_report_2010&usg=__G6d1BQOKt2HQc1BCybLv9fDAO74=&h=307&w=600&sz=141&hl=en&start=4&zoom=1&tbnid=c8efQyVPwWEJqM:&tbnh=69&tbnw=135&ei=0R_lTdfBC8nZrQektOzzBg&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCanada,%2BVenezuela,%2BSaudi%2BArabia,%2BMexico%2Band%2BNigeria%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1 Read More