March 5, 2008

 

US ethanol to come mainly from corn in 2015

 

 

US ethanol will still come from corn in 2015 despite efforts to shift to alternatives like switchgrass, as the latter needs more research and development, agriculture equipment maker, Deere & Co., said Friday.

 

Don Borgman, Deere's director of agriculture industry, said that although cellulose has some promise, there is a lot left to discover and invent.

 

Ethanol is made primarily from corn in the US, and is added to gasoline in blends up to 10 percent.

 

However, companies are researching for alternative sources as fuel consumption is posting a threat to food supply worldwide.

 

Presently, there is no commercial production of ethanol from cellulose in the US. Cellulose refers to woody plant materials such as grass and agricultural waste.

 

Borgman said that capital costs for building an ethanol plant that uses cellulosic material is about four to five times that of an ethanol plant that runs on corn.

 

Furthermore, the industry is still deciding whether enzymes or thermochemical processes are the best way of turning material such as corn stalks and switch grass into alternative fuel.

 

Iowa State University estimated it would cost US$110 per tonne to grow, store and transport switchgrass to an ethanol plant based on each acre of land yielding 6 tonnes of material.

 

Feedstock would represent US$1.50 per gallon of ethanol, Borgman said.

 

Corn would have to cost US$6.60 per bushel for a starch feedstock to cost US$1.50 per gallon of ethanol.

 

According to the Renewable Fuels Association, US ethanol production capacity has already topped 8 billion gallons a year and is forecast to rise to 9 billion gallons by the end of this year.