Dependence on Oil: Is it to Become Dependence on Corn? Less than a year ago, many people thought that ethanol as an alternative fuel source was a brilliant idea, including myself. It was thought that ethanol mixed with gasoline would greatly help the environment and cut down on gasoline prices. However, through my research I have found that ethanol is a poor choice of alternative fuel because it is not cost effective, it is not as good for the environment as first thought, and it is not readily available.
Ethanol is actually grain alcohol and to convert it into fuel you have to use a relatively known procedure called fermentation. It has been around a long time, but no one has ever thought to use it as gasoline, mainly because ethanol contains forty percent less energy than gasoline in a given volume. Many scientists call the beginning of research on ethanol made from the corn crops “first generation” fuels. In my research I found that many scientists also support the research of “second generation” fuels. A second generation fuel is one made out of non-food crops, such as fibrous plant material, and is able to be more efficient than ethanol. One of the major second generation fuels that researchers are looking at is cellulosic fuels. Ethanol is extracted from cellulosic material through three major steps. First, “a thermochemical pretreatment process to open up the structure so it is accessible to enzymes” is used. Then, using special enzymes, the researchers hydrolyze the material into simple sugars. Finally, the researchers ferment the simple sugars to form ethanol (or ethyl alcohol). It is important to see how ethanol is created to understand how much quantity will be available and to analyze how cost efficient it is.
Many people today still think ethanol is a good choice for alternative fuels. While these people have many strong points, I still have to disagree with them. For example, there is some evidence that ethanol reduces emissions of carbon...