Corn Crops Grown for Fuel

Bibliography

“Ethanol.” Natural Resources Canada, Natural Resources Canada, 26 July 2016, www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/alternative-fuels/fuel-facts/ethanol/3493.

“Assessing the Risks of Ethanol.” Www.anses.fr, 5 Oct. 2016, www.anses.fr/en/content/assessing-risks-ethanol.

“Ethanol Blended Gasoline .” Esso Fuels, www.esso.ca/en/ethanol.

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Corn Crops Grown for Fuel

Safety and Performance

-Numerous studies have shown there is virtually no difference in safety standards from gasoline

-Corn and wheat ethanol are known to boost engine performance, but also reduce fuel economy

Availability and Cost

10% Ethanol mixes are available at most service stations in Canada, at prices averaging $3.80/gallon

85% ethanol blends are typically unavailable for single-consumers in Canada, limited to organizations with large vehicle fleets

Applications

-Nearly all cars built since the 1980s can run on a blend of at least 10% ethanol, without any engine modification

-Some newer cars can run on up to 85% ethanol

-Chainsaws, outward motors and many other small engines are capable of running on ethanol-mixed blends

Benefits

Economic, Societal, and Environmental

Societal and Economic

Environmental

Ethanol contributes to regional economic growth and job creation, especially in rural communities.

Canada can capitalize on ethanol fuel because it has the forest resources and cropland needed to support the production of unprocessed ethanol. Canada is the 8th country that has the most area devoted to cropland, with 47,360 square kilometers.

Production of Ethanol through burning of corn crops is renewable because of biomass (attaining the energy through burning organic matter).

Ethanol also burns more cleanly and completely than gasoline or diesel fuel. "Oxygen atoms inside ethanol join forces with oxygen molecules in the air to help ethanol burn more completely."

Ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions because the corn produced absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows. Low-blend ethanol from corn produces about 3 to 4 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline.

It would create new markets for Canadian biomass, agriculture and forestry. It would create construction and operations jobs at ethanol production plants and help strengthen rural economies.

Research and Developments

• The Government of Canada, along with provincial governments, have subsidized research and development programs.

• Research has improved sustainability of corn based ethanol production
• Canada has become world leaders for converting cellulose based feedstock, primarily wood, but also wheat, and forestry waste

• Receiving over 30 million in federal funds for the development.

• Logen Corporation has built the world's first full scale plant converting biomass fibres to ethanol using enzyme technology

• The GOC provided 10million in repayable loans for contrustion of demonstration plant

• Located in Ottawa, it can process up to 25 tonnes of feedstock per week

What is it?

Ethanol is a form of liquid alcohol made of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. Ethanol is obtained from fermenting sugar or starch contained in grains and other agricultural feed stocks.

In Canada, ethanol is usually made from corn and wheat. Ethanol can be produced for different applications, for example, industrial ethanol or fuel grade ethanol.

Research into technology to produce ethanol from non-food sources is advancing rapidly and has allowed corn and wheat based ethanol to be commercialized