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Comments     Threshold


By DocScience on 9/26/2013 1:55:56 PM , Rating: 2
Oil refineries use oil and gas for energy.
But not one ethanol refinery uses ethanol for energy.

If ethanol is so cheap, cheaper than oil, why don't they use ethanol to produce the energy for distillation?

RE: paradox
By The Von Matrices on 9/26/2013 6:17:35 PM , Rating: 2
Oil refineries use undesirable, low-value byproducts (e.g. coke) for their energy requirements. But there are no low-value, undesirable byproducts from ethanol production. There's no reason you shouldn't use a cheaper fuel source for your plant when you can.

If you want to argue as to why they produce ethanol using natural gas as a heat source, you should consider that making ethanol is a way of converting energy between forms. You can't use natural gas in a conventional car, so you might as well use it to produce a product that can be used in a conventional car. Granted, GTL exists, but as of right now GTL is more expensive than ethanol production.

RE: paradox
By rountad on 9/26/2013 6:26:06 PM , Rating: 2
So, the CNG-fueled vehicles I see around here are just figments of my imagination?

RE: paradox
By The Von Matrices on 9/26/2013 6:28:40 PM , Rating: 2
As I said, conventional cars. It's great to replace the fleet with alternative fueled vehicles, but that doesn't happen quickly. Until then, you need substitute fuels for the older vehicles.

