Ethanol, myths and realities

dmccarty · May 23, 2006

Cowboydoc,

( The other factor not mentioned is that currently 200 bushel/acre corn is common. There are hybrid/genetic types that are capable of producing 400 bushel/acre with more energy content. )

Do you know how many gallons of ethanal is produced by 200/400 bushels?

Later,
Dan

dmccarty · May 23, 2006

Cowboydoc,

( The other factor not mentioned is that currently 200 bushel/acre corn is common. There are hybrid/genetic types that are capable of producing 400 bushel/acre with more energy content. )

Do you know how many gallons of ethanal is produced by 200/400 bushels?

Later,
Dan

cowboydoc · May 23, 2006

Dan,

Here is an article that dispels the negative balance claims and tells you what you get out of a bushel of corn.

cowboydoc · May 23, 2006

Dan,

Here is an article that dispels the negative balance claims and tells you what you get out of a bushel of corn.

dmccarty · May 23, 2006

Richard,

I did not see a direct answer to how many bushels of corn it takes to make a gallon of Ethanol but reading here and there on the various links I found the following....

A gallon of ethanol has at least 77,000 BTUs. A bushel of cord produces 46,137 BTUs of ethanol.

Soooo, it takes 1.7 bushels of corn to make a gallon of ethanol.

And if the acre produces 200 bushels of corn that is 117.7 gallons per acre.

I would guess that these number are low since I found some of the information in article from 10 years ago.

I know a gallon of ethanol is not a gallon of diesel but I use roughly 1200 gallons of diesel a year. So I need to go plant 10 or 12 acres of corn. Or 5 or 6 if a hybrid. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

dmccarty · May 23, 2006

Richard,

I did not see a direct answer to how many bushels of corn it takes to make a gallon of Ethanol but reading here and there on the various links I found the following....

A gallon of ethanol has at least 77,000 BTUs. A bushel of cord produces 46,137 BTUs of ethanol.

Soooo, it takes 1.7 bushels of corn to make a gallon of ethanol.

And if the acre produces 200 bushels of corn that is 117.7 gallons per acre.

I would guess that these number are low since I found some of the information in article from 10 years ago.

I know a gallon of ethanol is not a gallon of diesel but I use roughly 1200 gallons of diesel a year. So I need to go plant 10 or 12 acres of corn. Or 5 or 6 if a hybrid. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

beenthere · May 23, 2006

""Soooo, it takes 1.7 bushels of corn to make a gallon of ethanol.""

Is this like saying $2/bu corn is equivalent to $3.40/gal for ethanol?

Something doesn't add up here. The farmers are going to want more for the corn, it takes $$ to convert the corn to ethanol, and the ethanol buyers are not going to want to pay over $3/gal. But I may be missing something. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

beenthere · May 23, 2006

""Soooo, it takes 1.7 bushels of corn to make a gallon of ethanol.""

Is this like saying $2/bu corn is equivalent to $3.40/gal for ethanol?

Something doesn't add up here. The farmers are going to want more for the corn, it takes $$ to convert the corn to ethanol, and the ethanol buyers are not going to want to pay over $3/gal. But I may be missing something. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

SkyPup · May 23, 2006

The most efficient way to produce ethyl alcohol in megagallon quantities is not to use any corn at all, just use 100% garbage refuse wastes. Use genitically modified recombinant E.coli with a selected transgene for ethyl alcohol production in the glucose fermentation cycle...... way more bang for your buck!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

SkyPup · May 23, 2006

The most efficient way to produce ethyl alcohol in megagallon quantities is not to use any corn at all, just use 100% garbage refuse wastes. Use genitically modified recombinant E.coli with a selected transgene for ethyl alcohol production in the glucose fermentation cycle...... way more bang for your buck!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif