It's Not about Subtraction, It's about Addition
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Is grain ethanol chemically the same as cellulosic ethanol? The short answer is, “yes.” …
“Chemically, there is no difference between grain and cellulosic ethanol,” she (Sabrina Trupia, assistant director of biological research, National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center) said. “Ethanol can be made a variety of different ways that do not necessarily involve biomass, but in every case the end molecule is identical. The only difference is the feedstock and the efficiency of the process used to produce the ethanol.”
The commenter was also right on the ratios of water being different. “The only difference between beverage ethanol and fuel ethanol is that fuel ethanol is 100 percent ethanol, also known as 200 proof,” she said. “Most distilled beverages for human consumption are 50 percent or less. The ethanol molecule is always the same molecule; only the ratio of ethanol to water varies. Fuel ethanol, by law, must have very little water (less than 1 percent) by ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials) standards.”
Another variable for fuel ethanol vs. alcohol to drink is that producers of the latter must adhere to food grade standards. “However, once ethanol is distilled and is pure, the only variable is the quality of the water,” she said.
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Does it mean something different, to the consumer, purchasing the product, however? Yes, to some, it does. I suggested last week that some would purchase Tide containing cellulosic ethanol because they like the idea of using a product produced using agricultural waste, a sustainable resource.
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The equation isn’t about getting rid of corn-ethanol plants, it’s about adding more cellulosic ethanol facilities so we can produce more ethanol and consume less petroleum-based products. When the politicians of the world get that, we will finally have, in our reach, energy security and the ability to positively impact the environment. READ MORE
