Scientist: Ethanol the Wrong Path for Lake County, Alternative Fuels

by Marc Chase (The Times/istockanalyst.com) Lake County's public-private plan to transform trash to ethanol would generate an inferior fuel with a questionable future, a former National Science Foundation official and energy adviser to the federal government said.

John Regalbuto, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a former researcher and adviser for the foundation, has cautioned government officials to steer clear of the federal subsidies that have been propping up the ethanol industry.

"Ethanol is dying the death as a biofuel," said Regalbuto, who directed a biofuels program for the science foundation from 2006 to 2009. "The federal funding for ethanol, I'm happy to report, is pretty much dried up."

Other alternative fuels, such as hydrocarbon-based "green gasoline" and biodiesel, which contain more energy than ethanol and thus provide better mileage in petroleum-based engines, now are garnering the attention of federal energy agencies that write subsidies and grant checks, Regalbuto said.

...Regalbuto's position on ethanol contradicts the stance taken by supporters of the future Schneider trash-to-ethanol plant. Those proponents believe transforming the county's solid waste into ethanol will save taxpayers on garbage-processing fees and provide an economic boon to the region. READ MORE