Re: Grass Makes Better Ethanol than Corn Does

In article <oqalo3dnbk7kp748fjansl6l51qpiv8aq0@xxxxxxx>, bbrock@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
says...

On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:45:51 -0600, none@xxxxxxx (Dersu Uzala) wrote:

In article <s9sio3hghsj4k7g2jcbc9u2mdnpd0juejk@xxxxxxx>,
bbrock@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
says...

<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=grass-makes-better-ethanol-than-corn>

Farmers in Nebraska and the Dakotas brought the U.S. closer to
becoming a biofuel economy, planting huge tracts of land for the first
time with switchgrass?a native North American perennial grass (Panicum
virgatum) that often grows on the borders of cropland naturally?and
proving that it can deliver more than five times more energy than it
takes to grow it.


Like the Gnomes of South Park, they are missing "phase two". Cellulose to
alcohol hasen't been done effectively, yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underpants_Gnomes#The_Gnomes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXZardWyiOo

You didn't read the article that I posted did you? I guess the DOE
didn't read wikipedia huh?

*** you. I read it. I think I read it better than you.

from the article YOU cited:
"It's a prediction because right now there are no biorefineries built that
handle cellulosic material" like that which switchgrass provides, Vogel
notes."

"a prediction"
----------------------
from other sources:
GM eyes breakthrough in cellulosic ethanol
Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:34pm EST
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Sunday it has bought a stake
in start-up biofuel company Coskata Inc. which has developed a commercially
viable process to bring cellulose-based ethanol to the market in 2011."

"Breakthrough".It is 2008 today. Hopefuly, in three years, it will work.
--------------------------
Scientists pursuing cellulosic ethanol: DOE
Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:01pm EST "...The key to making cellulosic ethanol work is
finding tiny enzymes that can break feed stocks like orange rinds and solid
waste down into fuel...."

note use of word "finding". I know they have them now, but they aren't being
used commercially for fuel production.
------------------------------


POET sees corn waste as ethanol feedstock
Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:10pm EST By Timothy Gardner
NEW YORK (Reuters)
....Cellulosic is a next-generation ethanol that uses microbes and other
techniques to make fuel from the woody bits -- or cellulose -- of nonfood
crops such as switchgrass and poplar trees. The fuel, which is not yet made
commercially..."

"Not made comercially","next-generation", get my drift yet?
-------------------------------


Amber Waves of Gas?: Gasoline Alternative May Be Found in Prairie Grass
Diverse grassland species could become a "carbon-negative" source of bioenergy
By Nikhil Swaminathan
News - December 7, 2006 Scientific American
"Bruce Dale, a biomass conservation researcher at Michigan State University,
believes that although Tilman "provides an interesting perspective on the use
of degraded lands," he makes a critical "apples-to-oranges comparison":
pitting the production of ethanol from corn, an actual working industry, to
ethanol production from grasses--currently hypothetical, due to economic
constraints"
-----------------

So, what is your beef with me writing "Cellulose to alcohol hasen't been done
effectively, yet."? Why would you insult me by claiming I didn't read the
article you cited? That very article says that there are "no biorefineries
built that handle cellulosic material". I think that using your own source I
can say that cellulose to alcohol hasn't been done effectively.

Also, the wikipedia article I cited is about an episode of a popular cartoon
series, in which Gnomes are discussing the surreptitious theft and collection
of underwear, in an attempt to make a profit. I doubt the DOE should be
reading that wikipedia article. Perhaps you neglected to read it,since the
article has nothing to do with the DOE, cellulose, ethanol, methanol, etc.
Isn't it ironic that I actually read the article you cited, and you didn't
read the article I cited, but you complain that I'm the one not reading the
cited articles.

.