Diverzifikovaný prístup US k dosiahnutiu energetickej nezávislosti

Jeden z pohľadov na dosiahnutie energetickej nezávislosti v budúcnosti v USA.  Jadrová energia na prvom mieste.


Very little corn is consumed directly by humans. Most of it is consumed by cattle - not poultry and pork. The ethanol can be extracted and the Wet Distiller's Grains can be fed to cattle. When an ethanol plant is located in the middle of corn country to minimize transportation costs right next to a feedlot right next to a packer and manure is burned to co-generate steam and electricity for the ethanol plant, and the excess electricity is sold into the grid, gasoline can not compete even though ethanol has 30% less energy content.


Ethanol from sugar cane is more efficient because you don't have to enzyme convert the starch to sugar as you do with corn. You burn the waste (bagasse) to generate the steam and electricity requirements of the ethanol plant. You use varieties of sugarcane which can fix their own nitrogen from the atmosphere via gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus bacteria in the rootzone...


This eliminates the need for natural gas derived nitrogen fertilizers. This can be done right now. In the future, as the necessary enzymes are developed, cellulosic ethanol from the entire sugarcane plant, corn, milo, wheat stover can make a significant contribution. All of the 36 million acres in the Conservation Reserve Program can grow switchgrass without impacting current crops at all!


Soydiesel from soybeans which fix their own nitrogen from the atmosphere and do not require natural gas derived nitrogen fertilizers are already making a contribution to low sulfur diesel. Plus soydiesel has good lubricity vs injectors...


Ethanol was never meant to be the TOTAL solution to U.S. energy independence. It initially was meant to replace MTBE which was contaminating  ground water. E10 and even E20 is easily achievable. Throw in hundreds of thousands of flex fuel vehicles which are available now burning E-85, and ethanol contributes significantly to U.S. energy independence. We simply must achieve energy independence through a diversified approach:

  1. Nuclear
  2. Clean Coal
  3. Increased U.S. drilling in Alaska and the Left Coast
  4. Canadian Tar Sands
  5. U.S. Oil Shale
  6. Wind
  7. Solar
  8. Geothermal
  9. Hydro-electric
  10. Ethanol
  11. Soydiesel
  12. Hydrogen from electrolysis of seawater with electricity from nuclear power plants


Source: U-Invest

07.02.2007