Summary: The Benefits Of Ethanol

Improved Essays
If you live in Iowa there is a large chance that you have heard of the fuel source, Ethanol. Whether you support the idea or not, it’s at nearly every gas station across the state. Ethanol burns cleaner emissions, lowers gas prices, and is a renewable source of energy. But some think it’s not worth creating Ethanol because it raises food prices, it requires too much energy to create than what is being yielded, and there are better ways to save oil. The truth is, these are partially true, but they still aren’t enough to stop Ethanol production. America should continue to produce Ethanol because until we find a greater alternative to oil, corn can still save people money.
Ethanol is the byproduct of starchy plants, such as corn or sugarcane. In order to create Ethanol, corn must be ground up into a powder or flour form, then added to water to create what is called a mash. This mash is then heated up with enzymes and yeast to create a low percentage or proof of ethanol, once the CO₂ is removed, the ethanol is then vaporized
…show more content…
What many don’t actually know is that ethanol doesn’t have to be made from corn, but with cellulose, found in wood chips and more. Corn is just the most common way because nothing goes to waste. The myth that the net amount of energy required to make ethanol is more than ethanol can create was proven false in the 90’s proving that ethanol is a viable energy source. For all the tree huggers, ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, emitting less carbon into the environment, causing less damage to the world. Ethanol boosts the economy in America, giving jobs to plant workers and keeping the money in the U.S.. With ethanol comes less reliability on foreign oil, not giving other countries leverage. In the end ethanol, is a phenomenal alternative for gas, but it won’t work forever, it just gives another source of fuel while better options are being

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Humans have a natural tendency to prefer perfection and to judge by looks. If one tomato looks more red and round than another, that’s the one that will be selected at the supermarket. However, in this case, judging by good looks instead of quality is to the buyer’s disadvantage. Much of the food in America has been genetically modified to look and feel perfect, yet there are many risks that come along with it. While they may look pretty, genetically modified organisms carry major health risks, have harsh impact on the environment, and have significant impact in the production of corn which is one of America’s unhealthiest crops.…

    • 1930 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is sad to think that 93% of crops grown in the U.S are genetically modified and our government cares more about a profit than its peoples health. GMOs must be stopped. The government is using GMOs to get a better yield out of their crops and to help fight against pesticides. But when fighting against pests they have to genetically modify our food so they can spray it down with a whole bunch of pesticides and in the end you are eating what was drenched in pesticides. Humans and animals are consuming GMOs and GMOs could be harmful to our health.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethanol Research Paper

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Known as the human species oldest recreational drug, Ethanol is a colorless, flammable liquid, with a distinct smell, and burns with a blue flame. It has the chemical formula of CH3CH2OH (it's molecular formula) or C2H6O (it's empirical formula), that can also be abbreviated using chemistry notation as EtOH. It has a melting point at -173.2°F , and a boiling point at 173.1°F. Ethanol has many handy uses around the world, in many different places.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    But some others are against corn ethanol because they think it only harms and releases gases into the environment. The U.S. government provides a small amount of money to mix corn ethanol with petroleum refiners. To prevent american ethanol…

    • 135 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the face of a multitude of examples, it is arguably naive to deny that cheap fossil fuels would improve lives. For one, by 2050, the world will have a projected population of 9.6 billion with majority living in cities, requiring large amounts of power and other necessities for living. With almost 1 trillion tons of global proven reserves, coal is the only fuel that can meet such demand at scale. Without coal, humanity's progress might screech to a halt, and potentially take a step backwards, affecting our daily…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Just before the times of the great Americans, the United States was founded by the Native Americans. In a matter of years, the Natives had their power taken away from them by many different groups from other lands such as the British and the French. During these times of European rule, the Natives had many hardships to overcome, such as religion, freedom, and maybe the most negative of them all, the dependency they had towards the Europeans. Since the Europeans came to America wealthy and wanting land, they had to make agreements with the Natives who lived there. One of the biggest trades the Europeans and Natives made for land was alcohol.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gas prices in the United States are one of the most important things that affect how we as a people live. From daily transportation, all the way to peoples careers and vacations, the price of gas has been instrumentally important to American life, especially in the last 65 years or so. At first, prices were low and everyone used as much gas as needed. Steadily, prices increased and sometimes got so high people were unable to get as much as they needed to due to how expensive it was to obtain. Although there are alternatives to gasoline, it is and will remain to be the primary fuel our society uses for quite some time because of its ease of access and convenience as compared to the alternatives forms of energy.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Michael Pollen’s lecture on food inequality offered much insight on food and food processing. One of the many insightful aspects of his lecture was how much corn goes into our diets. From soda to fries to cereal to meat. Corn, along with soy, is one of the most widely consumed food resources in America. During his lecture, I began to think whether or not this was beneficial or detrimental to the American people.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After evaluating both the environmental impacts of the Keystone XL Pipeline as well as the economic benefits it would ensure, our group opposes its completion. As previously mentioned, although the pipeline would allow Canada to achieve economic success and provide energy security for the United States, these benefits do not outweigh the costs. According to Dr. Jerald L. Schnoor, a distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Iowa, the EPA has been developing new regulations to promote fuel efficiency that would save people thousands of dollars in fuel costs, which would decrease the demand for oil (Schnoor, 3943). Rather than focusing on the potential economic success of the pipeline, we should assess…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The second problem with food production is that there are too many processed foods and corn products that cause harm to our health. In the article, “When a Crop Becomes King,” this issue is thoroughly discussed. The author of the mentioned article, Michael Pollan, states, “Our entire food supply has undergone a process of ‘cornification’... in the US most of the corn we consume is invisible, having been heavily processed or passed through food animals before it reaches us” (Pollan). The majority of the food items Americans consume contain corn or corn products, and it has gotten to the point where we eat corn without even realizing it. Corn is so widely demanded by food companies, that it completely took over; it is used more than any other…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The American Government contributes to the obesity epidemic by supporting unhealthy eating habits in order to make a profit the federal food administration supports factory farming, big pharmacies, politicians and subsidy program. Have you wondered why less healthy food is inexpensive compared to healthy food?When you go into a grocery store and compare the price of a large bag of Doritos and a bag of grapes. There is a big gap in the food industry filled with these genetically engineered snacks. These cheap convenient snacks are targeted at lower economic levels, they are forced to reconcile since their financial restrictions force them to do so. Obesity is peaking in america and we don't have anyone to blame but ourselves.…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Coma Indians Pros And Cons

    • 2125 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In recent decades, high blood sugar and obesity rates dramatically increased in the United States compared to other parts of the world. The increased rate of these health problems will severely limit American vitality and way of life. In 2002, President Bush signed a $190 billion bill that would make tax payers to pay farmers an accumulated 4 million dollars a year to grow more corn. Accompanying the bill, Congress also decided to subsidize bushels of corn so American production of corn remains stable. Prior to the subsidy of corn, the United States amassed a large supply of corn due to overproduction as evident by the failure of prohibition in the 1920s as well as the creation of corn sweeteners.…

    • 2125 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Farming Boom In America

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages

    When living in a rural, farming community, it is easy to see the prominent signs of the agricultural overbuilding due to the last era of prosperity. There are still many farmers enjoying their luxurious equipment purchased from 2005 to 2013, a period commonly known as the farming boom (“US Farmers Respond to Changing Crop Demands”). During this phase, many aspired to have their share of the windfall profits associated with growing corn and soybeans. Consequently, the previously depleted grain supply exceeded the end users’ demand. Ultimately, the farming boom adversely affected established farmers.…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ethanol: Good Or Bad?

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The steam is then collected and funneled into cooled pipes and turned back into a liquid. This ethanol is more potent and more ecofriendly because it saves corn from being used as a fuel source and can continue to be used as a source of…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In now a day’s the global demand for the fossil fuels are rapidly increasing due to the high prices remains same in the gasoline. These all increase the concerns about the climate changes and alternatively increase in the oil based industry to prepare for the alternate biofuels. As we know the biofuels are the potential revenue source and we can control the climate change, weather conditions by using the replacement of gasoline in motor vehicles. Now people are using the corn based ethanol as the replacement of gasoline in some states in U.S. CORN BASED ETHANOL…

    • 2885 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics