Ethanol From Waste

By this point I am sure that almost everyone reading this has heard about ethanol fuel and how it is supposed to help replace fossil fuels along with a slew of other products.  Currently, however, most ethanol that is produced uses corn or some other food source as its main ingredient.  The use of a food source to create a fuel has many critics complaining that it is taking away vital food from people and animals in a time when food prices are rising and the world's population is growing.  So what to do about ethanol production?  Well, there are a number of enterprising companies out there, one of which has been producing small amounts of ethanol daily from corn waste, otherwise known as stover.  The waste that is used is all the stalks, husks, and cobs that are left over from the harvesting of the corn.  By using the waste to create ethanol, food sources are saved for consumption by people and animals, and fuel is still produced for use in either cars, trucks, or farm equipment.  The best news about this new technology is that the U.S. government is investing in it, providing loans to bring smaller plants up to speed by building commercially viable production plants that can produce up to 700 gallons of ethanol daily.  If these companies are capable of producing large amounts of ethanol using waste and ensuring that the energy consumption required to make the ethanol does not exceed the energy that the ethanol can itself produce, then we will be taking a giant step away from our dependence on fossil fuels.  Companies are planning to use more than just the waste from corn to produce ethanol, however, which in itself shows how far technology has come in the area of producing fuel from waste. 

While not as mature as say the solar or wind power industry, these companies are quickly making improvements to their production techniques and ensuring that everything runs efficiently.  Some of the other plans in place, are in my mind, more exciting than using corn waste to produce fuel.  Two of the most innovative plans are in Alabama and Nevada.  In Alabama, a company has plans to build a plant that will process household waste and other items to produce ethanol and in Nevada, a California company has plans to build a plant that will process municipal waste and convert it into ethanol.  The process to me is complicated so I will not delve into the specifics of it, but just to see that we are finally finding a use for all the trash that we produce is incredible.  For decades, all the waste that we produce has either ended up in landfills or being selectively burned to eliminate it.  Both options are not necessarily environmentally friendly and to finally have a use for our trash is a huge step forward.  Landfills, for the most part, simply hide the trash instead of putting it to good use, although there is a method for harnessing the methane produced from massive landfills and their decomposing trash heap.  If these plants that are being planned to convert waste into fuel actually function up to speed and produce large amounts of fuel, we will finally take a leap ahead in terms of being the green leader.  However, more than just a few plants will be needed to provide enough fuel for our voracious appetite. 

It is good to see that our government is not just wasting money on foreign wars, but is also looking to the future and investing in technology that will help out our children and our children's children.  If the U.S. government can find it within itself to focus even more of its resources on green technology, then maybe we can find our way out of this recession by creating more sustainable, long-lasting jobs.  If we want energy independence, investment now is what is needed.  If we don't dedicate more of our resources now to new technology and job creation, then we will be a step behind.  For all the garbage news that is circulated daily throughout the world about political scandals, long lasting foreign wars, and wasted money, there is some good news to be found.   If only we could find a way to recycle all of our garbage politicians, maybe the world would indeed be a better place.  But for now, corn waste will do along with other forms being converted to fuel.  All that is needed is to speed along the process of production and share that technology with the developing world so that it is not just the developed countries that are reducing their carbon footprint, but also the developing nations whose appetite for fossil fuels is coming close to exceeding the United States' own appetite.  Maybe one day we will finally solve our pollution problem.  It will be a slow process, but I am confident that given enough time, investment, and human ingenuity, we can get there and create a cleaner environment for everyone.