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Chris Leonard
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 1776
Good Answers: 35

Plant fuels are not sustainable

07/06/2005 11:00 AM

Cornell University recently released a discouraging study showing that there is no energy benefit from turning plant biomass into liquid fuel. Simply put, turning plants into fuel uses more energy than the resulting ethanol or biodiesel generates. The report is published in Natural Resources Research (Vol. 14:1, 65-76).

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BRodda
The Feature Creep

Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 990
#1

Benefit

07/06/2005 11:26 AM

The benefit doesn't come from the extra energy, it comes from the ease of use. People are more likely to buy and use a liquid rather than storing and using corn.

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Chris Leonard
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Posts: 1776
Good Answers: 35
#2
In reply to #1

Re:Benefit

07/07/2005 2:30 PM

True, but the study finds that it takes more energy to produce liquid fuel from plant biomass than the manufactured plant fuel can produce - and if the processing energy is generated from fossil fuels, then absolutely nothing is gained. Energy is lost and any environmental benefit is negated as well. It's a wasteful technology.

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BRodda
The Feature Creep

Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 990
#3
In reply to #2

Re:Benefit

07/07/2005 2:42 PM

Point. I'm starting to shed my child of the 80's outlook that anything with the word nuclear in it is bad and look to fusion as the next big hope.(Scary as it might be.)

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