ethanol... (1 Viewer)

[paper cup]

In my teacher's notes and the text for ethanol they seem to have a favourable outlook on the use of ethanol as a an alternative fuel. In one of the success one question answers it says that the Brazil experiment failed and it was later abandoned. This seems rather contradictory I was wondering which I should go with in the advent of an exam q. Page 21 of the book, for q 44 of POM.
Oh and the calculations are to be to 3 sig figs - right?

 

[Captain Gh3y]

The failed brazil experiment is proof that if you attempt to grow large amounts of crops for the specific purpose of making ethanol to use as your main fuel, the economy doesn't like it. While if you use it on a small scale like we do here it's effective.

It's easier to argue against it because of the fact it doesn't save any greenhouse gases after all the energy used for fermentation/harvesting... etc. and creates problems with erosion, deforestation, and fermentation leftovers.

Why am I posting this?

 

[Slidey]

Ethanol is favourable when you have large amounts of biomass waste. For example, in QLD the waste product of sugar cane is molasses and it is relatively cheap to convert these to ethanol.

But it should be noted that the ethanol is a secondary biproduct of the sugar cane industry.

 

[Abtari]

well, arguing for or against it would be a matter of what the question asks, as there are both advantages and disadvantages of the wide use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.

as u said, there are instances where the move to ethanol as a complete fuel on its own has been disastraus, such as in Brazil a couple of decades ago. But there have also been many cases, where as slide rule says, effective methods of production and use have been implemented. so, it all depends on whether the question says, list three advantages, or list three disadvantages, or says evaluate the current success rate, or assess the use of ethanol as an... or whatever. it's not all good stuff - there's lots of baddies about ethanol too!

 

[Dreamerish*~]

Note that Brazil didn't fail. A large number of their cars still run on ethanol today.

 

[serge]

Note that Brazil didn't fail. A large number of their cars still run on ethanol today.

yeh, thats what i had heard as well, Brazil's experiment
relies on ethanol being subsidised, otherwise its too expensive