January 22, 2007. Copright, 2006, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Can corn cure AmericaÕs oil addiction?

London, January 22, Graphic News: President George W. Bush admitted in his 2006 State of the Union address that the United States is Òaddicted to oilÓ. One year later, the administration is calling for a massive increase in the production of corn-based ethanol to curb dependence on foreign petroleum.

AmericaÕs drivers guzzle almost 400 million gallons (1.5 billion litres) of petrol a day, and 60 percent of this is produced from oil imported mostly from countries whose governments are unstable, unsavoury or overtly hostile to the United States: the Middle East, Africa, Venezuela and Russia. This represents a doubling of oil imports over the past two decades.

The Bush plan is to call for over 60 billion gallons (227 billion litres) a year of ethanol to be blended into U.S. petrol by 2030. This would be a massive increase from the 7.5 billion gallons (28.4 billion litres) of ethanol use by 2012 required by current U.S law.

The two most common ethanol-petrol blends in the U.S. are E10, which is 10 percent ethanol mixed with 90 percent petrol, and E85 -- 85 percent ethanol mixed with 15 percent petrol. 

E10 is safe for use in virtually every car on the road today. It has a higher octane rating, lower combustion temperatures and lower exhaust emissions than regular petrol, but price and mileage are typically the same, currently $2 per gallon. As for E85, the higher ethanol percentage means it offers substantially lower exhaust emissions than E10. However, it will not work in all engines. The vehicles that use E85 -- called flexible-fuel vehicles -- must be specifically designed to use it, but will still run on regular petrol. E85 reduces milage by 10 to 30 percent but is generally about 20 cents a gallon cheaper than petrol.

The ethanol boom has been good news for grain farmers and rural communities, where new plants are opening at breakneck pace. America already has 110 ethanol refineries, with 73 more under construction. Once they are finished, capacity should more than double, to 11.4 billion gallons (43 billion litres) a year. 

Supporters note that ethanol production is a no-waste process that adds value to the corn by converting it into more valuable products. Each bushel of corn (56lb, 25kg) produces 2.8 gallons (10.6 litres) of ethanol plus 18.5lb (8.4kg) of carbon dioxide, sold for use to carbonate beverages or in the flash freezing of meat; and 18.5lb (8.4kg) of protein-rich distillersÕ grain and syrup, a highly valued feed ingredient for cattle. In addition, ethanol plants can also use cattle dung as a source of gas to power the fermentation process.

The promotion of ethanol is also encouraging for U.S. automakers, with General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler AGÕs Chrysler Group saying they will double production of flexible-fuel vehicles to two million annually by 2010.

But while the ethanol boom has been good for grain farmers and petroleum blenders -- federal law gives an excise tax exemption of 51 cents per gallon for ethanol blended with petrol -- chicken and pork producers complain of looming disaster. Hogs and poultry canÕt eat distillersÕ grain and the cost of corn has climbed above $3 (2.3 euros, £1.52) a bushel, the highest in more than a decade, and looks set to hit $4 (3.1 euros, £2.00) or even $5 (3.9 euros, £2.50). Food producers warn that this will be reflected in food prices.

Environmentalists are also unhappy, pointing out that a gallon of soybean ethanol generates three times the energy it costs to produce it, while corn-based ethanol makes a pathetic 1.3 times its cost of production. They also criticise the Bush administration for proposing to raise the emissions threshold for corn milling plants that produce ethanol fuel from 100 tonnes to up to 250 tonnes per year of air pollutants before triggering tougher restrictions on production.

But with the ethanol craze in full swing -- and the White House repackaging agricultural handouts as ethanol-promoting energy policy -- good times lie ahead for corn-belt towns, all seen as crucial in the upcoming 2008 presidential elections.
/ENDS