Near-term goals for alcohol fuels from biomass: an overview of resource requirements, land use, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts
On January 11, 1980, the President set a target for domestic alcohol fuel production capability of 500 million gallons per year by 1981. Current domestic production capability is about 120 million gallons per year. If the entire amount of 1981 alcohol fuel (all ethanol) was blended to make gasohol, gasohol would account for almost 10 percent of the anticipated 1981 national demand for unleaded gasoline. A 30-percent displacement of gasoline by gasohol before 1986 would require an ethanol production capacity of 3 billion gallons per year, or about 1.2 billion bushels of corn. (About 7.6 billion bushels of corn were produced in the United States in 1979). This report examines the biomass resources needed to meet national alcohol production goals, reviews available technologies for utilizing agricultural products and byproducts, and identifies potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of near-term alcohol production. The analysis places particular emphasis on near-term (1985 to 1986) land resource requirements and impacts, with particular attention to the major corn producing states. In addition, a number of other studies are discussed that deal with the long-term resource requirements of a National Alcohol Fuels Program. The results of this analysis indicates that: (1) The grain availability for ethanol production does not appear to be limiting for these near-term production capacity goals; (2) Conversely, major expansion of acreage planted in corn should not result from these goals; (3) Environmental impacts on and from farm lands should not increase significantly due to the near-term goals; (4) Food prices may increase in the mid-1980s to late 1980s due to the near-term goals, but farmers should benefit overall; and (5) The expansion of alcohol production in the longer term (1986 to 2000 and beyond) will necessitate the use of additional biomass feedstocks and residues.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31-109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 6352667
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/EES-TM-149; ON: DE81029987
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
ALCOHOL FUELS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
LAND REQUIREMENTS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
BIOMASS
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
GASOHOL
USA
AGRICULTURE
AVAILABILITY
ENERGY POLICY
ETHANOL
FORECASTING
LAND USE
MAIZE
MIDWEST REGION
PRODUCTION
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
ALCOHOLS
CEREALS
ENERGY SOURCES
FUELS
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
GRAMINEAE
GRASS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LIQUID FUELS
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SYNTHETIC FUELS
140504* - Solar Energy Conversion- Biomass Production & Conversion- (-1989)
299003 - Energy Planning & Policy- Unconventional Sources & Power Generation- Other- (-1989)
530100 - Environmental-Social Aspects of Energy Technologies- Social & Economic Studies- (-1989)
090222 - Alcohol Fuels- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass- (1976-1989)