Anthony Watts:
From the “we told you so back in 2010″ department and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Study casts doubt on climate benefit of biofuels from corn residue
The fuel could generate more greenhouse gases than gasoline
Lincoln, Neb., April 20, 2014 — Using corn crop residue to make ethanol and other biofuels reduces soil carbon and can generate more greenhouse gases than gasoline, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Climate Change.
The findings by a University of Nebraska-Lincoln team of researchers cast doubt on whether corn residue can be used to meet federal mandates to ramp up ethanol production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Corn stover — the stalks, leaves and cobs in cornfields after harvest — has been considered a ready resource for cellulosic ethanol production. The U.S. Department of Energy has provided more than $1 billion in federal funds to support research to develop cellulosic biofuels, including ethanol made from corn stover. While the cellulosic biofuel production process has yet to be extensively commercialized, several private companies are developing specialized biorefineries capable of converting tough corn fibers into fuel.
The researchers, led by assistant professor Adam Liska, used a supercomputer model at UNL’s Holland Computing Center to estimate the effect of residue removal on 128 million acres across 12 Corn Belt states. The team found that removing crop residue from cornfields generates an additional 50 to 70 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule of biofuel energy produced (a joule is a measure of energy and is roughly equivalent to 1 BTU). Total annual production emissions, averaged over five years, would equal about 100 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule — which is 7 percent greater than gasoline emissions and 62 grams above the 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as required by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act.
Importantly, they found the rate of carbon emissions is constant whether a small amount of stover is removed or nearly all of it is stripped.
![Corn+Gas+Tank[1]](http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/corngastank1.jpg)
Something else that needs to be factored into the equation is the fact that the states that produce biofuels, subsidizes those industries with millions of dollars each year.
Here’s the understatement of the year:
You know why?
It is SO expensive to do.
There is No Economy of Scale with it either.
Making more of it is simply more pricy.
Removal of all or some of the corn fodder will remove nutrients that would otherwise return to the soil and be available to future crops. When corn fodder is removed, it is important to determine the amount and value of nutrients removed from the field.
Very little nutrients leaves the field when cattle are grazed on the stover. Cattle will only consume 20 – 25% of the stover available and 98%+ of the Nitrogen Potassium Phosphate consumed will be excreted back onto the field.
There average 140 bushels of corn stover per acre.
If a farmer shreds it and uses it on his field for next years’ fertilizer he saves $2,330. per acre.
That’s a lot and a real good use for leftover corn.
If the corn stover is left in the field and eaten then pooped back out by cattle the fertilizer cost saved is still $1,400 per acre….and his cattle have eaten.
BUT if the farmer sells the stover for biofuel he must fertilize and feed cattle out of his ”profits.”
It is $67.00 a ton…..not a bushel…. a ton!
There must be some magical subsidies somewhere that taxpayers are paying for.
@Nanny G: #3
I’m sure all states subsidize alternate forms of energy production or they would be too expensive to operate on their own. Iowa gives millions of dollars to its biofuel companies. The farmers like it, because it has raised the price of corn a lot. Everyone who eats or uses products produced with corn saw prices go up, so the CONSUMERS aren’t happy, because they are paying for something that is costing them more. The typical liberal attitude.
This reminds me of the time, when activists demanded that restaurants stopped preparing food with saturated fats and forced all of them to start using trans fats instead….