my.chemeurope.com
With an accout for my.chemeurope.com you can always see everything at a glance – and you can configure your own website and individual newsletter.
08-07-2009: At a time when water supplies are scarce in many areas of the United States, scientists in Minnesota are reporting that production of bioethanol — often regarded as the clean-burning energy source of the future — may consume up to three times more water than previously thought.
Sangwon Suh and colleagues point out in the study that annual bioethanol production in the U.S. is currently about 9 billion gallons and note that experts expect it to increase in the near future. The growing demand for bioethanol, particularly corn-based ethanol, has sparked significant concerns among researchers about its impact on water availability. Previous studies estimated that a gallon of corn-based bioethanol requires the use of 263 to 784 gallons of water from the farm to the fuel pump. But these estimates failed to account for widely varied regional irrigation practices, the scientists say.
The scientists made a new estimate of bioethanol's impact on the water supply using detailed irrigation data from 41 states. They found that bioethanol's water requirements can be as high as 861 billion gallons of water from the corn field to the fuel pump in 2007. And a gallon of ethanol may require up to over 2,100 gallons of water from farm to fuel pump, depending on the regional irrigation practice in growing corn. However, a dozen states in the Corn Belt consume less than 100 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol, making them better suited for ethanol production. "The results highlight the need to take regional specifics into account when implementing biofuel mandates," the article notes.
Original publication: "Water Embodied in Bioethanol in the United States"; Environmental Science & Technology 2009.
Contact / Request information
Request further information free of charge:
Watchlist
This is where you can add this news to your personal favourites
New materials remove CO2 from smokestacks, tailpipes and even the air
Scientists are reporting discovery of an improved way to remove carbon dioxide — the major greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming — from smokestacks and other sources, including the atmosphere. Their report on the process, which achieves some of the highest carbon dioxide removal ... more
U.S. Senate unanimously approves resolution designating 2011 the International Year of Chemistry
By unanimous consent, the U.S. Senate adopted a resolution designating 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry (IYC). Senate Resolution 283 “recognizes the achievements made in the field of chemistry and the contributions of those achievements to the well-being of humankind…and provides ... more
What's really in that luscious chocolate aroma?
The mouth-watering aroma of roasted cocoa beans — key ingredient for chocolate — emerges from substances that individually smell like potato chips, cooked meat, peaches, raw beef fat, cooked cabbage, human sweat, earth, cucumber, honey and an improbable palate of other distinctly un-cocoa-l ... more
The effects of hydrogen on growing carbon nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes -- long, hollow cylinders of carbon billionths of a meter in diameter -- have many potential uses in nanotechnology, optics, electronics, and many other fields. The exact properties of nanotubes depend on their structure, and scientists as yet have little control over that ... more
U of Minnesota researchers discover high levels of estrogens in some industrial wastewater
In a groundbreaking study, civil engineering researchers in the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology have discovered that certain industries may be a significant source of plant-based estrogens, called phytoestrogens, in surface water. They also revealed that some of these phyt ... more
Bioethanol's impact on water supply 3 times higher than once thought
At a time when water supplies are scarce in many areas of the United States, scientists in Minnesota are reporting that production of bioethanol — often regarded as the clean-burning energy source of the future — may consume up to three times more water than previously thought. Sangwon Su ... more
About CHEMIE.DE
CHEMIE.DE Information Service GmbH runs specialist scientific internet portals. The secret to our success? We are familiar with what we publish.
Advertising at CHEMIE.DE
Our advertising formats support you in getting your message across to a clearly defined target audience.
© 1997-2011 CHEMIE.DE Information Service GmbH, All rights reserved
