Americans have been hearing for years that ethanol is the answer to the country’s dependence on foreign oil.

And with U.S. oil consumption at record highs — more than 142 billion gallons a year — and gasoline prices fluctuating between $3.50 and $4 a gallon, it’s clear Americans need help.

Ethanol has slowly been creeping into the everyday lives of Americans. It’s difficult to go to the pump these days without seeing a sign that reads “contains 10 percent ethanol” or “15 percent ethanol.”

In the years ahead, those numbers will probably climb, in part because of the efforts of men like Richard Truslowe.

Truslowe, managing member of Bloomsburg-based developer LYCO 1, plans to build a facility for the storage and distribution of corn ethanol along Route 11 in Point Township, Northumberland County.

The Legislature included $42 million in the 2007-08 capital budget for the project — the first of its kind in the region and one of a few in Pennsylvania — though state Rep. Merle Phillips, R-108 of Sunbury RR2, called the budget a “wish list” and said money is released for a select few projects every year.

Still, the state and federal government are pumping billions into the ethanol industry, with the ultimate goal of producing 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel nationally by 2022, according to the National Renewable Fuels Standard.

So far, corn ethanol has been the only renewable fuel produced in the United States on a commercial level. But experts say it is not a viable fuel source for Pennsylvania, a state that uses more corn than it grows.

The future is in cellulose.



Cellulosic ethanol production expensive

“I don’t want you to think of (the movie) ‘Back to the Future,’ with the banana peel,” says Carl Shaffer, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, as he tries to explain how virtually any organic material could one day be used as fuel. “Anything that’s growing can be used in the production of cellulosic ethanol.”

Switchgrass, corn stover, even wood chips, can be converted into cellulosic ethanol. The technology exists to make the stuff, just not cheaply enough to make it available to consumers.

“The technology isn’t totally developed for cellulosic ethanol,” Shaffer said. “How are we going to improve that? The technology improvements through the development of corn ethanol. You’ve got to develop the technology so it’s profitable.”

Opinions differ on when cellulosic ethanol will go mainstream.

“Folks have been saying we’re going to have cellulosic ethanol in five years for the last 20 years,” said Bob Young, chief economist with the American Farm Bureau.

Countered Marel Raub, Pennsylvania director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission: “It’s probably just a few years. It’s really hard to say, though.”

The National Renewable Fuels Standard, established in the federal government’s Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, calls for the production of 5.5 billion gallons of next-generation biofuels, like cellulosic ethanol, by 2015, with increases every year after that.

Given enough time and technological advancement, Truslowe hopes to phase in cellulosic ethanol production at the Point Township facility.

“I don’t believe this is a state where making corn ethanol would be locally advantageous,” Raub said. “Corn ethanol is a transitional step to something better, and something better for Pennsylvania is cellulosic ethanol.”

Ground was recently broken on Clearfield County facility that is scheduled to begin production of corn ethanol in 2010. Perhaps more importantly, plans for the second phase of the project include a pilot program for the production of cellulosic ethanol, according to Charlie Young, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.



Environmental, economic concerns

The advantage of cellulosic over corn ethanol go beyond Pennsylvania’s corn deficiency.

According to a report released earlier this year by the Chesapeake Bay Commission, an increase in corn crops for use in ethanol production “could increase the amount of nitrogen runoff ... and degrade water quality in rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay.”

However, cellulosic ethanol can absorb more nitrogen and reduce the erosion of sediment into the local water supply.

While both types of ethanol burn cleaner than conventional oil, cellulosic ethanol is simply more environmentally friendly.

Detractors claim ethanol has substantially driven up the price of corn, reaching $8 a bushel locally at its peak. But according to Shaffer, that’s only half true.

Production of corn ethanol accounts for only about 15 to 20 percent of the increase in corn prices, which have since dropped to around $5.90, Shaffer said. The combination of the rising price of fuel and the increased demand for food in highly populated countries like India and China has created a “perfect storm” that’s driving up food prices worldwide.

“Think about billions of people now eating two meals a day,” Shaffer said. “You’ve just doubled your demand for food worldwide.”

And the claim by some critics that it takes more energy to make ethanol than it produces is also inaccurate, according to some.

Young, the American Farm Bureau economist, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s studies show that for every unit of energy put into making ethanol, 1.7 units are returned.

Charles Sackrey, co-chair of the local Organizations United for the Environment, opposes ethanol — corn or cellulose — because it perpetuates the country’s lifestyle of consumption.

“The United States is 5 percent of the population of the world and we’re consuming 20 percent of the world’s resources, and the rest of the world is increasingly demanding their share,” he said. “So what Americans have to do is learn to live a more simple life. The level of consumption we live in now is not sustainable.”



Part of the solution

Unfortunately for Sackrey, ethanol is here to stay.

In the eyes of many, its pros outweigh its cons: Ethanol creates jobs, it’s better for the environment and it can help cure America of its addiction to foreign oil.

It’s a fledgling industry still working out, as Truslowe puts it, “the “kinks” — such as ethanol being less energy-efficient than gasoline.

According to Young, 1 gallon of ethanol has about two-thirds the energy content of gasoline.

But, he said, a recent study by Merrill Lynch showed gasoline would cost 15 percent more if it weren’t for ethanol blending. That’s about 50 to 60 cents more per gallon. With the average American pumping about 500 gallons of gasoline a year, that’s an extra $250 annually.

“You could look at this as a homeland security issue,” said Shaffer, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau president. “It’s in our best interest to develop domestic sources of energy. ... Ethanol’s not a total answer to that, but it’s a part of it.”

-- E-mail comments to rscott@dailyitem.com. Some of the information in this article was provided by the Energy Information Administration.



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Terms to now

Ethanol: a light, volatile alcohol that can be used for gasoline blending.

Cellulose: a naturally occurring complex carbohydrate polymer commonly found in plant-cell walls.

Cellulosic ethanol: ethanol fuel produced from cellulose. If produced from corn, the result is corn ethanol.

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