Ethanol

An Answer or a
Green Pipe Dream
 Introduction
• Biofuel is derived from
recently living organisms or
by-products.
• Ethanol (best known) comes
from the residues of
specially-grown crops (sugar
cane, sugar beet, oilseed rape
or maize).
Important - Biofuels
• Biofuels have one
enormous,
overwhelming plus-
point, which is that -
in theory - they are
carbon-neutral.
 Fossil Fuel – CO2
• When the fossil fuels are burned,
they add carbon dioxide to the net
amount of atmospheric. The carbon
they release is new to the
atmosphere, because it has been
buried beneath the earth.
 Biofuels – CO2
• On the other hand, when
biofuels are burned, they
are only releasing the CO2
which was absorbed from
the atmosphere by the
crops used to produce
them as they grew.
 Main Advantage
• It was there already - so there
is no net increase.
• Biofuels are therefore classed
as a renewable energy source,
along with wind, wave and
solar power.
 Ethanol – Answer?
• Its application have an
immediate impact on
road transport sector
(main responsible for
the growing
greenhouse effect).
 Ethanol – Brazil
• It is already being widely used
as a motor vehicle fuel in Brazil.
• Brazil is the world's biggest
producer (16 billion litres of the
stuff annually).
 Ethanol – Brazil
• It is up to 55% cheaper than
conventional petrol.
• And "flex-fuel" vehicles can run
on either fuel. (2/3 of Brazilian
car market).
Ethanol - Advantages
• They are carbon neutral
and so do not add to net
emissions of
greenhouse gases and
can lessen the demand
for fossil fuels.
Ethanol – Drawbacks
• The key point is this: to
make a real difference at
the margin of CO2
emissions, vast amounts
of new cropland would
be necessary.
Ethanol – Drawbacks
• The biofuel market
might become so big
that this demand
would be a powerful
driver of rainforest
destruction.
Ethanol – Drawbacks
• Are we going to reduce
CO2 emissions by
wrecking somebody
else's rainforest?
Lico Reis Consultoria
& Línguas
Prof. Roberto Lico Reis
www.licoreis.com
licoreis@licoreis.com

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