Startup Says It Can Make Ethanol for $1 a Gallon, and Without Corn

[rayofreason]

A biofuel startup in Illinois can make ethanol from just about anything organic for less than $1 per gallon, and it wouldn't interfere with food supplies, company officials said.

Coskata, which is backed by General Motors and other investors, uses bacteria to convert almost any organic material, from corn husks (but not the corn itself) to municipal trash, into ethanol.

"It's not five years away, it's not 10 years away. It's affordable, and it's now," said Wes Bolsen, the company's vice president of business development.

http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2008/01/ethanol23

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

1. I'll believe it when I see it.

You know what they say - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[FreakinDJ]

2. Union of Concerned Scientist is a reputable group

Mostly MIT staff and faternity.

Leading advocates against nuclear energy and global warming

UCS stands out among nonprofit organizations as the reliable source for independent scientific analysis. The scientists and policy experts on our staff are highly respected in both Washington, DC, and state capitals, and are frequently called to testify before government committees.

http://www.ucsusa.org/ucs/about/

That is who gave the article their collective nod of approval

[pscot]

3. This reminds me of the infamous turkey "digester"

from a couple of years back. Discover magazine bought that one hook, line and sinker. Turned into an embarrassingly smelly, public failure. I'll believe this when "dollar" ethanol shows up at the gas pump.

[TZ]

4. Sounds reasonable to me....

We already have bacteria/microbes that can be used to help clean up oil spills. I think this MIGHT be a possibility down the road

[DainBramaged]

5. Less than 1 percent of the nation's 170,000 gas stations sell E85

THAT is the biggest drawback to merging ethanol with our fuel supply. The petroleum giants won't commit to the cost of adding the pumps and tanks to compete with their "product".

Besides, most people who own flex-fuel vehicles won't trade off the loss in mileage for the slight difference in costs per gallon. There isn't enough of a difference.


But the big boys like Archer Daniels ( http://www.admworld.com/naen/fuels/ ) don't give a shit. Full steam ahead, shove it down the consumers throats. They can pay more for food and other products, just keep "digesting" that corn.

[Xithras]

7. That, and the fact that most American cars won't run it.

My 2006 Subaru actually has a big bold warning in the owners manual that feeding it E85 will kill the engine and void the warranty. Only a small minority of the cars sold in the past 5 years are E85 ready, and almost none older than 5 years can handle it without expensive modifications.

[sakabatou]

6. Isn't switchgrass another viable source?

[trotsky]

8. Absolutely.

Corn, from what I've heard, is far from the most effective crop for ethanol production. But the big seed companies are heavily invested in it, of course.