Experts question ethanol fuel cleanliness

At the 17th National Chemical Fertilizer Methanol Technology Conference held last week, a new perspective was introduced regarding the environmental impact of ethanol fuel. According to Tian Hengshui, deputy director of the Fine Chemicals Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society and professor at East China University of Science and Technology, the previously promoted use of ethanol as a cleaner alternative may not be as environmentally friendly as claimed. He emphasized that when considering the entire lifecycle of bioethanol—from production to combustion—its carbon dioxide emissions are far from being "clean." In his presentation titled "Strategic Research on Clean Energy Development," Tian explained that during the fermentation process of producing ethanol from starchy materials like corn or cassava, one molecule of carbon dioxide is generated for every molecule of ethanol. The mass ratio between CO₂ and ethanol is approximately 23:22, or 1:0.9565. Actual data shows that producing one ton of ethanol results in 0.995 to 1.046 tons of CO₂. Tian pointed out that ethanol's overall carbon footprint is significantly higher than that of methanol. For instance, burning one ton of ethanol produces 1.913 tons of CO₂, and when combined with emissions from its production, the total reaches 2.908 tons. In comparison, one ton of methanol emits only 1.834 tons of CO₂ (with 1.375 tons coming from combustion alone). This means ethanol combustion releases 58.56% more CO₂ than methanol. He also criticized the common claim that bioethanol reduces CO₂ emissions by over 30% compared to gasoline, arguing that this view overlooks the emissions produced during ethanol’s production phase. In fact, when evaluated across the entire lifecycle, ethanol fuel emits nearly 70% more CO₂ than gasoline. Furthermore, he suggested that using the same plants to produce high-value products like polylactic acid or bio-drugs would be far more beneficial than converting them into ethanol. According to research from Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley, producing ethanol from corn requires 29% more fossil energy than the energy it generates. For biomass-based ethanol, the energy input is 57% higher. Additionally, ethanol gasoline is economically inefficient. In the U.S., the government provides $3 billion annually in subsidies for ethanol, along with support for farmers. Similarly, in China, ethanol gasoline receives subsidies ranging from 500 to 1,670 yuan per ton. In conclusion, Tian argued that the development of bio-ethanol fuels is neither energy-efficient nor economically viable in the long term. With growing concerns about climate change and resource sustainability, he called for a more strategic approach to clean energy development.

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