Turning Corn Into Fuel

EXECUTIVE MEMO

Turning Corn Into Fuel

orget trying to turn straw into gold. Federal scientists can turn corn into fuel, a bit of modern alchemy that may prove to be infinitely more valuable to American citizens in the century ahead. Biofuels such as ethanol, which can be blended with gasoline to make reformulated gasoline (RFG) or used in pure form, contain the potential to lessen American vulnerability to oil supply disruptions and reduce air pollution.

While the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments mandate that RFG be used in the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most severe ozone pollution, two main obstacles stand in the way of increased consumer demand for ethanol. First, while RFG with an ethanol content of 10 percent (E10) can be safely used to fuel any car that runs on unleaded gasoline, fuel with an ethanol content of 85 percent (E85) is best reserved for flexible fuel vehicles, which have coated fuel tanks that will not be corroded by high percentages of ethanol. Currently, there are only about 5,000 flexible fuel vehicles in use in the United States. Second, there are only 40 public ethanol refueling stations nationwide. Third, ethanol and ethanol blend fuels are more expensive than petroleum.

Both the Energy and Agriculture departments are researching ways to reduce the cost of producing biofuels. Due in large part to their efforts, the cost of producing a gallon of corn-based ethanol has decreased by 46 percent since 1980.

Since the price of corn is rising, scientists at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory are focusing on producing ethanol from other feedstocks, including crops such as grasses and fast-growing trees and agricultural and industrial waste. Last year, DOE researchers genetically engineered a new strain of bacteria that helps make the ethanol conversion process cheaper.

"We're right on the edge of making cellulosic ethanol commercially economical," says DOE's Jill Hamilton.

For more information on reformulated gasoline and alternative fuels, call DOE's National Alternative Fuels Hotline at (800) 423-1363 or (703) 528-3500 or visit the Alternative Fuels Data Center on-line at www.afdc.doe.gov.