This was posted on the forum I own about biodiesel / ethanol by a farmer. Probably the best first-hand info I have read specifically about it... ([
http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10600&postcount=13]original post[/ul]).
ECONOMICS OF BIODIESEL and or ETHANOL
CORN, is and has been primarily raised to feed cattle, hogs, chickens, ect. Previously, corn has been raised then directly fed. With ethanol the corn is fermented, cooked, the mash is then fed resulting in a small loss in feed and around 3 gallons ethanol retained for fuel out of each bushel of corn. THE CORN WILL BE RAISED AND FED REGARDLESS IF THE ETHANOL IS EXTRACTED OR NOT. Therefore should ALL of the fuel used for production be calculated against ethanol production????????
Now, Soybeans are primarily a high protein hog (pork) food. To feed soybeans to hogs the beans must be cooked. The most economical way to cook beans is to run them through a extruder (large screw press) which heats the beans from the extreme pressure, in this process it separates the oil from bean meal. The meal is fed to hogs, fish, chickens, etc. The oil is still leftovers about 10% which can be used for cooking oil or biodiesel. Sunflowers net about 48% oil but the feedstock is not as desirable as it doesn't have as much protein content per ton as beans, however the oil is a lot easier to refine into fuel and is thinner than bean oil which is easier to mist through the diesels injectors than bean oil. NOW, taking these factors into the equation, is it more economical to raise corn then feed it or is it better to retain the fuel then feed it???? The bean oil that is already being extracted, should it be dumped into the ocean or should it be used for fuel???????? Switchgrass may produce more ethanol but may not have good feed value if any therefore you may have to factor all of the switchgass production costs and fuel consumption towards the fuel gained, where here in the USA the corn and beans are a multi-use product that can easily be stored for long periods(a year) ,where switchgrass may have to be used up in very short term, resulting in delivery problems and major crop losses, ethanol plants can only process so much at one time, some countries are in a warmer climate where they can produce grass year round but in the USA we have winter and not much of anything grows in the frozen dirt, we only have around 3 months of production, then nothing.
The Einsteins (or so they think) who doubt the feasibility of ethanol work very hard gathering all the data they can get to make sure they don't leave out any factors, however they get lost in all the data and numbers and forget about the primary purpose for which corn was raised, the primary purpose is feeding livestock which turn into people food. The primary purpose does not get figured into there equations. WHY????? Corn will be planted, harvested, and trucked to elevators to be trucked to point of usage even if ethanol is not removed beforehand. Making ethanol from corn does NOT destroy feed value, the primary purpose for which corn is raised. Corn averages 150bu per acre @ 3 gal ethanol per bu that is 450 gal acre (don't forget primary purpose) how much more productive can we be??? Another point is that it does NOT require anywhere close to 450 gal of fuel to raise an acre of corn and deliver it (unless you're delivering it to the moon or Venus), so therefore the farmers are still feeding the dense Einsteins (along with the general public), except now they are producing energy at the same time! Whats not to like????? Bean oil production could easily be increased by 3 times as much just by planting a different variety of beans that currently exists, however the primary purpose is hog feed which in turn is Bacon, Pork Chops, and such, and the high oil beans don't work so good to produce as much Pork, so which is more important, eating or driving an Escalate / Excursion????
