Ethanol fuel in the United States

Main articles: Biofuel in the United States and Ethanol fuel

Corn vs Ethanol production in the United States
  Total corn production (bushels) (left)
  Corn used for Ethanol fuel (bushels) (left)
  Percent of corn used for Ethanol (right)
Blender fuels pump in 2012 selling the standard E10 ethanol blend together with E15, E30 and E85 in East Lansing, Michigan
Ethanol fuel production by state

The United States became the world's largest producer of ethanol fuel in 2005. The U.S. produced 15.8 billion U.S. liquid gallons of ethanol fuel in 2019, and 13.9 billion U.S. liquid gallons (52.6 billion liters) in 2011,[1][2] an increase from 13.2 billion U.S. liquid gallons (49.2 billion liters) in 2010, and up from 1.63 billion gallons in 2000.[3] Brazil and U.S. production accounted for 87.1% of global production in 2011.[1] In the U.S, ethanol fuel is mainly used as an oxygenate in gasoline in the form of low-level blends up to 10 percent, and, increasingly, as E85 fuel for flex-fuel vehicles.[4] The U.S. government subsidizes ethanol production.[5][6]

The ethanol market share in the U.S. gasoline supply grew by volume from just over 1 percent in 2000 to more than 3 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2011.[1][7][8] Domestic production capacity increased fifteen times after 1990, from 900 million US gallons to 1.63 billion US gal in 2000, to 13.5 billion US gallons in 2010.[7][9] The Renewable Fuels Association reported 209 ethanol distilleries in operation located in 29 states in 2011.[1]

By 2012 most cars on U.S. roads could run on blends of up to 10% ethanol(E10), and manufacturers had begun producing vehicles designed for much higher percentages. However, the fuel systems of cars, trucks, and motorcycles sold before the ethanol mandate may suffer substantial damage from the use of 10% ethanol blends. Flexible-fuel cars, trucks, and minivans use gasoline/ethanol blends ranging from pure gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). By early 2013 there were around 11 million E85-capable vehicles on U.S. roads.[10][11] Regular use of E85 is low due to lack of fueling infrastructure, but is common in the Midwest.[12][13] In January 2011 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted a waiver to allow up to 15% of ethanol blended with gasoline (E15) to be sold only for cars and light pickup trucks with a model year of 2001 or later. The EPA waiver authorizes, but does not require stations to offer E15. Like the limitations suffered by sales of E85, commercialization of E15 is constrained by the lack of infrastructure as most fuel stations do not have enough pumps to offer the new E15 blend, few existing pumps are certified to dispense E15, and no dedicated tanks are readily available to store E15.[14][15][16]

Historically most U.S. ethanol has come from corn, and the required electricity for many distilleries came mainly from coal. There is a debate about ethanol's sustainability and environmental impact.[17] The primary issues related to the large amount of arable land required for crops and ethanol production's impact on grain supply, indirect land use change (ILUC) effects, as well as issues regarding its energy balance and carbon intensity considering its full life cycle.[18][19][20][21][22][23]

  1. ^ a b c d Renewable Fuels Association (March 6, 2012). "Acelerating Industry Innovation - 2012 Ethanol Industry Outlook" (PDF). Renewable Fuels Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012. See pp. 10.
  2. ^ "Annual Ethanol Production". Renewable Fuels Association. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference RFAProd2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Ethanol Market Penetration". Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center, US DOE. Retrieved June 25, 2006.
  5. ^ Khanna, Madhu; Ando, Amy W.; Taheripour, Farzad (2008). "Welfare Effects and Unintended Consequences of Ethanol Subsidies". Review of Agricultural Economics. 30 (3): 411–421. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9353.2008.00414.x. ISSN 1058-7195. JSTOR 30225883.
  6. ^ Bielen, David A.; Newell, Richard G.; Pizer, William A. (May 1, 2018). "Who did the ethanol tax credit benefit? An event analysis of subsidy incidence". Journal of Public Economics. 161: 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2018.03.005. ISSN 0047-2727. S2CID 155343802.
  7. ^ a b "2011 Ethanol Industry Outlook: Building Bridges to a More Sustainable Future" (PDF). Renewable Fuels Association. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2011.See pages 2–3, 10–11, 19–20, and 26–27.
  8. ^ "Bioenergy: Background – Ethanol". U.S. Department of Agriculture. April 10, 2010. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
  9. ^ "Historic U.S. fuel Ethanol Production". Renewable Fuels Association. Archived from the original on June 15, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2006.
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  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference E15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference EERE08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference SusEthanol was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT1013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference USAToday1013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT012111 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Hill, Jason (March 9, 2022). "The sobering truth about corn ethanol". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119 (11): e2200997119. Bibcode:2022PNAS..11900997H. doi:10.1073/pnas.2200997119. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 8931354. PMID 35263229.
  18. ^ "Biofuels: The Promise and the Risks, in World Development Report 2008" (PDF). The World Bank. 2008. pp. 70–71. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference ARBproposal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oxfam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fargione08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Science08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Youngquist, W. Geodestinies, National Book company, Portland, OR, 499p.