Grow Alcohol as a Replacement for Gasoline

• Published in: Energy sources 1975-01, Vol.2 (1), p.53-60
• Main Author: McCLOSKEY, J. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0090-8312; 1521-0510
• DOI: 10.1080/00908317508945941

A plan is presented whereby a sufficient quantity of safe combustible liquid fuel could be produced annually to satisfy all of our automotive needs. This would make us at once independent of foreign crude oil sources with obvious political advantages. The annual production of as much as 100 billion gallons of ethyl alcohol could be achieved if the already available arable land were planted for just this purpose. Initially, all of the special plantings would be converted directly into alcohol by the well known fermentation process. However, later, when knowledge gained from research now in progress permits the more economical conversion of raw agricultural products to other possibly more useful liquid fuels, the crops needed would be on hand for immediate use. The cost of the alcohol produced is considered to be competitive with gasoline at today's prices, would eliminate the need for rationing, and should be cheaper in the future as crude oil supplies dwindle. Also, a substantial reduction in automotive exhaust pollutants should be experienced since no lead additives for antiknock quality are needed, and in addition, researchers at Stanford University recently found substantial decreases in emissions using methyl alcohol as a reference alcohol. If the program recommended were adopted, it should no longer be necessary to subsidize large landowners for "not growing crops," a ready market being always on hand. In essence this paper poses the basic question: Can we still afford to provide the world with agricultural crops when the very survival of our nation depends upon our complete energy self sufficiency?