Scientists are constantly finding new ideas to come up with natural elements to use as a source of energy that will substitute what we currently use to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Ethanol is an environmentally safer form of energy derived from corn and switchgrass that is used as an alternative to fossil fuel for gas. A new study shows that when biofuel such as ethanol is converted to electricity to use for electrical powered vehicles, it emits less greenhouse gases rather than pouring ethanol directly into the gas tank. It also allows the car to drive farther. Both methods release CO2 into the atmosphere when burn but the same amount of CO2 is reabsorbed back into the plants. What hasn't been well-understood is whether it's better to convert crops to ethanol that can be burned in conventional internal combustion engines or to burn the crops to generate electricity that can power electric vehicles (Service 2009).
Elliot Campbell began an experiment to see if biofuel was more efficient if it were converted to electricity instead of putting it directly into gas tanks. The experiment proved that cars drove 80% farther when ethanol was converted into electricity. An electric powered car using crops such as corn prevents up to 10 tons of CO2 per acre compared to regular size compact cars. This shows that electric engine cars are more efficient than internal combustion engine cars however, there is a huge cost difference between the two.
Citation Information
Service, Robert F. 2009 “Keep Biofuels Out of Gas Tanks" ScienceNOW Daily News[Internet] Washington DC and Cambridge, UK: High Wire Press; 2009 [cited 2009 May 25]. Available from http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/508/3
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