ShouldTransportationBeTransitionedtoEthanolwithCarbon CaptureandPipelinesorElectricity?ACaseStudy

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Animportant issuetodayiswhethergasolinevehiclesshouldbereplacedby flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) that useethanol-gasolineblends (e.g., E85),where somecarbon dioxide(CO2)fromethanol’sproductioniscapturedandpiped,orbattery-electricvehicles (BEVs)poweredbywindor solar. This paper compares theoptions ina case study. It evaluatesaproposal tocapturefermentationCO2 from34ethanol refineries in5U.S. states andbuildanelaboratepipelinetotransport theCO2 toanundergroundstoragesite.This “ethanolplan” iscomparedwithbuildingwindfarmsat thesamecost toprovideelectricity forBEVs(“windplanA”).Comparedwiththeethanolplan,windplanAmayreduce2.4−4timestheCO2, savedriversinthefive states$40−$66billion(USD2023)over30yearsevenwhenBEVsinitiallycost$21,700morethanFFVs, require1/400,000ththe landfootprintand1/10th−1/20ththespacingarea,anddecreaseairpollution.Evenbuildingwindtoreplacecoal(“windplanB”) mayavoid1.5−2.5timestheCO2astheethanolplan.Thus,ethanolwithcarboncaptureappearstobeanopportunitycostthatmay damageclimateandairquality,occupy land, andsaddleconsumerswithhighfuel costs fordecades. KEYWORDS: ethanol, carboncapture, pipelines,wind, flex-fuel vehicles, battery-electricvehicles