1 / 18

Improving Life through Science and Technology.

Irrigated Corn to Ethanol Net Energy Balance Emily Seawright, Ronald D. Lacewell, Naveen Adusumilli, Ed Rister, and Robert Taylor Southwest Renewable Energy Conference September 15, 2010. Improving Life through Science and Technology. Biofuels. Congressional Mandates Corn Ethanol

kovit
Download Presentation

Improving Life through Science and Technology.

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Irrigated Corn to Ethanol Net Energy Balance Emily Seawright, Ronald D. Lacewell, Naveen Adusumilli, Ed Rister, and Robert Taylor Southwest Renewable Energy Conference September 15, 2010 Improving Life through Science and Technology.

  2. Biofuels • Congressional Mandates • Corn Ethanol • Cellulosic Biofuels • High energy sorghum • Algae • Switchgrass

  3. Myths • Dedicated bioenergy crops will not affect conventional food crops • marginal lands only • Food prices will not be impacted • Limitless high quality land • Small quantity of ethanol

  4. Characteristics • 18-22 inches of rainfall • Corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, wheat • Ogallala Aquifer • Depth varies • 81% of water within 400 feet of surface http://www.hpwd.com/the_ogallala.asp

  5. Objective • Net energy balance of irrigated corn on the High Plains of Texas Assumptions • Yield of 200 bushels/acre • Pumping depths of 250, 350, 450 feet • PSI of 25 and 45 • Co-product credit of 15,400 BTUs • High Plains Crop budgets • Center pivot—natural gas, strip till/natural gas, electricity • Furrow—natural gas

  6. Data • Input quantities from crop budgets and literature • Natural gas and electricity quantities calculated using Lacewell and Collins (1986) • Natural gas • Electricity 1,000 ft3 = (2.31*PSI)+Lift)]*[0.11427/(PE*DE)]*(0.002544/EE) kWh = (2.37*PSI)+Lift] * [0.101141/PE)] • Lacewell, Ronald D., and Glenn S. Collins. 1986. “Energy Inputs on Western Groundwater Irrigated Areas.” In Energy and Water Management in Western Irrigated Agriculture, edited by Norman K. Whittlesey, 155-76. Boulder: Westview Press.

  7. Calculating Net BTUs BTUs from Ethanol Production Co-product Credit Conversion Net BTUs per Acre

  8. Inputs for Production Irrigation

  9. Production

  10. Two column with text

  11. Energy Use per Acre

  12. Net Energy Balance—350 Lift and 25 PSI

  13. Net Energy Balance—350 Lift and 45 PSI

  14. Net Energy Balance by Pumping Depth

  15. Net Energy Balance by Pumping Depth

  16. Limitations • BTU estimates taken from literature—many sources varied Not Considered Value of mobile fuel for cars, trucks, and airplanes

  17. Conclusions and Implications • Electricity is more expensive….. Thus, more natural gas is used on High Plains • Ethanol from irrigated corn in High Plains has negative energy balance

  18. Questions? Shutterstock. February 19, 2009. http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/phrase/1115/corn.html http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=corn_ethanol2

More Related