12-13-07 by dugan
The folks who don’t like biofuels often argue that ethanol, because of the energy used to produce it, is pointless, even a net energy loss. Here’s the highly reasoned answer by chemical engineering Prof. Bruce E. Dale of the University of Michigan. Despite the long title, it’s a pretty accessible read, offering a rational path for assessing ethanol, bioldiesel, even solar on their own terms. It’s
also succinct in describing the folly of "net energy."
Title: "Thinking Clearly About Biofuels: ending the irrelevant ‘net energy’ debate and developing better performance metrics for alternative fuels." May 2007, Journal of Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining.