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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Ammonia + Corn = Energy Independence

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(Newser) – Feeding cows parts of corn plants that farmers currently discard could eventually lead to American energy independence, Wired reports. An ammonia treatment applied to corn “stover” could make it palatable to cattle, freeing up more land for the production of ethanol, a Michigan State researcher says. That could, in turn, protect untouched land from cultivation for biofuels.

“We could replace every drop of gasoline used in the United Sates while still maintaining the same amount of animal feed and exports,” Bryan Bals said at the Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals. “We believe this is a realistic scenario. This is no new technology and no unproven technology.” Skeptics note that ethanol, and biofuels in general, have a very slim profit margin, and predict that the business model cannot survive.

Corn being grown to produce ethanol.
Corn being grown to produce ethanol.   (AP Photo)
A cow.
A cow.   (AP Photo)
Crushed corn cobs being converted to cellulosic ethanol at a pilot plant in Scotland, S.D.
Crushed corn cobs being converted to cellulosic ethanol at a pilot plant in Scotland, S.D.   (AP Photo)
A farmer walks past corn storage silos.
A farmer walks past corn storage silos.   (AP Photo)
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2 comments
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tmoore
May 6, 09 5:35 PM CDT
Energy independence, maybe. Environmentally sound, probably not. Even though it's net carbon neutral, cows (and their stomach bacteria) turn the carbon in the cellulosic 'waste' parts of the corn plant into methane (more methane than would be created from the grasses that cows would naturally eat). Kind of like when humans eat too many beans, or too much broccoli. One problem is that methane is actually far worse environmentally than just carbon dioxide. Reply
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mak
May 6, 09 6:37 PM CDT
death by cow farts. that's no way to go. Reply
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