Nobel Laureate Heads Study Questioning Ethanol’s Nitrous Oxide Problems, …

Another new study from researchers, including a Nobel prize winner, in the U.S., Germany, Austria and the UK says that corn-based ethanol production generates up to 50% more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels.

This follows a recent spate of bad reports from the National Academy of Sciences, the OECD and a number of environmental groups questioning ethanol’s benefits. While the global warming effect of greenhouse gas N2O is 300 times larger than the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2), the study says that global warming caused by N2O emissions in corn-based ethanol production is as much as 1.5 times larger than would be saved in CO2 emissions by substituting ethanol for fossil fuels.

Study authors including Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen of Germany’s Max Planck Institute and Arvin Moser of the University of Florida, said their research indicated that 3-5% of nitrogen-rich fertilizer used in corn cultivation is converted and emitted as nitrous oxide. The earlier 2% conversion rate established by the UN underestimated the actual nitrous oxide emissions. Cellulosic feedstocks, such as switch grass or wood chips, do not have such severe nitrous oxide consequences.

To see the study for yourself, click here