A Brief History of the Ethanol Industry

In 1956 Marion King Hubbert predicted that the United States Oil production would peak between 1965-1975. In other words, he believed that US oil production could only decrease from that time onward due to oil reserve depletion (“Peak Oil Theory”, n.d). New technologies have opened oil reserves that had previously been unreachable, proving Hubbert wrong. However, logic dictates that there will come a time when all petroleum resources will be used. Consequently, there is a need for a fuel source that is not dependent on what can be found in the ground. Luckily, Chemists, Chemical Engineers, and Entrepreneurs have been investigating this issue for almost two centuries. The result of their work is a modern ethanol industry that produced 20.06 gallons of ethanol in the year 2020 (“Maps and Data”, n.d.).

In 1826 Samuel Morey, a combustion engine pioneer, discovered the ethanol mixed with turpentine made good engine fuel. Early cars were designed to run on ethanol. In Europe, there were a variety of vehicles that ran on 25-100% ethanol fuels. In America, Henry Ford pushed forward the use of ethanol in his vehicles. His 1896 Quadricycle and the original Model-T were designed for pure ethanol fuel. During the 1930s he sponsored the construction of approximately 2,000 fuel stations that sold 10% ethanol-gasoline blend, which most vehicles run on today (“A Short History of Biofuels”, 2020). Other investors/entrepreneurs, like Alexander Graham Bell, saw the potential in ethanol. He stated:

Alcohol makes a beautiful, clean, and efficient fuel, and, where not intended for consumption by human beings, can be manufactured very cheaply in an indigestible or even poisonous form… The waste products of our farms are available for this purpose and even the garbage from our cities. We need never fear the exhaustion of our present fuel supplies so long as we can produce an annual crop of alcohol to any extent desired. (Bell, 1917)

His point was proven throughout both world wars. Ethanol’s ease of production made it a ready fuel source for the war-torn nations. By the end of both wars, vehicles from all sides were running on pure ethanol.

Despite early successes, ethanol lost out to gasoline as the main fuel source for the combustion engine. A primary reason was gasoline mixed with tetraethyllead (leaded gas) had higher octane capabilities. However, in the 1970s, several high profiles lead poisoning cases resulted in the removal of lead from gasoline. To maintain high octane levels, ethanol was reintroduced to the fuel stream. The new ethanol demand was met by federal, state, and local governments and farmer cooperatives. Working together they reinvigorated the alternative fuel industry (Gustafson, n.d.). Since then, the ethanol industry has inspired scientists, engineers, crop producers, and entrepreneurs to look for alternative fuels in other agricultural products. For example, the renewable diesel fuel industry was developed using vegetable oils.

Today, ethanol production is not only at an all-time high, but it is also the most efficient it has been in history. Modern companies, such as Cargill and POET, generate nearly no waste. Even produced carbon dioxide is captured and sold. As of 2013, INEOS Bio announced that they were able to create usable ethanol from nonfood landfill waste (Harrington, 2013). In all these examples, engineers have found ways to develop processes that produce high-quality products, minimize waste, and create a cleaner environment.

This ingenuity is why I want to be an engineer. However, agriculture is in my DNA because I am the grandson of both a hog farmer and a cowboy. The ethanol industry is the marriage of these two fields. It has allowed me to use my gifts in the fields that I love.

References

Bell, Alexander Graham (1917), Prizes for the Inventor, National Geographic 31 (2).

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Peak Oil Theory. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved

November 10, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/peak-oil-theory.

Gustafson, C. (n.d.). History of Ethanol Production and Policy – Energy. North Dakota State University. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/energy/biofuels/

energy-briefs/history-of-ethanol-production-and-policy.

Harrington, K. (2013, August 7). Commercial Milestone: Ethanol from Landfill Waste. AIChE. Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2013/08/

commercial-milestone-ethanol-landfill-waste.

Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc. (2020, July 1). A Short History of Biofuels. Retrieved November

10, 2021, from https://lee-enterprises.com/a-short-history-of-biofuels/.

U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d.). Maps and Data. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Maps and Data. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://afdc.energy.gov/data/.