BIO-1201 Lecture Notes - Corn Oil, Boiling Point, Flowering Plant
Document Summary
The current average consumption of gasoline in the u. s. is 135 billion gallons per year. The u. s. energy supply is vulnerable due to its dependency on foreign oil sources and climate change impacts. To alleviate these concerns, in 2005 the epa established goals for the production of renewable energy under the first renewable fuel standard (rfs) . The standard required 7. 5 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline by 2012. The energy & independence and security act of 2007 expanded that mandate for renewable fuels to 36 billion gallons per year. The conventional biofuel category referenced in the standard refers to ethanol produced from corn. Farm acreage that was used to grow corn for food is now employed to grow corn to make transportation fuel. With ethanol production, yeast also makes the ethanol, but we separate and purify it for use as a fuel instead of drinking it.
