Green Hydrogen
Some 40% of the US corn crop is used for biofuel, roughly 2.54 billion bushels requiring 14.7 million acres of farmland. Such non-food crops use GMO seeds that require large volumes of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and are depleting water sources for irrigation. They also contaminate watersheds with chemical runoffs, and damage the soil microbiome which is disrupting hydrologic (rain) cycles. I used AI to generate the following calculations, you can see the detail in this document , including the reference files used.
2.54 billion bushels yield approximately 7.11 billion gallons of ethanol each year. I thought it would be interesting to understand how that translates into energy units as expressed in BTUs (British Thermal Units). 1 gallon of corn ethanol contains about 76,000 BTUs, which translates into 540 trillion BTUs.
Let's then compare an alternative such as green hydrogen with corn based biofuel. Using Electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity to break the water molecules apart is creating green hydrogen . It is ideal for use in aviation, long distance transportations, power generation and other applications that are not suitable for electrification.
?That process requires a lot of electricity, so let’s translate that into the number of solar panels that would be required. To match 540 trillion BTUs from corn ethanol with hydrogen would require 4.71 million kilograms, or 4711 metric tons of hydrogen. One kilogram of hydrogen contains approximately 114.6 million BTUs, a much higher energy density than ethanol. To produce that volume would require 247.4 billion kWh (kilowatt-hours).
?That amount of electricity would require around 582,064 solar panels based on an average output of 425 kWh per panel, which translates into approximately 313 acres of compacted land. Let’s increase this by a factor of 1,000 to account for spacing, using agrivoltaics to allow dual land use. On less than a half million acres, we could match the energy output of corn biofuel with green hydrogen.
?The land freed up can now be converted back to grasslands that sequester carbon and restore the rain cycles. It can be used for grazing ruminants, helping to restore water tables. Higher value land can be used to grow crops for human consumption. It most certainly would eliminate the need to convert more public lands. Considering how unsustainable our current farming practices are, depleting soils and water tables, change is inevitable and only depends on the urgency of the moment. Maybe we can get ahead of the curve and invent the future as it unfolds, creating a livable future for the next generations.
Senior Sales Leader | Expert in High Value Sales Solutions | Success Leading High Performing Sales Teams Across Multiple Sectors | Proven Ability to Drive Sales and Exceed Targets | Team coaching and Development
1 个月The environmental concerns you raise about corn-based biofuels highlight some of the significant challenges we face in finding truly sustainable energy sources. While biofuels have been a step forward in reducing reliance on fossil fuels, their large-scale production has come at a cost to land, water resources, and ecosystems. The reliance on GMO crops, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, along with the strain on water supplies and soil health, underlines the need to explore alternative clean energy solutions that are both efficient and sustainable. Green hydrogen, offers a promising path forward. Its production via electrolysis, powered by renewable electricity from sources like solar panels, provides a cleaner and more sustainable solution. While it does require significant electricity to generate green hydrogen, the potential energy yield per kilogram far surpasses that of corn-based ethanol. More importantly, the land use efficiency in hydrogen production can drastically reduce the environmental footprint.
Ecological Realist, Systems Thinker, Accountant and MMT Advocate
1 个月Very interesting, Klaus. Have checked how much net energy remains once the energy necessary to produce biofuel has been discounted? I think you'll find that the energy input to create the bioufuel is almost as much (if not the same) as the output. That makes the whole enterprise uneconomic and scandalous.
Founder of FlyH2 Aerospace | Voice on Hydrogen Aviation and Ethics in AI
2 个月It never made sense to me that we grow food to feed cattle. Let's just eat the food we grew. It makes even less sense to me that we grow food as fuel. I presented at the DEVAC Hydrogen Indaba in Johannesburg last week. It clear that we are able to generate significant amounts of Green Hydrogen from freely renewable resources. I haven't done the calcs but I'm certain the lifetime output of a solar panel produces significantly more energy than was used to manufacture it and install it. With free sunlight, we're in business. Let's use the energy in hydrogen through fuel cells and not burn biofuels. Let is use crops to feed people. Let's feed vegetables, and as a treat, lab-grown meat - or quality meat alternatives to people.
farming
2 个月Sir have you calculated the depletion of Soil Organic Matter and loss of Top fertile layer (erosion) in short cost involved