Bio-Fules, Ethanol and Creamed Corn . . . A view of bio-efficiency from the kitchen:
So as I was reading this blog entry on Ethanol, when I suddenly recalled my cooking experience from last night . . .You see, our summer vegetable garden is nearing its peak of production and last night was all about picking the corn. Out of the 8 or so corn plants, I was able to harvest about 10 usable ears. After a few minutes of pondering of what to do with this wonderful bounty of fresh sweet organic white corn, I decided to make up a batch of my favorite creamed corn . . . one of my all time favorite summer treats.
So I took to milking my corncobs . . . labor-intensive, but easy process if you have the right tools. After about 5 minutes, I had amassed a total of about 4 cups of a wonderful sweet corn pulp . . . And then it hit me, out of the 10 ears of corn that I started with, I had only gathered 4 cups of pulp. Glancing in the sink full of cornhusks and cobs I came to a conclusion . . . this was a very bio-inefficient process.
You see, on average a single corn plant produces about 2 ears of corn (speaking from my experience of growing organic corn in my backyard), with an average stalk height of about 6 feet. Now, those ears are roughly (by volume) 1/3 kernel pulp and 2/3 inedible husk and cob – to break it down by volume of material, per corn plant that’s roughly:
- 10% usable corn pulp
- 30% waste husk and cob
- 60% waste corn stalk
Not taking into account the water and fertilizer required to grow the corn, that makes the plant about 10% efficient in producing a usable raw material for anything from human fuel (creamed corn) to car fuel (ethanol).
While great strides are being made in the field of cellulosic ethanol, it just shows that corn is the wrong material for long-term bio-fuel production. In addition, diverting corn from the food supply will only serve to drive up the cost of everyday products that make use of corn such as corn chips, soft drinks, and steaks . . . and, well, corn itself. This ignores completely the fact that we can’t produce enough corn in the US to completely rid ourselves of imported fossil fuels.
What’s needed is a way to utilize existing residential, commercial and industrial bio-waste as the raw material for ethanol production. This is where large scale, distributed cellulosic ethanol production makes sense. Everyday in the US, many bio-waste products from scrap wood and saw-dust to yard clippings are produced, and large percentage of these materials are just disposed of in a landfill. Use of these materials could yield ‘free’ fuel to power our cars.
If additional materials are needed for ethanol generation, we could harvest fast growing native plants, or we could cultivate plant species with low environmental impact in marginal farming locations so not to increase the use of chemical fertilizers and ground water, or to compete with the existing food supply.
Over the longer-term, we must find a fuel source that allows us to wean ourselves from fossil fuels without destroying our land in the process.
In the mean time, I’ll just keep making creamed corn. 
