The ethanol industry is taking a beating from the bad economy, with big producers like VeraSun and Valero shuttering factories and filing for bankruptcy. Those left standing are pleading with the feds to increase the amount of ethanol that can be blended with gasoline, arguing it will boost demand, produce thousands of jobs and hasten the arrival of viable cellulosic ethanol.

Ethanol producers want the Environmental Protection Agency to raise from 10 percent to 15 percent the amount of ethanol blended with gasoline, saying it would increase demand for their fuel by 6 billion gallons annually. Automakers are leery of the idea, arguing it could damage some vehicles, and the EPA hasn't said how it will respond.

We've all heard the arguments against ethanol derived from corn and other food crops, but ethanol producers claim boosting its viability will hasten the arrival of viable cellulosic ethanol produced from wood chips, switchgrass and other biomass.

"In order to have a second generation of ethanol fuel, you have to have a first generation," Bob Dinneen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, told Wired.com. "I assure you that corn-based ethanol will not serve as a barrier to the success of cellulosic ethanol. But it must also be understood that while the two fuels are dependent on one another, they are also on two different tracks to success."

The U.S. Department of Energy says cellulosic ethanol provides 54 percent more energy than corn-based ethanol in comparison to the amount of energy required for production. And while conventional corn-based ethanol emits 10 to 20 percent less greenhouse gas than gasoline, the cellulosic stuff emits anywhere from 80 to 100 percent less - in other words, it's carbon-neutral. It also eliminates the food-for-fuel debate that hobbles ethanol refined from food crops.

Trouble is, no one in the U.S. has been able to produce cellulosic ethanol in mass quantities at a cost that can compete with corn ethanol. The Department of Energy says cellulosic ethanol costs almost twice as much to produce, and everything from a lack of venture capital to a lack of resources has plagued the industry despite President Obama's $25 million support for "next generation biofuels-fuels." Hence the cellulosic industry's support for boosting the amount of so-called "first generation" ethanol in gasoline.

"While cellulosic ethanol is still in its developmental stages we should do everything we can to help corn-based ethanol meet the renewable fuels standard," David Aldous, CEO of cellulosic ethanol producer Range Fuels, told Wired.com. "Corn-based ethanol fuel production will soon be capped and the Renewable Fuels Standard will favor cellulosic ethanol. This will add value to cellulosic ethanol fuel and create added interest."

Aldous is referring to a portion of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that requires the EPA to implement regulations ensuring gasoline is blended with specific amounts of renewable fuels such as ethanol, butonol and biodiesel. The EPA's Renewable Fuel Standard Program will slowly increase the amount of ethanol blended with with gasoline from the 9.2 billion gallons used last year to the 36 billion gallons by 2022. The regulation requires them to use about 11 billion gallons this year.

To promote the transition from corn ethanol to cellulosic ethanol, the regulations cap the amount of corn-based ethanol at 15 billion gallons annually beginning in 2012. From then on, the amount of fuel that must be produced from cellulosic ethanol increases incrementally until it tops out in 2022 at 21 billion gallons per year.

Once they're refined, cellulosic and corn-based ethanol are indistinguishable; gallon for gallon, and both yield roughly two-thirds the energy of gasoline. "Corn ethanol can even be blended with cellulosic ethanol," Aldous said. "In fact we anticipate that blending the two fuels will help create more demand for cellulosic ethanol and greater opportunities for it to succeed."

The EPA is considering the industry's request and according to the Associated Press says it will make its decision "based on the best available science."

乙醇工業(yè)受到了惡劣的經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì)的打擊，象維拉陽公司這樣的大生產(chǎn)商紛紛關(guān)閉工廠并申請(qǐng)破產(chǎn)。那些幸存下來的公司也正在懇求政府官員們能夠增加可與汽油混用的乙醇的用量，聲稱這樣能促進(jìn)需求，產(chǎn)生數(shù)千個(gè)職位，并能加速可行的纖維素乙醇時(shí)代的到來。

乙醇生產(chǎn)商想讓環(huán)保署將汽油中混合的乙醇量從10％提高到15％，說這樣每年可以增加60億加侖對(duì)乙醇的需求。汽車制造商對(duì)這個(gè)想法很懷疑，聲稱這樣會(huì)損壞車輛，環(huán)保署還沒有表示將怎樣作出回應(yīng)。

我們都聽到過反對(duì)以玉米和其它糧食作物為原料生產(chǎn)乙醇的爭(zhēng)論，但乙醇生產(chǎn)商宣稱，推進(jìn)這種方式的生產(chǎn)將會(huì)加速可行的產(chǎn)自木片、柳枝稷和其它植物纖維的纖維素乙醇時(shí)代的到來。

“為了獲得第二代的乙醇燃料，你必須獲得第一代的，”再生能源協(xié)會(huì)執(zhí)行總裁鮑勃.達(dá)尼恩告訴“連線”網(wǎng)站說：“我確信以玉米為原料的乙醇不會(huì)成為纖維素乙醇成功的障礙。但也要理解在這兩種燃料互相依存的同時(shí)，它們也會(huì)走上兩條不同的成功的道路。”

美國(guó)能源部表示，比照需要生產(chǎn)的能量的總量，纖維素乙醇提供了比玉米乙醇更多的能量，超過了生產(chǎn)總量的54％。并且，傳統(tǒng)的玉米乙醇可放出比汽油少10％到20％的溫室氣體，而以纖維素為原料的乙醇在任何地方都可以少80％至100％——換句話說，它是碳中性的。它也可以消彌限制從糧食作物中提煉乙醇的“糧食換燃料”的爭(zhēng)論。

問題是，在美國(guó)沒有人能夠以可與玉米乙醇競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的成本大量生產(chǎn)出纖維素乙醇。能源部表示，生產(chǎn)纖維素乙醇的成本幾乎是傳統(tǒng)的兩倍，并且，雖然有奧巴總統(tǒng)2500萬美元的對(duì)“下一代生物燃料刺激計(jì)劃”的支持，但從缺少風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本到缺少生產(chǎn)資源的種種情況一直困擾著這一工業(yè)。因此，纖維素工業(yè)對(duì)促進(jìn)所謂汽油中的“第一代”乙醇產(chǎn)量的支持作用形成了。

“當(dāng)纖維素乙醇仍處在發(fā)展階段的時(shí)候，我們應(yīng)該盡我們的所能來幫助玉米乙醇達(dá)到可再生燃料標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，”雷奇燃料公司首席執(zhí)行官大衛(wèi).奧爾德斯告訴“連線”網(wǎng)說：“玉米乙醇燃料產(chǎn)品不久就會(huì)受到限制，而可再生燃料標(biāo)準(zhǔn)將有利于纖維乙醇。這可以增加纖維素乙醇燃料的價(jià)值，并產(chǎn)生附加利益。”

奧爾德斯指的是《2007年能源獨(dú)立與安全法》的一部分，該法要求環(huán)保署執(zhí)行各項(xiàng)法規(guī)，保證汽油混合特定量的諸如乙醇、丁醇和生物柴油等可再生燃料。環(huán)保署的“可再生燃料標(biāo)準(zhǔn)計(jì)劃”將逐步增加與汽油混合的乙醇的量，從去年應(yīng)用的92億加侖增加到2022年的360億加侖。這項(xiàng)法規(guī)要求他們今年應(yīng)用大約110億加侖。

為了促進(jìn)從玉米乙醇到纖維素乙醇的轉(zhuǎn)變，從2012年起，法規(guī)將玉米乙醇的用量限制在了每年150億噸.從那時(shí)起，必須由纖維素乙醇生產(chǎn)的燃料的數(shù)量要不斷遞增，直到在2022年突破每年210億加侖。

一旦被提純后，纖維素乙醇和玉米乙醇就不可分辨了；一加侖就是一加侖，都能夠產(chǎn)生同體積汽油的三分之二的能量。“玉米乙醇甚至可以與纖維素乙醇相混合，”奧爾德斯說：“事實(shí)上，我們預(yù)期到混用兩種燃料有助于引起對(duì)纖維素乙醇更多的需求，并為它創(chuàng)造更多成功的機(jī)會(huì)。”

環(huán)保署正在考慮這一產(chǎn)業(yè)的要求，根據(jù)美聯(lián)社的說法，它將“在最有效的科學(xué)研究基礎(chǔ)上”作出決定。