A new reason to hug a tree: it could fuel your car!
OK, get this idea. Every year, all deciduous trees shed their leaves during the fall. These leaves either lie on the ground + decay, are hauled off to landfills, or are burned.
Well, here's another option. Take the leaves, mash them in water, let the mash ferment + then distill it. What do you get? Cellulosic ethanol or, more likely, methanol (aka 'wood alcohol'). And this is a major potential replacement for fossil fuels in both cars + other internal-combustion engines. As a side benefit, the mash which remains in the still after the alcohol is extracted can be used as fertilizer.
Take a tree-laden city like Philadelphia. I wouldn't be surprised if the potential alcohol which could be extracted from fallen leaves could power the city for a year; plus, the left over mash could be sold as 100% organic (in both the chemical + political senses) fertilizer.
Would leaf-derived alcohol replace all fossil fuels in the US? Of course not- I doubt any single alternative energy source will ever, on its own, replace all fossil fuel-derived energy. However, in concert with such energy sources as wind, solar, hydro, + geothermal, cellulosic ethanol can be a major part of the answer. And, whatever disruption could be caused by collecting fallen leaves for distillation, it could hardly compare to the devastation of fossil fuel extraction.
Thoughts? Or is this just the kind of ridiculous idea one has while fighting insomnia?
-Z
No, it's entirely possible.
No, it's entirely possible. The Economist did a special report on what they called "Tree Ethanol" earlier this year. The best parts about it is that it is a) abundant, b) not a human food source, and c) more efficient and requires less energy to make than both corn and sugar based ethanol.
There is, however, one glaring problem--at least according to The Economist. Right now, it is too time consuming--read expensive--to produce in large quantities. Scientists believe we could produce an enzyme that would break down the alcohols needed to produce combustible fuels, but it will take a lot of research and investment.
Corn ethanol, on the other hand, is backed by one of the most powerful lobbies in the US.