Report
Ethanol in the Pacific Northwest
PNW (Series), 710, Washington State University Extension
09/2018
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/13109
Abstract
This factsheet provides background on ethanol as a transportation biofuel and discusses the role ethanol plays in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. This includes describing relevant policies, consumption, availability of ethanol blends, production facilities, feedstock sources, and economic and environmental impacts. Ethanol is commonly blended into gasoline across the United States, including the PNW. National and state-level policies encourage biofuel production and consumption in Washington and Oregon. Possible benefits of using ethanol as a biofuel include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stimulating rural economies, in addition to increasing fuel octane ratings. Concerns include potential land use change and impacts on food prices. The PNW consumed 523 million gallons of fuel ethanol in 2015. As of 2018, three ethanol refineries are operating in the PNW and a large-scale facility stands idle. Most ethanol consumed and produced in the PNW is made from imported corn, but food waste, sugar beets, poplar trees, wheat/barley/grass straw, and forestry residues are also potential feedstock options for the region. If cellulosic ethanol reaches a wide-spread commercial scale, the PNW could utilize considerable quantities of cellulosic feedstocks. Ethanol production has grown over the past decade and may continue to increase with scientific advancements and policy support.
Metrics
105 File views/ downloads
547 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Ethanol in the Pacific Northwest
- Creators
- Hart Noelle M. (Author)Keaton L. Lesnik (Author)Patricia A. Townsend (Author)
- Academic Unit
- Publications, WSU Extension
- Series
- PNW (Series); 710
- Publisher
- Washington State University Extension; Pullman, Washington
- Grant note
- This work was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Competitive Grant no. 2011-68005-30407 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
- Identifiers
- 99900503048601842
- Copyright
- Copyright Not Evaluated ; openAccess ; http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/ ; http://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccess
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Report