Ethanol Reduced GHG Emissions By 54.1 Million Tons in 2019

  • Thursday, 13 February 2020 12:47

The use of ethanol in gasoline in the US last year reduced CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transportation sector by 54.1 million tons, according to a report by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

Using the US Department of Energy's GREET model, the report said the GHG emission reductions from ethanol usage was the equivalent of removing 11.5 million cars from the road for an entire year. 

The report - 2020 Ethanol Industry Outlook - said the GHG emission reductions was also the equivalent of eliminating annual emissions from 13 coal-fired power plants. 

Additionally, the report said cropland has not expanded in the US as a result of increasing ethanol production because farmers are growing more per acre. In fact, it said, cropland in the US has decreased by 7 percent since the RFS was updated in 2007.

In terms of energy balance, the report said the top quartile of dry mill biorefineries are producing 3.2 to 3.4 units of energy for every unit of energy used.

Read the full report here.