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Bioethanol: A drain on agricultural water resources
Issue date: 4/23/09
The excessive water consumption highlighted by the new study is especially problematic where the water used for irrigation and biorefinery comes from groundwater reserves, such as the Ogallala aquifer.
The aquifier extends through South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas, and is the largest underground water reservoir on the continent.
The study finds that in 2008 alone, over 18 percent of the water in the Ogallala aquifer was used by these states for agricultural irrigation. Much of this water went specifically for crops that were destined to be used for bioethanol production.
This is an enormous drain on one of our largest water reserves. Increasing ethanol production in this region will undoubtedly have significant impacts on the aquifer. Indeed, if ethanol is to become a more widespread alternative to gasoline, production will need to be substantially ramped up.
Conversely, many states in the Corn Belt only consume 100 gallons or less of water for ethanol production, making them collectively a more efficient region to produce biofuels. The study's authors argue that most ethanol production should be focused in these regions.
Clearly regional differences must be taken into account in order to produce bioethanol efficiently and with minimal damage to the environment.
The authors of the study conclude that "concerted and immediate action needs to be taken in order to prevent a problem shift from energy supply to water sustainability."
Irrigation needs, where groundwater is the primary source, tend to increase with the geographic expansion of ethanol production.
EISA mandates another 6 billion liters of ethanol production capacity by 2015, so placement of new plants is a point of concern.
The study's authors propose regionally strategic water pricing in order to discourage building new ethanol plants in less irrigation-efficient locations.
Although geographic expansion of ethanol production is a potentially large cause of water depletion, most of the production needed to fulfill the EISA mandate - 90 percent of it, in fact - is already built.
Existing biorefineries produce 51 billion liters of ethanol a year. Therefore, it is imperative that the efficiency of these production sites is improved as the industry grows.
In addition to conservative irrigation practices, improved corn genetics are another way to increase production efficiency, the study suggests.
No new technology is perfect, and depleted water supplies may be an unintended consequence of bioethanol. We will have to find a way to balance our resources and production soon or we may be forced to decide between water and ethanol.
The aquifier extends through South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas, and is the largest underground water reservoir on the continent.
The study finds that in 2008 alone, over 18 percent of the water in the Ogallala aquifer was used by these states for agricultural irrigation. Much of this water went specifically for crops that were destined to be used for bioethanol production.
This is an enormous drain on one of our largest water reserves. Increasing ethanol production in this region will undoubtedly have significant impacts on the aquifer. Indeed, if ethanol is to become a more widespread alternative to gasoline, production will need to be substantially ramped up.
Conversely, many states in the Corn Belt only consume 100 gallons or less of water for ethanol production, making them collectively a more efficient region to produce biofuels. The study's authors argue that most ethanol production should be focused in these regions.
Clearly regional differences must be taken into account in order to produce bioethanol efficiently and with minimal damage to the environment.
The authors of the study conclude that "concerted and immediate action needs to be taken in order to prevent a problem shift from energy supply to water sustainability."
Irrigation needs, where groundwater is the primary source, tend to increase with the geographic expansion of ethanol production.
EISA mandates another 6 billion liters of ethanol production capacity by 2015, so placement of new plants is a point of concern.
The study's authors propose regionally strategic water pricing in order to discourage building new ethanol plants in less irrigation-efficient locations.
Although geographic expansion of ethanol production is a potentially large cause of water depletion, most of the production needed to fulfill the EISA mandate - 90 percent of it, in fact - is already built.
Existing biorefineries produce 51 billion liters of ethanol a year. Therefore, it is imperative that the efficiency of these production sites is improved as the industry grows.
In addition to conservative irrigation practices, improved corn genetics are another way to increase production efficiency, the study suggests.
No new technology is perfect, and depleted water supplies may be an unintended consequence of bioethanol. We will have to find a way to balance our resources and production soon or we may be forced to decide between water and ethanol.
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