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Estimating Energy for Corn Transport

We assumed that 25 percent of the corn was delivered directly from the farm to ethanol plants, with the remaining 75 percent transported from farms to ethanol plants via grain elevators. The estimated trucking distance from elevator to plant is 100 miles round-trip. The diesel fuel requirement is about 2,000 Btu per ton-mile for a loaded truck and 1,000 Btu per ton-mile to return the empty truck. It requires 3,150 Btu per bushel to haul corn to the plant. Each gallon produced in a dry mill uses 1,212 Btu of diesel fuel for hauling corn to the plant. A wet mill uses 1,260 Btu of diesel fuel for each gallon of ethanol produced.

Estimating Energy for Ethanol Distribution

Energy requirements to distribute and dispense ethanol were developed by EPA (1993). Energy requirements for shipping to the terminal and the retailer are both included. Further, to be consistent, the energy distribution charge recommended by EPA was increased in proportion to the relative energy densities of gasoline and ethanol. Ethanol is shipped to the wholesaler by truck and/or barge. The average trip from an ethanol plant to a terminal requires 2,501 Btu of diesel fuel. Ethanol is blended with gasoline at the terminal and delivered to retailers by truck. It is generally blended with 90-percent gasoline and 10-percent ethanol (E10). The energy used for blending along with the electricity used for dispensing the fuel from the pump is 672 Btu per gallon of ethanol.