Ethanol – a sustainable and market-available alternative to gasoline

For the first time since 9/11, a new issue has tied health care as the number one concern of Canadians, as revealed by a Gandalf group poll in July. This issue is the price of gasoline. Almost 75 percent of respondents said that gasoline prices are a very important concern in Canada — up nine percent since last quarter.

And it’s no wonder. In the past year, oil prices have increased by approximately 100 percent and gasoline prices are through the roof. When added to serious environmental concerns of basing our world economy on a polluting fossil fuel, the need for an alternative transportation fuel source becomes crucial. Ethanol is the only sustainable market-available alternative to gasoline. It is non-toxic, water soluble, highly biodegradable and is made from renewable resources — critically important as gas prices continue to rise and oil resources deplete.

As Canada’s leading ethanol producer, GreenField Ethanol provides motorists with a sustainable alternative fuel produced locally from a renewable resource — corn. National Resources Canada’s GH Genius model shows that corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 40 to 60 percent compared to gasoline. The federal government’s Renewable Fuel Standard, which calls for an average of five percent ethanol by 2010, will bring GHG reductions equivalent to removing one million cars from Canada’s highways each year.

For the past 20 years GreenField has been developing a working knowledge of ethanol production and plant development that has set the company apart from others in the industry. We are now diversifying our source products via the development of the next generation of ethanol — cellulosic ethanol made from feedstocks including municipal and agricultural waste. The company’s Cellulosic Ethanol Division was established in 2007 to pursue two parallel paths of research into the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol production: biochemical conversion of plant fibers and gasification of municipal waste.

GreenField has partnered with Enerkem to design and construct commercial scale gasification plants to produce cellulosic ethanol from municipal waste and is presently collaborating on Canada’s first commercially viable gasification plant. 100,000 tonnes of municipal sorted waste from the city of Edmonton will be turned into 40,000,000 litres of biofuels.

High oil prices may be here to stay, but we needn’t be forever bound to pay them. Ethanol offers the way to reduced oil reliance, a better environment and a more sustainable energy future. Ethanol is the right solution at the right time and GreenField is committed to broadening Canadians’ energy choices.