1 THE 2001 NET ENERGY BALANCE OF CORN-ETHANOL (PRELIMINARY)

This report estimates the net energy balance of corn ethanol utilizing the latest survey of U.S. corn producers and the 2001 U.S. survey of ethanol plants. The major objectives of this report are to improve the quality of data and methodology used in the estimation. This paper also uses ASPEN Plus, a process simulation program, to allocate total energy used to produce ethanol and byproducts. The results indicate that corn ethanol has a positive energy balance, even before subtracting the energy allocated to by products. The net energy balance of corn ethanol adjusted for byproduct credits is 27,729 and 33,196 Btu per gallon for wet- and dry-milling, respectively, and 30,528 Btu per gallon for the industry. The study results suggest that corn ethanol is energy efficient, as indicated by an energy output/input ratio of 1.67