Corn as biofuel - Research Paper Example

Courting this scenario an alternative source of energy is in its utmost need. At this background a series of alternative sources of energy such as solar energy, hydro electric energy, and atomic energy all made their entrance on the discussion table. However the most new form of alternative might be the bio fuel that nowadays has gathered much interest of the scientists. Among the bio fuels, Jatropha, Pongamia are some very common names, but the recent emergence of corn as a vital source of bio fuel and there by a source of energy might be nothing short of path breaking.

However before moving into details regarding the corn fuel it would be wise to consider some associated points before hand. Crude Oil & USA United States of America is the largest consumer of crude oil and the third largest producer. In statistical terms USA produces around 10% of the global crude oil and consumes 24% of the same. Furthermore in order to keep its existence in export market the country indulges in exporting 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day. A careful consideration of this situation clearly indicates a demand supple gap that needs to be filled with import of crude oil.

It has been estimated that USA in the year 2007 imported 12MMBD that is in terms of percentage 58% of the total domestic demand (Energy Information Center 2008). Dependency of USA in terms of crude oil on other countries and overseas Among the total import of crude oil the Western Hemisphere constitutes 51% of the total import. Canada, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Nigeria are other oil exporting countries in USA in exact order. The following table depicts the dependence of USA in terms of crude oil import based on 2007 data.

Name of the Country Percentage of Crude oil exported to USA Western Hemisphere (North, South, Central America along with parts of USA in Caribbean) 51% Canada 23.3% Venezuela 10.7% Saudi Arabia 10.4% Mexico 9.2% Nigeria 8.3% Source: Energy Information Association, 2008 Rickman, 2009 Alarming news is that this dependency without being reduced over the time is actually increasing and statistics reveals that import of crude oil has actually increased by 0.183 MMBD in August 2008 over the previous month.

It should also be kept in mind that countries like Iraq, Brazil, Angola and Kuwait are kept aside of the above table who contributes at substantial level to the USA oil import. (Energy Information Center, n.d.; Energy Information Center 2008) Why should we look at alternative fuels? As mentioned earlier that fossil fuel is limited in availability and it is constantly depleting, at this rate either coal or crude oil can not sustain as the prime form of global energy source beyond 2025 to 2035.

Humanity is in search for some alternatives that can be used and re used time and again as a source of energy or at least can be produced at one’s free will. The trade partners of USA in Crude oil and their unfriendly behaviour USA shares a hostile relation apart from Saudi Arabia and partially with Kuwait among al the Middle East countries. Among them Iraq and Iran are USA’s arch enemies. Saudi’s oil reserve is depleting and it can not hold for long its position as an important oil exporting country.

Kuwaiti oil wells were set in fire long back during the Iraq-Kuwait war and that had eroded the country of the prime position it used to enjoy as oil enriched country. Again historically Middle East is an area that has