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Environmental implications of higher ethanol production and use in the U.S.: A literature review. Part I – Impacts on water, soil, and air quality

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  • Hoekman, S. Kent
  • Broch, Amber
  • Liu, Xiaowei (Vivian)

Abstract

To address issues of energy security and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, substantial amounts of corn-derived ethanol are used in U.S. gasoline. Currently, ethanol comprises 10% of the U.S. gasoline pool (E10), but there is interest in increasing this – possibly doubling the amount currently used. Production of corn ethanol raises several concerns with respect to environmental and ecological impacts. This paper reviews the available literature regarding the impacts on water, soil, and air quality. A companion paper addresses issues of biodiversity, ecosystems, land use change, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and sustainability. We emphasize recent information appearing since comprehensive reports on this topic were issued by the U.S. EPA and NRC/NAS in 2011.

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  • Hoekman, S. Kent & Broch, Amber & Liu, Xiaowei (Vivian), 2018. "Environmental implications of higher ethanol production and use in the U.S.: A literature review. Part I – Impacts on water, soil, and air quality," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 3140-3158.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:81:y:2018:i:p2:p:3140-3158
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.050
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoqing Zhang & Tie Li & Pengfei Ma & Bin Wang, 2017. "Spray Combustion Characteristics and Soot Emission Reduction of Hydrous Ethanol Diesel Emulsion Fuel Using Color-Ratio Pyrometry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Ahmad Bathaei & Dalia Štreimikienė, 2023. "Renewable Energy and Sustainable Agriculture: Review of Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-24, September.
    3. Antar, Mohammed & Lyu, Dongmei & Nazari, Mahtab & Shah, Ateeq & Zhou, Xiaomin & Smith, Donald L., 2021. "Biomass for a sustainable bioeconomy: An overview of world biomass production and utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Mendiburu, Andrés Z. & Lauermann, Carlos H. & Hayashi, Thamy C. & Mariños, Diego J. & Rodrigues da Costa, Roberto Berlini & Coronado, Christian J.R. & Roberts, Justo J. & de Carvalho, João A., 2022. "Ethanol as a renewable biofuel: Combustion characteristics and application in engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    5. Fernando Shintate Galindo & Jeffrey S. Strock & Paulo Humberto Pagliari, 2021. "Nutrient Accumulation Affected by Corn Stover Management Associated with Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilization," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, November.
    6. Man, Hanyang & Liu, Huan & Xiao, Qian & Deng, Fanyuan & Yu, Qiao & Wang, Kai & Yang, Zhengjun & Wu, Ye & He, Kebin & Hao, Jiming, 2018. "How ethanol and gasoline formula changes evaporative emissions of the vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 584-594.
    7. Elina Bryngemark & Patrik Söderholm, 2022. "Green industrial policies and domestic production of biofuels: an econometric analysis of OECD countries," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 24(2), pages 225-261, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ethanol; E20; Environmental impacts; Water quality; Air quality; SOC;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)

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