How To Make Biodiesel

Jun. 5–DECATUR — U.S. Rep. Phil Hare came to Decatur on Monday full of praise for ethanol and backing legislation that would target price-gouging at the gas pump. Hare, D-Rock Island, visited the plants of Tate & Lyle and Archer Daniels Midland Co. on a fact-finding tour to “see what these businesses do — and ask what kind of a resource I can be for them at the federal level.” Speaking at ADM, Hare made it clear he regarded one of that company’s star products — ethanol — as having a major role in America’s energy future. “I see it as part of the solution to the problem (of dwindling oil reserves). It’s not just ethanol; it’s also biodiesel and a lot of different alternative fuels that we can invest in,” said Hare. As for motorists crying in frustration at the pump, Hare touted the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act. This proposed law would levy fines up to $150 million and send people caught jacking up gas prices to take advantage of the latest bad news roiling oil markets to prison. Hare said he didn’t know if there were shady dealings in the oil business and, if there were, uncovering them wouldn’t be easy. But he said he hadn’t been elected to sit on his hands and do nothing: “I think members of Congress have a moral obligation to go out and give it the best fight you can,” he said. “We sin by silence if we do nothing.” The congressman then came back to his central theme, which was the promotion and development of renewable fuels, such as ethanol, as offering the best long-term solution to America’s pain at the pump. “The longer-term picture has to be doing the best we can to get away from the dependence on foreign oil,” he added. But the Illinois Petroleum Council, a trade association representing oil refiners, transporters and marketers, cautions against exaggerating ethanol’s potential. The council says ethanol is important, but the numbers tell the story: America’s gas thirst stands at 150 billion gallons a year and rising, while flat-out ethanol production delivers barely 6 billion gallons. “We’re pro-ethanol, too, and that’s evident by the fact we sell it,” said the council’s executive director, David Sykuta. “But you have to be realistic: There isn’t enough ethanol to go around.” One estimate says that for corn-based ethanol to displace gas as America’s primary transportation fuel, all available cropland would have to be given over to its production, then another 20 percent more land on top of that would need to be cultivated. Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or 421-7977. Credit: Herald & Review, Decatur, Ill.

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