Ethanol on the Waterfront
The South Buffalo ethanol plant on the water is going forward.
Some see this as a positive.
Perhaps. But being less energy efficient than gasoline, and significantly less efficient than diesel, Ethanol and E85 are not, I think, the answers to our energy needs.
Furthermore, ethanol plants stink. Literally. Not only do they emit an alphabet soup of volatile organic chemicals, but
Much of the objectionable odor from ethanol plants comes from drying the leftover corn mash after the ethanol has been separated. While bad odor does not mean the emissions are hazardous to the health, the odor can be irritating to some individuals.
Sure they can (and most likely will) install some sort of emissions control equipment, but the plant will nevertheless be within 400 feet of homes, and not at all far from the already Skyway-blighted, political-stasis-ridden Canal Side project.
The prospect of shopping at Crate & Barrel while inhaling rotting corn mash, acetaldehyde, acrolein, and formaldehyde seems somewhat off-putting.
Maybe that’s why most ethanol plants are in rural areas. You know, where the corn is?
hank Says:December 19th, 2007 at 10:15 am
I DO work in the Specialty Automotive Aftermarket. But I don’t own oil stocks, so I have no vested interest in knocking ethanol or E-85 as alternative fuel.
What bothers me is the Greeenies don’t believe that it takes more energy to make this fuel than its value as a fuel. This doesn’t help much, does it?
It’s sort of like making an electric car, that you can use a standard 110 volt plug to recharge. But the electricity you’re using to recharge the car’s battery comes from BURNING COAL????
My car club has guys working on improved LP Gas fuel conversions for the Corvair, and one is hoping for a shot at a hydrogen fuel cell conversion project, also for a Corvair. These alternative ideas make much more sense than Ethanol
Putting an Ethanol Plant in Buffalo? I’ve never got my arms around that, seems more like symbolism instead of real substance.
mike hudson Says:December 19th, 2007 at 10:35 am
quite correct pundit. ethanol is less efficient than gasoline, and it stinks. it also drives up the price of corn, which drives up the price of beef, milk and other staple foods. which hurts poor people disproportionately.
it is a dumb liberal idea whose time is long since passed. no wonder buffalo’s diving into it in a big way!
Rifle Dude Says:December 19th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Using vacant underutilized industrial properties for an industrial purpose…. the madness of WNY.
Greg Says:December 19th, 2007 at 10:40 am
going to diesel for cars would probably be better than ethanol
yes it’s still oil based, but it sohuld provide better mpg
I also think hybrids will be a good solution, especially now that they have close to the same performance as their pure gas counterparts.
The problem with the old pure electric cars was long recharge times, short run time and distance, crappy speed and acceleration.
I want a car that will go hundreds of miles without needing a recharge or fillup and have that refueling take 5 minutes , not 30 mile range and an 8 hour recharge
Thirdspace Says:December 19th, 2007 at 10:52 am
I went to graduate school at Notre Dame a few years ago and while I never saw New Energy Corp’s ethanol plant in South Bend, I certainly smelled it. There’s nothing quite like that odor - a sickly sweet yet rotten smell that at times can make one gag. And again, I never saw the plant, so it couldn’t have been within 400 feet of campus. For kicks, I just looked up the location of the plant and it turns out it’s about 1.4 miles from Notre Dame.
You know what’s 1.4 miles from RiverWright’s plant? Not only the Old First Ward, but much of downtown. And I have a hunch that 1.4 miles is not the radial limit of that odor. My guess is that much of Allentown, a good portion of Elmwood, most of the near East Side, and a nich chunk of South Buffalo will get a healthy whiff as well.
According to most of the stories I’ve read, thermal oxidizing emissions control equipment can take care of some, but not all, of the odor. And the equipment needs to be rigorously maintained in order to achieve consistent operation. However, the equipment is costly (more than $1 million according to most accounts) and eventually loses a significant amount of efficiency over time. I wonder whether RiverWright is going to ponying up that kind of dough every 10 years or so.
And the odor isn’t exactly a evidence of a harmless byproduct. For instance, in 2002, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency tested the air around a plant in St. Paul, MN and found high levels of carbon monoxide, as well as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The VOCs included formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, both of which are known to cause cancer in animals.
Anyway, this is just one more seriously bad idea in a town that apparently can’t get enough of them.
Howard Goldman Says:December 19th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Nobody ever claimed that ethanol is cheaper than gas. (Except in Brazil where they can make it from cane sugar.) Our national mandate to pursue ethanol is motivated by the goal of increased independence from fuel sources that are controlled by enemy nations.
Modern technology has greatly reduced the odor from ethanol plants. The older plants that had community complaints did not have the benefit of the modern scrubbers that our Buffalo plant is installing.
I expect that a great many of us, First Ward residents especially, will be happy with the renewed importance of our old grain elevators, the inner harbor, and their significant contribution once again not only to our city but our nation.
Kevin Townsell and Rick Smith are two Buffalo boys who’s beer drinking (and beer serving) was literally the total extent of their familiarity with grain. It is very exciting to see that two local regular guys, by having the faith to invest in their own vision, have brought good old Buffalo style private enterprise back to the Buffalo Harbor. The stuff that made Buffalo great in the first place, is the same stuff that these two gentlemen are made of.
My hat is off to the man in the cowboy hat.
Thirdspace Says:December 19th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Thanks, Howard. All of our concerns have now been allayed. Up with ethanol.
In other news, this story is far from over.
dougk Says:December 19th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
ethanol…a solution in search of a problem!
ike Says:December 19th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I never once smelled ethanol at ND
minterests Says:December 19th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Just as an aside I was sad to see the the recent energy bill passed “does not require utilities to produce a growing share of electric power from renewable sources” apparently the bill “was stripped of a package of subsidies for wind, solar, geothermal and other alternative energy sources that would have been paid for by billions of dollars in higher taxes on oil companies. Mr. Bush had threatened to veto a bill with those provisions, and the Senate eliminated them before passing the legislation last week.”
House, 314-100, Passes Broad Energy Bill; Bush Plans to Sign It:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/washington/19energy.html
Mike Says:December 19th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
This is great buffalo needs a new smell, ever since it closed the bakery salvage plant it hasnt been the same. Lets hope the city hall is down wind, it will be like living in the bathroom at the old pink.
Jay Says:December 20th, 2007 at 10:05 am
I think many people would agree that ethanol is not the entire answer to our energy needs, only one part.
Also, I’m not sure the smell is going to be as bad as some suspect. Couldn’t the Cheerios smell from General Mills could neutalize any bad odor?
hank Says:December 20th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Kevin Townsell–very likely another alumnus of “that school on Kenmore Av”. At least one went there when I did. Another reason for BP to dislike the Ethanol plant.
I’m all for re-use of old industrial sites for any business that can provide jobs that pay living wages. A drive along the 190 running south from Grand Island when I was young would give you first the smell of Oil cracking towers, then dead fish, then the Squaw Island Incinerator, then after the refreshing smell of Cheerios cooking, more oil cracking towers in the Smith/Louisiana St. areas, along with whatever Republic Steel was blowing out its stacks. A cornucopia of industrial odor.
I didn’t care for it much—BUT THAT WAS THE SMELL OF PEOPLE WORKING TOO!
In the early 80’s the Navy changed the approach pattern to the airfield in Puerto Rico to go over base housing, I was nearly blown out of bed one night by an F-14 coming over my house with Afterburners screaming @ zero-dark-thirty. We knew it was done to save fuel, but after I had a Cockpit cover land in my yard from a pilot getting ready to eject over the water, enough was enough. The Commanding Officer’s answer? The sound you are hearing all night is THE SOUND OF FREEDOM. DEAL WITH IT.
So I guess there’s always a trade-off.
I could never understand why the people who lived on Rt 5 tucked in here and there around Bethelhem Steel, and those in Woodlawn could stand the stink there. A Navy friend from Woodlawn said the same thing when he came to Riverside and heard the drop-hammers from McKaig&Hatch and JH Williams at 11:30 at night–”HOW DO YOU STAND THAT?” My answer–”Stand What?” I almost never remember hearing it.