Wheals A E, Basso L C, Alves D M, Amorim H V
Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK BA2 7AY.
Trends Biotechnol. 1999 Dec;17(12):482-7. doi: 10.1016/s0167-7799(99)01384-0.
After 25 years, Brazil and North America are still the only two regions that produce large quantities of fuel ethanol, from sugar cane and maize, respectively. The efficiency of ethanol production has steadily increased and valuable co-products are produced, but only tax credits make fuel ethanol commercially viable because oil prices are at an all-time low. The original motivation for fuel-ethanol production was to become more independent of oil imports; now, the emphasis is on its use as an oxygenated gasoline additive. There will only be sufficient, low-cost ethanol if lignocellulose feedstock is also used.
25年后，巴西和北美仍然是仅有的分别大量生产甘蔗燃料乙醇和玉米燃料乙醇的两个地区。乙醇生产效率稳步提高，还生产出了有价值的副产品，但由于油价处于历史低位，只有税收抵免才能使燃料乙醇在商业上可行。燃料乙醇生产的最初动机是减少对石油进口的依赖；如今，重点在于将其用作含氧汽油添加剂。只有使用木质纤维素原料，才会有充足的低成本乙醇。
