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Corn-based ethanol and electricity from coal worse than gasoline: study

Electricity from natural gas, wind, water or solar power is the best alternative to gasoline when it comes to improving air quality and will help the environment compared with the use of conventional gasoline but coal-based electricity or corn-based ethanol are worse, a recently completed study by US-based researchers said.



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According to the researchers, who published an abstract of their study in the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the US, they evaluated 10 alternatives to gasoline including biofuels, CNG, as well as electricity for EV obtained from different sources and hybrid technology.

“We find that powering vehicles with corn ethanol or with coal-based, grid-average electricity increases monetized environmental health impacts by 80% or more relative to using conventional gasoline,” according to the report which was published in the last quarter of 2014.

“Conversely, EVs powered by low-emitting electricity from natural gas, wind, water, or solar power reduce environmental health impacts by 50% or more,” it added.

The study confirms that EVs powered by low-emitting electricity are better for the environment compared with gasoline.

The abstract of the study did not mention the impact of sugar-based ethanol. Unlike the US, several regions of the world produce ethanol using sugar cane as raw material. Brazilian sugar industry officials have long claimed sugar-based ethanol is better for the environment compared with corn-based ethanol.

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