Bioethanol and Biomass

Energy flows from biomass to bioethanol; their prices have moved together.

Bioethanol (chemical) and Biomass (energy): 2 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Energy flow

Physical flow · 4.5% of flow · Biomass → Bioethanol

Sugar and starch crops are fermented into ethanol.

• 4.5% of Biomass's energy goes this way

2. Price link: competing use

Cost and price · Weak · Both ways

Biomass can be fermented into ethanol rather than burned, and ethanol made from maize or cane competes for crops and land. The US indices show a weak link: monthly moves correlate at -0.06 and yearly moves at 0.30.

• -0.06 monthly change correlation
• 0.30 12-month change correlation
• 0.17 fitted elasticity

Built from the site data on production routes, energy flows, industry value chains, input-output tables and prices.