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The United States produces mainly biodiesel and ethanol fuel, which uses corn as the main feedstock. Since 2005 the US overtook Brazil as the world's largest ethanol producer.〔()〕 In 2006 the US produced of ethanol. The United States, together with Brazil accounted for 70 percent of all ethanol production, with total world production of (40 million metric tons). When accounting just for fuel ethanol production in 2007, the U.S. and Brazil are responsible for 88% of the total world production. Biodiesel is commercially available in most oilseed-producing states. , it was somewhat more expensive than fossil diesel, though it is still commonly produced in relatively small quantities (in comparison to petroleum products and ethanol fuel). Due to increasing pollution control and climate change requirements and tax relief, the U.S. market is expected to grow to by 2010. Biofuels are mainly used mixed with fossil fuels. They are also used as additives. The largest biodiesel consumer is the U.S. Army. Most light vehicles on the road today in the US can run on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and motor vehicle manufacturers already produce vehicles designed to run on much higher ethanol blends. The demand for bioethanol fuel in the United States was stimulated by the discovery in the late 90s that methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), an oxygenate additive in gasoline, was contaminating groundwater.〔〔 Cellulosic biofuels are under development, to avoid upward pressure on food prices and land use changes that would be expected to result from a major increase in use of food biofuels.〔 Biofuels are not just limited to liquid fuels. One of the often overlooked uses of biomass in the United States is in the gasification of biomass. There is a small, but growing number of people using woodgas to fuel cars and trucks all across America. The challenge is to expand the market for biofuels beyond the farm states where they have been most popular to date.〔"The craze for maize", ''The Economist'', May 12, 2007, pp.33-34〕 Flex-fuel vehicles are assisting in this transition because they allow drivers to choose different fuels based on price and availability. It should also be noted that the growing ethanol and biodiesel industries are providing jobs in plant construction, operations, and maintenance, mostly in rural communities. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the ethanol industry created almost 154,000 U.S. jobs in 2005 alone, boosting household income by $5.7 billion. It also contributed about $3.5 billion in tax revenues at the local, state, and federal levels.〔Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress (2006). (''American energy: The renewable path to energy security'' )〕 On the other hand, in 2010, the industry received $6.646 billion in federal support (not counting state and local support). Based upon average U.S. corn yields for the years 2007 through 2012, conversion of the entire US corn crop would yield 34.4 billion gallons of ethanol which is approximately 25% of 2012 finished motor fuel demand. ==History== The United States used biofuel in the beginning of the 20th century. For example, models of Ford T ran with ethanol fuel. Then the interest in biofuels declined until the first and second oil crisis (1973 and 1979). The Department of Energy established the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 1974 and started to work in 1977. The NREL publish papers on biofuels. Congress also voted the Energy Policy Act in 1994 and a newer in 2005 to promote renewable fuels. Congress established regulars under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 intended to encourage the mixing of renewable fuels into our nation's motor vehicle fuel supply. Congress supported the renewable fuels program under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to contain particular annual volume standards for complete renewable fuel and also for the fixed renewable fuel groups of biomass-based diesel, biofuel, and advanced biofuel. The reassessed statutory requirements also incorporate new criteria for both renewable fuels and for the feedstocks used to produce them, including lifecycle greenhouse gas emission thresholds. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Biofuel in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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