Question: how much energy is required to produce a gallon of ethanol?
Answer: Additional treatment and energy are required to produce the 99.8 percent pure ethanol for mixing with gasoline. * Adding up the energy costs of corn production and its conversion to ethanol, 131,000 Btu are needed to make 1 gallon of ethanol. One gallon of ethanol has an energy value of only 77,000 Btu.