STUDENTS’ CORN ETHANOL PERCEPTIONS

Author:

Nicholson, Rosemary

Area of Honors:

Biorenewable Systems

Degree:

Bachelor of Science

Document Type:

Thesis

Thesis Supervisors:

Paul Smith, Thesis Supervisor
Judd Michael, Thesis Honors Advisor

Keywords:

Corn Ethanol
Alternative Fuel
Perception
Consumer
Student
Biofuel

Abstract:

Due to increased energy demands from the growing population, ethanol as a fuel source has gained popularity over time. Currently, in the United States, E10 (less than 10% ethanol) is the mainstream option at the pump, and there are two higher ethanol fuel blends commonly available at the pump: E15 (between 10.5%-15% ethanol) and E85 (51%-83% ethanol). This study sought to better understand the existing knowledge and perceptions of college students on corn ethanol as a fuel source. A census sample of predominately undergraduate students in the College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) at Penn State University was surveyed via Survey Monkey. The survey was administered through a newsletter to all students in the CAS (n=1200), and an estimated adjusted response rate was found to be 34 percent (n=204). Some key findings are that price and location are the two most important criterion for customers to consider when choosing a fuel retailer. In terms of a variety of ethanol issues, the three statements that study participants felt most strongly about were that using ethanol decreased US dependency on foreign oil, benefits rural economies, and has an effect on food prices. Finally, price sensitivity of E15 was analyzed when E15 was priced both above and below parity. Interestingly, approximately 87-90 percent of recipients “may” or “would” purchase E15 when priced below parity, disagreeing slightly with the findings of Sheetz (2017). Ultimately this study represents exploratory research about a sample of educated millennial undergraduates at a major US land grant university located outside of the Corn Belt. Although the sample limits the ability to make inferences to a larger population, it is useful to better understand the perceptions and opinions of a sample of educated millennial undergraduates, which could be interesting to fuel retailers and ethanol producers, among others.