Completion Report
To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
Cindy Raisor, Instructor
Group 17
March 7, 2014
Infographic, Seaweed Bioethanol: The Future of Fuel
You are receiving this report in accordance with the requirements of the assignment and to outline the
important aspects of our infographic project. We attempted to solve the problem of the increasing
worldwide ethanol demand by creating an infographic that outlines an alternate production process
involving seaweed that eliminates some of the problems of traditional feedstock in hope that it would
convince investors to donate to the cause, and researchers to take an interest in the topic. The
infographic is able to take large amounts of relatively complicated information and put it into an
understandable format, but it is also limited by the fact that it is not a good detail for conveying fine
details about a subject. More information can be found in the text below.
Problem
Demand for Ethanol
As the worldwide demand for ethanol has increased, it has become apparent that
traditional methods of extracting ethanol from corn and other foods will not be
sufficient. The use of traditional feedstock, such as corn, for the production of ethanol
has caused some negative effects on the economy and food production. Approximately
40% of corn grown in the United States is used for ethanol production. This removal of
supply caused food prices to rise significantly, and this trend will continue as demand for
ethanol increases.
Risks of Ignoring the Problem
As stated above, the demand for ethanol continues to grow, placing increasing pressure
on corn farmers to produce high yields to supply for an increased demand. If demand
continues to grow, corn production will no longer be able to meet these needs, and a
choice will have to be made between corn shortages and ethanol shortages.
Target Audience
Focus on Solving the Problem
This infographic is targeted towards those that can make a difference in solving this
problem: potential investors and researchers. The infographic also appeals to, but is not
directly targeted toward, chemical engineers, farmers, and other groups that may be
concerned with methods of ethanol production. These people need to know this
information so that they can be educated on all possible options available for something
that affects their lives.
Expected Action
The purpose of our infographic is to educate investors and researchers about the
potential of this type of process in order to encourage either their investment in these
projects or their interest in researching this topic. It also serves the purpose of
educating the sector of the population that would care about methods of ethanol
production, such as chemical engineers and corn farmers, about the advantages of this
method in order to gain more widespread support.
Solution
Organization
The infographic starts by explaining the reasons that ethanol is becoming an essential
compound, giving the reader background on why it is important that the process of
producing it is analyzed and changed. It then explains how ethanol is currently produced
with corn feedstock and what some of the disadvantages of this method are, before
introducing the new method that we have proposed. Some of the benefits of using a
method that uses seaweed as feedstock are listed before it begins to explain how the
process actually works. We found that this method of organization was the most logical
for making the audience first see the importance of the problem and then want to help
solve it.
Design
The infographic was designed in such a way that it would keep the reader’s attention,
while still efficiently communicating large amounts of information to the reader.
Graphics, placement of graphics and text, and color choices were all purposefully
chosen to fulfill this purpose. Our infographic design is extremely beneficial in conveying
information about a fairly long and complicated process in a coherent format. However,
this format also severely limits the level of detail into which you can go. Trying to put
too much detail into an infographic would simply hamper the design’s benefits.
Research
Research for the topic was obtained primarily from scholarly articles on the internet and
prior research that was done by a group member. One of our members has done a
project covering a similar topic, and has quite a bit of prior knowledge and research that
we used to formulate the process. Research concerning statistics and information about
classical methods of ethanol production using food was found in various internet
articles. A full list of references can be found at the end of the infographic.
Conclusion
Ethanol production through use of a seaweed feedstock is a very promising method that should
be given ample opportunity. Our infographic attempts to prove this to investors and researchers
by first outlining the importance of ethanol, next showing some of the flaws of classic methods,
then highlighting some of the benefits of this new method, and finally outlining the details of
the process itself. The color scheme, graphics, and placement of graphics were chosen
strategically to keep the reader’s attention and convey information in the most efficient way. If
you have any other questions or concerns, our group can be contacted by email at
kmitchell539@tamu.edu.