Biofuel ethanol: continue the silliness in the USA?

crude vegetable oil, diester, bio-ethanol or other biofuels, or fuel of vegetable origin ...
Christophe
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Biofuel ethanol: continue the silliness in the USA?




by Christophe » 13/10/08, 12:23

Instead of investing in biofuels (ie from non-food plants), in the US we continue the stupidity by doing research on food plants ... : Evil:

I wonder if all this is not "wanted", especially on cassava, a staple food in several regions of Africa ...

Moreover, when we see the price of the sweet potato here ... frankly: : Shock:

Sweet potato would be more profitable than corn for ethanol production

According to experiments conducted by scientists from the Agricultural Research Agency (ARS), in the states of Maryland and Alabama, sweet potatoes provide two to three more carbohydrates than corn. The same result was obtained for cassava in the state of Alabama.

The carbohydrate yield of a plant is directly related to the bioethanol production yield. There are two basic steps in bioethanol production: hydrolysis and fermentation. Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction, accelerated by enzymes (cellulases), which break down carbohydrate chains, into organic compounds. Fermentation breaks down organic compounds into alcohols such as bioethanol. According to these studies, the sweet potato yields of sweet potatoes approach those of sugarcane, which is the most interesting plant for bioethanol production. Another advantage of sweet potatoes and cassava is that they require much less fertilizer and pesticide than maize.

This study was conducted by Lew Ziska, an ARS plant physiologist in Beltzville, Maryland with support from other scientists at the ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn, Alabama. The research was done by comparing the carbohydrate yields of each plant. The results show that for the same growing and harvesting conditions, the sweet potato provided 10.5 tonnes of carbohydrate / hectare, while the corn yields only 3.7 tonnes / hectare. The cultivation of sweet potatoes for the production of bioethanol is therefore seriously to consider. However, further studies are still needed to determine the fertilizer, water and pesticide requirements for such crops for energy efficiency assessments.

The primary objective of this study is to try to develop new sources of organic fuels without reducing supplies for food and feed. Indeed, bioethanol production from maize is identified as one of the causes of the current global food crisis. It is therefore essential to diversify agricultural raw materials for bioenergy production.


http://www.bulletins-electroniques.com/ ... /56005.htm
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