With the recent surge in demand to go green, much emphasis has been put on Ethanol production. Simply because it is Clean, Safe, and Renewable. Ethanol can be produce from a number of different plant materials. Sugar and Corn are the two main crops used in production. Corn however requires a great deal more energy to convert to ethanol making Sugar the more efficient choice. In fact Sugar is twice as efficient as Corn and only requires yeast and the removal of the water along with additives to purify the finished fuel.
Ethanol production with Sugarcane begins with the farming and reaping of the Sugarcane fields. The cane is then processed extracting the cane juice leaving usable byproducts such as sugar molasses and bagasse. Sugar Molasses is used to produce alcoholic beverages, and Fuel Alcohol. Steam energy can be produced from the Bagasse and sold to electric companies. This leaves nothing wasted in the Ethanol production process.
To turn the Sugar Juice into Ethanol, yeast is used as a Catalyst to begin the fermentation process. This process can take up to 12 hours and generate a large amount of heat and CO2 all of which can be used for energy production and other sellable products. Cooling is then applied to finish the process. It is then distilled using byproducts to a purity of 95%. The ethanol can then be purified to 100% making it safe for Gasoline mixing with cyclohexane. The only downside of Sugar is that it must be produce on site due to high transport costs but most fields have a production plant onsite.
Since Gasoline has hit highs of $100 a barrel and higher, the demand for alternative fuels has risen greatly. Many gas stations are already mixing ethanol with gas, and as gas continues to rise, Ethanol continues to become more viable as an alternative energy source. Using Sugar in the production continues to be one of the best ways to produce Ethanol Fuel.
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