Sugarcane Ethanol producer Stratos Renewables Corp. believes sugar is better positioned to deliver on its promise as a fossil fuel substitute than corn. They cite a number of reasons for this as well as why the region they chose to grow their sugar is superior. Demand for both Sugar and Corn Ethanol has increased exponentially over the last few years, but the company makes a very good argument why sugar is the better alternative.
Since the energy crisis of the 1970’s, Sugar and Corn were the main materials used to create Ethanol. However, at this time methods used to produce ethanol were extremely inefficient. Today production processes for sugar have come a long way as sugar productivity has nearly tripled. This leads to sugar having an 8-1 energy balance ratio, many times higher than corn or other ethanol sources. What this means is it takes far less energy to produce sugarcane ethanol than other methods, some of which actually use more energy than they create.
In Peru, where the company grows its sugar, it is able to produce Ethanol at a much lower cost per gallon than Corn. A lot of this has to do with sugar not being feedstock. Sugar is also grown in the Peruvian desert year round. This allows other arable land for Food crops and lowers the production costs. In addition, sugar yields are three times higher than that of corn.
Sugar ethanol is also a far more efficient Bio-fuel. It burns cleaner and produces more BTU’s per unit than many other Ethanol sources, including corn. In fact, it emits up to 80% fewer gases than other forms of ethanol, which helps reduce greenhouse gases.
This is why Stratos believes that Sugar is to become the plant stock of choice for Ethanol production and that Peru is the place to grow it.
Let us hear your thoughts: Stratos Renewables Corp. Message Board