Is sugarcane ethanol better than from corn?

[Xist]

Sugarcane is better at making ethanol than corn because it has more sugar!

Bryn, thanks for sharing that! Would the digestive problems with cows eating corn give them more gas? I have read statistics on how much methane cows produce.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by bryn

i read a book a last year called "alcohol can be a gas" the auther claims most corn in the US goes to feed animals for meat.
cows are really bad at digesting sugers, so corn made into ethanol removes the sugars, leaving cooked protiens and fiber. he claims the left over distillers grains are a better food for cattle, than the raw grain with all of the starch still in place,
the same bushel of grain cooked for alcohol with the starch removed will grow healthier cattle, bigger, faster.

The amount of methane generated by the bacteria inside the cattle's digestive tract is related to the starch at a certain amount, so distillation-dried grain (DDG) is a good option to feed cattle instead of raw corn. Regarding sugarcane vs. ethanol, nowadays even in Brazil there are some ethanol mills using corn to keep operating all year-round instead of just from November to March.

[gone-ot]

Sugar cane is seasonal, just as corn is. Why not also throw in sugar beets?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

Sugar cane is seasonal, just as corn is. Why not also throw in sugar beets?

Sugar beets are not so usual in Brazil. But there are also many other options, such as rice, sorghum, wheat, potatoes, well, nearly anything. BTW once Brazil had to import grape-based ethanol from Italy...

[Xist]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Sugar beets are not so usual in Brazil. But there are also many other options, such as rice, sorghum, wheat, potatoes, well, nearly anything. BTW once Brazil had to import grape-based ethanol from Italy...

I did not spend much time at Bryn's link, but I do want to read more when I have the time, which I have been wasting otherwise... I highly recommend this: Why Alcohol Fuel? The Two-Minute Summary

Do corn and sugarcane have alternating seasons? I do not even know how to look into that, I tried.

Isn't the higher the sugar content the better for producing alcohol? My family does not drink alcohol, so I figure that is why I do not know anything about it, except that it burns pretty!

Grape-based ethanol? Wine?

[gone-ot]

Sugar cane growing season discussed here: Sugar cane

Basically, it's year-around in tropical regions, but only 7-8 months in temperate areas like continental USA.

[kennybobby]

Originally Posted by XYZ

You can extract usable sugar from all these crops and make booze from any and all of them. But the United States Government's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has a powerful, controlling force over all those things: Revenooers. Men with badges and guns will come and prosecute you.

Don't get me started on that one...

It would be so easy to build a small distillation unit for home use to make ethanol to supplement your fuel. For example, there is so much overripe/discarded fruit at the grocery stores that is so full of sugar that is nearly furmenting on it's own before you get it home.

But the Federal laws and regulations are based upon prohibition and are so out-dated and stringently written to make it impossible for an individual to exercise any self-sufficiency with respect to alcohol production, (or tobacco too). It's pitiful and sad -- we let the government waste our time and our lives, by enduring such stupidity.

Humans can't digest corn. Cows with multiple stomachs have a difficult time. It has to be cooked or processed to get benefit. Anything with starch can be turned to sugar, and from there to ethanol, starting with pure sugar just skips a step.

The permaculture 2-minute guide was interesting but it just made me mad to think again that i can't make my own ethanol, yet it would be so easy to do.

When stupid prohibition laws are passed, such as Nixon's 55-mph speed limit, the people rebelled and voted with their right foot. The penalty for non-compliance was a speeding ticket and a small fine. But for home-based ethanol production the penalties are too severe to take the risk--it's a crying shame...

[gone-ot]

...from what I see on reality-TV, the "hillbilly" rednecks are STILL bootlegging ethanol rather openly...well, at least as shown on TV.

[Xist]

KennyBobby, I need to wait to read your message, I just came home from Church and need to go back out, but I received an e-mail from my professor, he linked me: Corn vs Sugar Cane for Ethanol

which states:

All energy for the industrial process comes from bagasse burned in high pressure boilers, providing all thermal, mechanical and electrical energy needed, with at least 10% surplus electrical energy sold to the grid. Corn needs natural gas or fuel oil and electricity from the grid to supply its process-energy demands in the factory.

Ethanol yield (gallons/acre) for sugar cane under good tropical conditions is double that for corn. For all those reasons, sugar cane ethanol is seven times more energy efficient; its net energy, expressed as ERoEI, is 9:1 while corn ethanol has an ERoEI of only 1.3:1.

So, sugarcane produces more ethanol and produces its own energy, while corn requires outside energy to produce ethanol.

[sheepdog 44]

An acre of corn will yield 30 million btu's of ethanol per year.
An acre of solar panels in the dessert will yield 4,500 million btu's per year.

In a dessert wasteland without water, fertilizer, or distilling potential food.

An electric car can be 2-3 times or more efficient per btu than an ethanol powered car, while having zero emissions.