Commercial production of biofuels

1. Commercial production of biofuels Biofuels are produced commercially three ways – Ethanol from sugar cane, this is very large in Brazil. They produce about the same as the US. Corn – This how ethanol is made in the United States Biodiesel – Made from soy, canola, palm oil. Reaction with methanol (or ethanol) with alkali as a catalyst. Produce glycerin as a waste product which today is generally burned.Biofuels are produced commercially three ways – Ethanol from sugar cane, this is very large in Brazil. They produce about the same as the US. Corn – This how ethanol is made in the United States Biodiesel – Made from soy, canola, palm oil. Reaction with methanol (or ethanol) with alkali as a catalyst. Produce glycerin as a waste product which today is generally burned.

2. Sugar cane to ethanol

3. Sugar cane, sugar cane bagasse Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or subtropical climate, with a minimum of 600 mm (24 in) of annual moisture. It is one of the most efficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom, able to convert up to 2 percent of incident solar energy into biomass.[citation needed] In prime growing regions, such as Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, Ecuador, Cuba and Hawaii, sugarcane can produce 20 kg for each square meter exposed to the sun.[citation needed] Sugarcane is propagated from cuttings, rather than from seeds; although certain types still produce seeds, modern methods of stem cuttings have become the most common method of reproduction. Each cutting must contain at least one bud, and the cuttings are usually planted by hand. Once planted, a stand of cane can be harvested several times; after each harvest, the cane sends up new stalks, called ratoons. Usually, each successive harvest gives a smaller yield, and eventually the declining yields justify replanting. Depending on agricultural practice, two to ten harvests may be possible between plantings.[citation needed] Sugarcane is harvested by hand or mechanically. Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of the world's production, and is especially dominant in the developing world. When harvested by hand, the field is first set on fire. The fire spreads rapidly, burning away dry dead leaves, and killing any venomous snakes hiding in the crop, but leaving the water-rich stalks and roots unharmed. With cane knives or machetes, harvesters then cut the standing cane just above the ground. A skilled harvester can cut 500 kg of sugarcane in an hour.[citation needed] Sugarcane mechanical harvest in Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, Brazil. With mechanical harvesting, a sugarcane combine (or chopper harvester), a harvesting machine originally developed in Australia, is used. The Austoft 7000 series was the original design for the modern harvester and has now been copied by other companies including Cameco and John Deere. The machine cuts the cane at the base of the stalk, separates the cane from its leaves, and deposits the cane into a haulout transporter while blowing the trash back onto the field. Such machines can harvest 100 tonnes of cane each hour, but cane harvested using these machines must be transported to the processing plant rapidly; once cut, sugarcane begins to lose its sugar content, and damage inflicted on the cane during mechanical harvesting accelerates this decay. Sugar cane is cultivated in almost all the world only for some months of the year, in a period called 'safra', the Portuguese word for harvest. The only place in the world where there is no 'safra', and therefore sugar cane is cultivated and produced year round is Colombia in South America.[citation needed] [edit] Pests Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or subtropical climate, with a minimum of 600 mm (24 in) of annual moisture. It is one of the most efficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom, able to convert up to 2 percent of incident solar energy into biomass.[citation needed] In prime growing regions, such as Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, Ecuador, Cuba and Hawaii, sugarcane can produce 20 kg for each square meter exposed to the sun.[citation needed] Sugarcane is propagated from cuttings, rather than from seeds; although certain types still produce seeds, modern methods of stem cuttings have become the most common method of reproduction. Each cutting must contain at least one bud, and the cuttings are usually planted by hand. Once planted, a stand of cane can be harvested several times; after each harvest, the cane sends up new stalks, called ratoons. Usually, each successive harvest gives a smaller yield, and eventually the declining yields justify replanting. Depending on agricultural practice, two to ten harvests may be possible between plantings.[citation needed] Sugarcane is harvested by hand or mechanically. Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of the world's production, and is especially dominant in the developing world. When harvested by hand, the field is first set on fire. The fire spreads rapidly, burning away dry dead leaves, and killing any venomous snakes hiding in the crop, but leaving the water-rich stalks and roots unharmed. With cane knives or machetes, harvesters then cut the standing cane just above the ground. A skilled harvester can cut 500 kg of sugarcane in an hour.[citation needed] Sugarcane mechanical harvest in Jaboticabal, São Paulo state, Brazil. With mechanical harvesting, a sugarcane combine (or chopper harvester), a harvesting machine originally developed in Australia, is used. The Austoft 7000 series was the original design for the modern harvester and has now been copied by other companies including Cameco and John Deere. The machine cuts the cane at the base of the stalk, separates the cane from its leaves, and deposits the cane into a haulout transporter while blowing the trash back onto the field. Such machines can harvest 100 tonnes of cane each hour, but cane harvested using these machines must be transported to the processing plant rapidly; once cut, sugarcane begins to lose its sugar content, and damage inflicted on the cane during mechanical harvesting accelerates this decay. Sugar cane is cultivated in almost all the world only for some months of the year, in a period called 'safra', the Portuguese word for harvest. The only place in the world where there is no 'safra', and therefore sugar cane is cultivated and produced year round is Colombia in South America.[citation needed] [edit] Pests

4. Sucrose Sucrose accounts for little more than 30% of the chemical energy stored in the mature plant; 35% is in the leaves, which are left in the fields during harvest, and 35% are in the fibrous material (bagasse) left over from pressing Sucrase or acid are needed to break down sucrose into glucose and fructose Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae), native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World. They have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar and measure 2 to 6 meters tall. Sucrose is by far the most abundant, cheap and important sugar in the industrial utilization of the yeast S. cerevisiae. More than half of the world's ethanol production relies on the efficient fermentation of sucrose-rich broths such as sugarcane juice and molasses, and these raw materials are also used for the production of baker's yeast, and for production of several distilled alcoholic beverages [20,21]. It is generally accepted that S. cerevisiae cells harbor an extracellular invertase (ß-D-fructosidase), that hydrolyzes sucrose into glucose and fructose, which are transported into the cell by hexose transporters and metabolized through glycolysis. This enzyme has been a paradigm for the study of protein synthesis and regulation of gene expression. Invertase is encoded by one or several SUC genes (SUC1 to SUC5 and SUC7), SUC2 being the most common loci found in almost all S. cerevisiae strains, including in other closely related yeast species Sugarcane or Sugar cane (Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae, tribe Andropogoneae), native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Old World. They have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar and measure 2 to 6 meters tall. Sucrose is by far the most abundant, cheap and important sugar in the industrial utilization of the yeast S. cerevisiae. More than half of the world's ethanol production relies on the efficient fermentation of sucrose-rich broths such as sugarcane juice and molasses, and these raw materials are also used for the production of baker's yeast, and for production of several distilled alcoholic beverages [20,21]. It is generally accepted that S. cerevisiae cells harbor an extracellular invertase (ß-D-fructosidase), that hydrolyzes sucrose into glucose and fructose, which are transported into the cell by hexose transporters and metabolized through glycolysis. This enzyme has been a paradigm for the study of protein synthesis and regulation of gene expression. Invertase is encoded by one or several SUC genes (SUC1 to SUC5 and SUC7), SUC2 being the most common loci found in almost all S. cerevisiae strains, including in other closely related yeast species

5. Sugar cane bioethanol Brazil produces about 7 billion gallons of ethanol from sugar cane Production cost $0.87/gallon, the lowest in the world Fossil fuel energy used to make the fuel (input) compared with energy in the fuel (output) 1:8 Green house emission during production and use 56% less compared with gasoline

6. Gasoline price

7. History 1920 utilization of ethanol as a transportation fuel Early 1970, 1973-oil embargo (oil 3x more expensive) 1974-sugar prices Late 1975 Brazilian National Alcohol program (20% blend) Mid 1980 All the cars sold in Brazil ran on alcohol Early 1990 Oil Sugar

8. History 2003 Total Flex Car (gasoline and ethanol) Gol-Volkswagen Currently 85% of cars are flex

9. Sugar cane in Brazil

10. Fields of sugar cane in Brazil

11. Sugar cane Harvest after 1 year to 18 months Harvest starts in April 7 harvests before replanting Harvested by hands or machinery 20% of sugar cane are sugars 600-800 gallons of ethanol/acre (more than 2x compared with corn)

12. Problems Environmental problems Deforestation Burning the cane pre-harvesting Use of pesticides and herbicides Utilization of fields next to the rivers (against Brazilian law) Social problems Pay Hot, dirty and backbreaking Snakes Cuts Air quality

13. Corn to ethanol

14. Rise of bioethanol (history) H. Ford 1908 Sugar cane ethanol 1920 OPEC oil embargo (1973) Methyl tertiary-butyl ether MTBE (started in 1992, phased out in 2000) (2-methoxy-2-methylpropane ) Good blending Increase octant number Cheap, produced from natural gas Toxicity Oil in Middle East $$$$

15. Corn plant

16. Chemical Composition of Starch

17. US ethanol production

18. Corn versus crude oil (US)

19. Corn One bushel of corn (56 pounds after husks and cobs are removed) provides: 31.5 pounds of starch or 33 pounds of sweetener or 2.8 gallons of ethanol + 13.5 pounds of gluten feed 2.6  pounds of gluten meal 1.5 pounds of corn oil

20. Corn – Ethanol Process

21. Corn to ethanol plants in US

23. Ethanol subsidy Ethanol subsidy totals about $5 billion for 9 billion gallons of ethanol ($0.55 per gallon) 51cents per gallon-federal blenders credit Corn subsidies Import tariff on foreign ethanol of 54 cent/gallon + 2.5% of import value import

24. Ethanol versus oil subsidy Since 1968 ethanol industry had received $11.6 billion in tax incentives Since 1968 oil industry had received over $150 billion in tax benefits. Oil industry produced 1,068 times more energy Subsidy per unit of energy was 54 times higher for ethanol (ethanol gets 54 cents oil gets 1cent).

26. Problems land availability

27. Problems land availability “The average US automobile, traveling 10,000 miles a year on pure ethanol (not a gasoline-ethanol mix) would need about 852 gallons of the corn-based fuel. This would take 11 acres to grow, based on net ethanol production. This is the same amount of cropland required to feed seven Americans”

28. Problems land availability “If all the automobiles in the United States were fueled with 100 % ethanol, a total of about 97% of US land area would be needed to grow the corn feedstock. Corn would cover nearly the total land area of the United States”