Switchgrass & More to Ethanol Solution Found?

[radman1]

People need to look at the market speak coming from Brazil

Using sugarcane, 40% of their non-diesel fuel use, exports something like 900 million gallons a year.

Do a google on brazil and sugarcane for biofuel.

Prepare to be curious on why we are focused so specifically on corn.

-Mike Z.

People are focused on corn because it was already being produced and relatively cheap at the time. Switchgrass takes a few years to grow to get first crop. Who wants to be first and wait a couple of years to get real production? Switchgrass maybe the future but most plants being built are designed for corn. I am not a sugar cane expert but it probably can't be grown well in much of the US. Brazil did well with sugar cane. In part due to their dictator at the time who demanded ethanol production from cane.

 

[KaiB]

I have yet to figure out how switchgrass could be feasible.

If one figures land costs, input (fertilizers, weed control, seed and ground time), harvest costs, storage and transportation, factors in the two lost years to make a crop, averages 4-5 tons an acre (on average soils), plus the nitrogen it will take to make a commercial crop...

and adds in the fact that the plant can't pay anymore than $60/ton at the gate...

run the numbers and tell me how much the Govt. will have to subsidize an acre of switchgrass to make anybody want to produce it.

Commercially viable switchgrass needs attention and nitrogen, weed control and luck just like any other crop. It won't just grow wild to produce a decent yield.

This will not be a cure all, not even close. Add in the infrastructure problems with ethanol transportation and the whole thing is a looser.

Rape seed anyone?

 

[riptides]

People are focused on corn because it was already being produced and relatively cheap at the time.

And I guess a lot of people missed the fact that corn feeds people and animals, not to mention US corn powers the world. So we will do what - switch production for cars?

Last I heard we were not gaining land mass anymore.

It was and is a horrible idea, anyone with a stomach will tell you that. The politics sounded really good though, and feasibly it could be done... BUT.

-Mike Z.