Conversion of Sugar Cane Biomass Into Ethanol
Is biomass a viable energy option or not. One needs only look at the conversion of sugar cane biomass into ethanol to know that it has a very strong future.
Brazil recently announced that major oil discoveries have been made off of its coast. These discoveries are so large, that it might even rival Saudi Arabia as an oil producer in the not too distant future. This is rather ironic considering that Brazil has become the biggest ethanol fuel user – ethanol that it gets from the conversion of the huge sugar cane fields in the country.
The conversion of sugar cane biomass into ethanol is much like brewing beer or wine. The key to the process has to start in the fields because biomass is simply a form of solar energy. The plants, in this case sugar cane, convert the sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. The result is the chemical glucose, which is merely a simple sugar in the plant.
Once the plants are harvested, they are reduced to mulch and then the glucose is fermented. This is typically done by adding yeast to the sugar cane and distilling it. Unlike other plants, sugar cane does not require any treatments other than yeast since its glucose reacts well to the yeast.
The distillation process involves the removal of the large amounts of water used in the fermentation process. Water can account for as much as 95 percent of the mixture. Not all of it is removed, however, as pure ethanol has a low boiling point that makes it unstable. At this point, it can be used to power an engine, but rarely is. Instead, the ethanol is then treated and mixed with gasoline. In countries like Brazil, it accounts for nearly 30 percent of the fuel used.
The conversion of sugar cane biomass into ethanol is one of the easiest biomass options we have at the moment. The problem is few countries have neither the huge sugar cane fields that Brazil does nor the climate to grow them. This makes sugar cane biomass a great option for Brazil, but not many other countries.
