Fw: Kerry's Biofuels Initiative

From: "Kenneth Piers" <Pier@calvin.edu>

> MY comment: Where is this ethanol and biodiesel going to come from? How
much of our agricultural production would need to be devoted to the
generation of these biofuels? I have been looking up some numbers and doing
a few back-of-the-envelope calculations for those interested enough to read
on: if not please delete.

Temperate-climate crops are probably not feasible high-volume sources of
fuel. Brazil gasoline by law contains 20 % ethanol. With the glut in global
sugar production, and the elimination of the unit op of breaking starch into
sugar (leaving only fermentation and distillation), sugar cane might be the
most promising source of ethanol. Jetropha and other tropically grown crops
are also being studied, one research effort being 1.5 miles down the "road"
from me here in the belize jungle.

Dennis Feucht
Received on Mon Aug 16 17:02:37 2004