This Chevrolet truck was set up to run on alcohol produced from corn in the still in the background (the tall yellow structure) by Mother Earth News in 1978. They were trying to sell plans for the still so people could make their own fuel.
Well, around 70% of all cars in Brazil run on alcohol/ethanol produced locally from sugar cane. It's cheaper and greener than gasoline. It's possible because there's plenty of land to produce sugar cane in Brazil and the weather is good, as pure alcohol/ethanol doesn't work very well on cold weather.
I had a buddy back about 20 years ago, and he "thought" he was going to get rich making Ethanol for fuel. I asked him "how many ears of corn will it take to make a Gallon of Ethanol?" he said "20.25 Bushels" "So a Bushel weighs 56 lbs X 20.25 = 1134 lbs. of corn Where are you going to grow that Corn?", "How much land does it take to grow a Bushel?" Dept. of Agriculture says an average Acre yields 135 Bushels so that's 6.66 Gals of Ethanol, "so to make a 1,000 Gals, you'll need 150+ Acres, what does a Gallon of Ethanol Sell for?", "$1.25ish a Gallon"...LOL
thanks for the math and example, I didn't realize the farming ramifications, and how damn much corn it takes. I bet it's a lot better on sugar cane, and sugar beets, but it's certainly not lucrative
Through research performed at Cornell University, we know that 1 acre of land can yield about 7,110 pounds (3,225 kg) of corn, which can be processed into 328 gallons (1240.61 liters) of ethanol. That is about 26.1 pounds (11.84 kg) of corn per gallon.Aug 22, 2001. I copied and pasted this. Cornell University is a world leader in agriculture and it's advancements so I would take this as gospel.
Well, around 70% of all cars in Brazil run on alcohol/ethanol produced locally from sugar cane. It's cheaper and greener than gasoline. It's possible because there's plenty of land to produce sugar cane in Brazil and the weather is good, as pure alcohol/ethanol doesn't work very well on cold weather.
ReplyDeleteA.) Wonder how many of them sold, and B.) How many were used for making whisky instead. Let's have a little of that Thunder Road action.
ReplyDeleteI had a buddy back about 20 years ago, and he "thought" he was going to get rich making Ethanol for fuel. I asked him "how many ears of corn will it take to make a Gallon of Ethanol?" he said "20.25 Bushels" "So a Bushel weighs 56 lbs X 20.25 = 1134 lbs. of corn Where are you going to grow that Corn?", "How much land does it take to grow a Bushel?" Dept. of Agriculture says an average Acre yields 135 Bushels so that's 6.66 Gals of Ethanol, "so to make a 1,000 Gals, you'll need 150+ Acres, what does a Gallon of Ethanol Sell for?", "$1.25ish a Gallon"...LOL
ReplyDeletethanks for the math and example, I didn't realize the farming ramifications, and how damn much corn it takes. I bet it's a lot better on sugar cane, and sugar beets, but it's certainly not lucrative
DeleteNo a bushel of corn makes just shy of 3 gallons on alcohol, one acre of corn will make close to 800 gallons.
DeleteA bushel of corn makes just shy of 3 gallons of alcohol, an acre of corn can make close to 800 gallons of alcohol.
ReplyDeleteShow your Math and Facts to back it up
DeleteThrough research performed at Cornell University, we know that 1 acre of land can yield about 7,110 pounds (3,225 kg) of corn, which can be processed into 328 gallons (1240.61 liters) of ethanol. That is about 26.1 pounds (11.84 kg) of corn per gallon.Aug 22, 2001. I copied and pasted this. Cornell University is a world leader in agriculture and it's advancements so I would take this as gospel.
ReplyDelete