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Forestry, biofuels and the oil crisis

PERC Reports
Posted: July 2nd, 2008 by Thomas L. Knapp
Author: Roger A. Sedjo

“Is there a future for biofuels and particularly ethanol? Ethanol is produced from sugar. The easiest and cheapest approach is to convert sugar to alcohol and alcohol to ethanol. Sugar cane has a natural advantage to produce sugar cheaply and in large volumes, and can readily be converted to alcohol. Hence, Brazil is an economically viable producer of ethanol. To use grains, such as corn, requires the grain first be converted to sugar and subsequently the sugar to alcohol. The extra processing increases the costs. Furthermore, grain’s use for ethanol diverts it from food production and causes food prices to rise, further undermining its economic viability. Another resource that could be used for ethanol is wood.” (06/08)

http://www.perc.org/articles/article1064.php

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2 Responses to “Forestry, biofuels and the oil crisis”

  1. Alcohol Posts » Forestry, biofuels and the oil crisis Says:
    July 2nd, 2008 at 10:58 am

    […] Thomas L. Knapp wrote a fantastic post today on “Forestry, biofuels and the oil crisis”Here’s ONLY a quick extractThe easiest and cheapest approach is to convert sugar to alcohol and alcohol to ethanol. Sugar cane has a natural advantage to produce sugar cheaply and in large volumes, and can readily be converted to alcohol. … […]

  2. Alcohol Posts » Forestry, biofuels and the oil crisis Says:
    July 2nd, 2008 at 10:59 am

    […] Thomas L. Knapp wrote a fantastic post today on “Forestry, biofuels and the oil crisis”Here’s ONLY a quick extractThe easiest and cheapest approach is to convert sugar to alcohol and alcohol to ethanol. Sugar cane has a natural advantage to produce sugar cheaply and in large volumes, and can readily be converted to alcohol. … […]

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