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Sugarcane cousin provides biofuel hopes

Aug. 12, 2013, California, USA - A new type of crop is being grown in California's Imperial Valley - energy cane - a cousin of sugercane.

According to Chemical & Engineering News, the new crop can produce large amounts of biomass very quickly. One company, Canergy, plans to use energy cane to power one of more commercial-scale ethanol plans by 2016.

“It grows extremely well there—we’re expecting phenomenal yields,” says Timothy R. Brummels, Canergy’s chief executive officer. He estimates that 1,800 to 2,200 gal of ethanol per year can be made from 1 acre of energy cane, compared with about 400 gal from 1 acre of corn.

For more on energy cane, please see the full article on C&EN and watch the video below.

August 12, 2013  By David Manly