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The debate over food crops grown for biofuels may not be quieting yet—not only is the practice said to feed fewer people than food crops grown for... food, but it also threatens wildlife habitats—but at least the variety of crops used is expanding beyond corn.
Sugarcane is seen as the most successful alternative fuel so far. It is the crop fueling Brazil's ethanol industry, which is the second largest in the world (at 24.5 billion liters last year) and considered to be the world's first sustainable biofuels economy. It is much more efficiently converted to fuel than corn, in part because a byproduct of sugarcane known as bagasse can be used to heat the distillation process.
Since ethanol fuel is not as efficient as biodiesel, efforts are underway to convert more of Brazil's sugarcane into diesel rather than ethanol. A smart move, since the biodiesel market is exploding: biodiesel production is now about 10.9 billion liters a year—ten times what it was eight years ago.
Critics of sugarcane for ethanol argue that it is causing deforestation, and the industry relies on poorly-treated workers—including child laborers and forms of slavery in the worst-case (but not infrequent) scenarios. Proponents, however, argue that labor laws exist and that the crop occupies only 2 percent of Brazil's arable land.
Even better, but out of reach
Meanwhile, hemp is argued to be an even closer-to-perfect biofuel crop, not least because it requires such little land to grow on. But it is illegal to grow in the U.S. (for the most part), and has not made much more headway overseas. Its limited availability thus makes it an impractical suggestion as a fuel source on a mass scale, but that doesn't mean it can't be used at all—COOLFUEL's Shaun Murphy will show you how, and advocates will continue lobbying for its legalization.
Get involved
Progress is being made within the biofuel industry, but pushing your representatives and emphasizing the urgency with which we need to treat this issue will ensure that smart investments and improvements in efficiency happen sooner rather than later. Why not get involved today.
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Sugarcane to be Turned into Conventional Diesel Fuel at Brazil Biorefinery
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