Ethanol Production in Florida
The United States is reliant on imported petroleum for around 62 percent of its commercial fuels. Bio-fuels such as bio-diesel and ethanol have considerable potential to replace gasoline.
Presently, ethanol production in Florida is about four billion gallons every year and is an indispensable part of the motor fuel supply. Florida has an advantage of the good climatic conditions for bio-fuel and biomass production. Thus, the state has about 22 years of experience in development and research on several facets of biomass crop formation and alteration of biomass to sources of energy such as methane, ethanol and electricity.
Ethanol production in Florida takes place with the help of different potential feedstock sources.
Prospective Feedstocks for Ethanol Production in Florida:
Sugarcane:
A major raw material for ethanol production in Florida is sugarcane. Though it is grown all over the state, it is produced commercially only in the southern part where soil and climatic conditions are most favorable. This enables crystallized sugar production.
Average sugarcane yields vary from 33 to 39 tons per acre. This yield depends on the characteristics of crop year, other agricultural practices, soil type and harvesting. While sugarcane is not a new crop grown in Florida, growing it as a raw material for ethanol is definitely a new use.
These days, there is no facility for change of sugarcane to ethanol in Florida. However, there is a probability for sugarcane to fuel ethanol production in Florida. There are two main steps for the conversion of sugarcane to ethanol:
1. Formation of sugarcane and compression to attain sugarcane juice
2. Fermentation of juice to form ethanol and subsequent dehydration
Since the cost of developing sugarcane depends on several factors, the cost of ethanol production in Florida from sugarcane falls within a specific range. At present, there is no marketable sugarcane used for ethanol fuel in Florida.
Corn:
Corn is also a prospective source of ethanol production in Florida. North Florida, specifically the area next to Suwannee River has a great potential for developing corn as a raw material for conversion to ethanol.
Results from several corn studies in Florida have displayed yields of about 172 bushels per acre for irrigated, short season varieties and 162 bushels per acre for irrigated, mid and full season varieties.
The cost of producing fruitful corn in Florida on an irrigate land is about two times the cost of producing corn in the main United States corn-producing states. Another issue is the contagion of Florida corn with a fungus disease called aflotoxin that makes corn byproducts inappropriate for animal feeding.
This usually increases the cost of ethanol production in Florida. However, one can decrease the gravity of this problem by making use of resistant corn varieties. The principal expense of converting corn to ethanol is the availability of a wastewater treatment plant, type of equipment, grain ethanol milling, and processing carbon dioxide available.
Conclusion:
The best prospective picture for ethanol production in Florida gave the cost of ethanol from sugarcane and corn at $2.00 and $1.82 per gallon. Besides sugarcane and corn, sweet sorghum and citrus byproducts are other raw materials used for ethanol production in Florida.
Ethanol and my Education at Ethanol.net « Ethanol said
[...] Ethanol Production in Florida The Governor of Florida has been interviewed several times and is a proponent of the growth of [...]
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[...] Florida is another great state with plenty of land to grow sugarcane to produce ethanol. [...]
Ethanol World Production Statistics « Ethanol Fuel - Future of e85 & Ethanol Production said
[...] is in the midwest. However, as technology improves it will be interesting to see the increase of ethanol production in Florida and Louisianna. I think it is really cool how they can turn waste areas such as the swamp lands [...]
DANIEL D MARTIN said
I think the combination/rotation of sweet sorghum with soybeans or peanuts on Florida lands could bring both ETHANOL and BIODIESEL plants to the job needed state…
Sugarcane ,corn ,sweet potatoes and jatropha planting deserves second looks as well to make Florida a biofuels powerhouse and self sufficient in fuels.
DANIEL D MARTIN said
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HEARTFELT BLESSINGS! DANIEL