Abstract

While there is a plethora of corn in America because we can use it for many different things from ethanol to food additives, it has been shown that sugar cane and algae are better alternatives.

The number one crop in America is corn. We can use it for tons of different things from Biofuels to High Fructose Corn Syrup. It is in virtually every food we eat and a lot of it is also fed to the livestock we raise. Data from the National Corn Growers Association shows that; around 80 percent of all corn goes to livestock, foreign and domestic. Another 12 percent is consumed by humans, either directly (corn products) or indirectly (High Fructose Corn Syrup), leaving only 8 percent of all American corn for making things such as ethanol.

The problem with this is that we spend a ton of money growing corn as well as using a lot of the limited fossil fuels we have. In Sao Paulo Brazil they grow sugar cane and use it to make Biofuels. Sugar cane doesn’t deplete the soil of the nutrients that corn does, and it yields more ethanol than corn. Unfortunately sugar cane doesn’t grow in North America so the government would have to begin importing the sugar cane, which is something they most likely wouldn’t do. That is where the newest alternative fuel comes into play, Algae.

The biggest advantage Algae has over the other Biofuel producers is that it can be grown anywhere in the country. And on top of that it can double its mass in a few hours giving it the ability to produce over 5,000 gallons of oil per year.

Corn is a cleaner source of energy, but sugar cane and algae are much better alternatives and should be taken advantage of.


Pull Out Quote

“While corn ethanol's energy ratio hovers around breakeven, we get eight units of ethanol for every one unit of fossil fuel"

- Isaias Macedo