Duane Bozarth wrote:
wrote:


Ethanol is better deal to date...

Made from corn? I have been wondering if it would not be better to
use sorghum, which grows well over much of the same range as corn,
for producing the sugar used to make ethanol.

Primarily corn, yes. Sorghum doesn't have nearly the sugar content of
corn and nowhere nor the yield/acre.

I gather that the suagar/acre ration is lower for sorghum. I'm
not surprised that the corn kernals have a higher concentration
of sugar than the sorghum stalks but am surpised that there is
more sugar in the whole corn plant, than in the whole sorghum plant.
When corn is raised for ethanol production, do they squeeze the
whole plant, rather than just the kernals?

No, the grain is the feedstock, not the plant...the grain must ripen to
achiece maximum energy content (and as a secondary necessity, must be
dry enough to be handled and stored w/o danger of mold damage and
spontaneous combustion) and at that time the sugars in the foliage are
largely used up.

I'm surprised ther eis more sugar in corn kernals than in the entire
sorghum plant. I'm not clear on why the grain is stored at all. It
seems ot me it would be more efficient to continuously process it
as it is harvested and just tank the jiuce. E.g. make the 'squeezer'
part of the combine.

....


As for central station generation, the switch from coal to
petroleum-fired was a major mistake as well was the abandonment of
nuclear which should be the predominant form of central station
generation.

How much electricity is generated from petroleum here in the US today?


When I was in the industry it was all but nil. Coal was tops, followed
by hydro and nuclear (not sure of the order) and those three accounted
at least 90% of the electricity generated in the US.

--

FF