Render Posted March 27, 2013 #1 Share Posted March 27, 2013 FIVE POINTS, Calif.—Amid the vast almond orchards and grape fields that surround Five Points in California's Central Valley, a once-dominant crop that has nearly disappeared from the state's farms is making a comeback: sugar beets. But these beets won't be processed into sugar. A dozen farmers, supported by university experts and a $5 million state grant, are set to start construction of a Fresno County demonstration plant that will convert the beets into ethanol. If the demo project in Five Points succeeds, the farmers will build the nation's first commercial-scale bio-refinery in nearby Mendota to turn beets into biofuel. Europe already has more than a dozen such plants, but most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn. http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_22855974/calif-farmers-team-up-convert-beets-ethanol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babe Ruth Posted March 27, 2013 #2 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I hope this is successful, and I hope it is economically viable. Because corn is such a staple in our food change, it was a very poor choice to use it for alcohol production. It was done ONLY for the benefit of Big Agriculture, ADM and others. Brazil uses sugar cane, as I understand it, and that is much better. I'm all for alternative fuels, but using corn was a stupid choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramelin Posted March 28, 2013 #3 Share Posted March 28, 2013 I hope this is successful, and I hope it is economically viable. Because corn is such a staple in our food change, it was a very poor choice to use it for alcohol production. It was done ONLY for the benefit of Big Agriculture, ADM and others. Brazil uses sugar cane, as I understand it, and that is much better. I'm all for alternative fuels, but using corn was a stupid choice. They can always use it for booze: Tuzemsky, a sugar beet-based alcohol brand from Czech Republic, is golden red in color. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_beet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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