Soda Pop Fuel: The Importance of Ethanol from Sugar

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Chances are when you think of sugar, you think of sweet succulent things like soda pop, candy, cookies and other tasty treats. Perhaps a thought that never crosses your mind when you think about sugar is transportation fuel, but that’s just where the thoughts of nations around the globe are going. Read below for the science behind making ethanol from sugar as well as the economics and environmental concerns some have in creating ethanol from sugar.

The science of deriving ethanol from sugar is a four step process that starts with the starch. The starch can be a variety of sources be it beets, corn, sugar cane, etc. Enzymes are added to the starch to break it down into smaller glucose molecules. This step must be done before yeast is introduced as yeast cannot handle the size of the molecules when the substance is still in the starch state. Once the starch is broken down into glucose molecules, yeast is added and consumes the sugar.

The next two steps in the production of ethanol from sugar are fermentation and distillation. Fermentation occurs in the presence of the yeast cells. These cells are kept in an environment devoid of oxygen so that they go through fermentation as opposed to aerobic respiration and produce ethanol, essentially a waste product. Finally, the ethanol is distilled through a heating process that separates physical matter and water from the ethanol, though not all water can be removed.

The Economics of Ethanol from Sugar

Though ethanol from sugar is a cleaner burning fuel and offers to lessen dependence on oil, there are many economic concerns surrounding the use of ethanol, specifically in the United States. There are only two sources of sugar in the United States: beets that come mainly from Minnesota and sugar cane that can be grown in the more southern states and Hawaii. Beet farmers and some lawmakers are concerned that the use of ethanol from sugar would negatively impact national sugar production by increasing prices that are currently held lower by the U.S. government, and allowing more sugar imports.

While there are economic debates surrounding the creation of ethanol from sugar, there are those who are excided about what the production of sugar cane for ethanol use could mean for the nation’s land. This is especially true for the Florida Everglades. Providing a perfect environment for sugar cane, the Everglades promise to be a place where the United States could house some of the fuel making starch. The goal is to keep the land farm land as opposed to developed land.