Drink it or Drive it: The Promise of Agave for Ethanol
Corn has given ethanol a bad name and scientists are searching far and wide for alternative feedstock. Agave has been getting attention lately and looks very promising, although tequila connoisseurs may not be cheering. Here’s why agave is so much appealing:
High Yield Per Acre
Soybeans generate a measly 60 gallons of biodiesel annually from an acre of land and has an energy balance of 2.5. Corn generates about 300-400 gallons of ethanol per acre and has an energy balance of 1.3. Sugar cane can generate 600-800 gallons of ethanol per acre annually and has an energy balance of 8. Sugar cane unfortunately is very labor intensive to cultivate and could contribute to deforestation.
Agave however can yield an impressive 2,000 gallons of distilled ethanol per acre each year annually. Cellulosic ethanol from agave has 6 to 9 times the yield per acre. This would significantly reduce the quantity of land needed to produce the same quantity of transportations fuels.
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Thrives in Wastelands
Agave fixes nitrogen in the soil and actually improves the soil quality where it is grown. 95% of the Agavacea family calls Mexico home and 50% of the country is ideally suited for agave cultivation. Dry, arid, and steep terrain typically have fewer economic opportunities and greater poverty. Ethanol from agave would open up new markets in marginalized lands.
Few other ethanol feedstocks grow well on marginalized lands. Sugar cane, which is used widely in Brazil for ethanol production, is grown in tropical regions and can drive deforestation.
Low Water Requirements
Agave does not require much water for cultivation, making it favorable over many of the alternatives because it does not need to be irrigated. Dependence on irrigation brings a myriad of problems. Water scarcity can cause competition between irrigation and drinking water. Farmers with crops reliant on water are more vulnerable to droughts. Increasing water costs can create more volatile crop prices. Because agave doesn’t need agrochemicals, it also helps protect water quality.
Doesn’t Require Cellulosic Technology
Although the ethanol yield from agave increases dramatically when the cellulose is used, this evolving technology is not essential. This should help shorten the time needed for ethanol from agave to hit the market in large quantities.
Opportunity for Farmers
Agave production was estimated to have decreased by 25%-35% in 2007. High global tequila demand had previously caused agave prices to increase. As a result, production increased and prices fell. As a result, many Mexican farmers began cultivating corn to satisfy the U.S. demand for corn-based ethanol. Unfortunately corn is considered a “prima donna” crop and requires considerably more fertilizer and water than agave.
Ethanol from agave will open a new market for the agave plant and increase economic opportunities. It doesn’t need agrochemicals or irrigation and is not labor intensive, lowering the overhead costs to growers.
On the downside, what effect will this development have on the price of tequila? Hopefully tequila riots will not ensue.
Never thought agave could be used for fuel. Our world needs more research in alternative fuels rather than solely relying on the manipulated commodity of oil
Coches que "beben" tequila? El potencial del agave para fabricar biocombustible [ENG]…
Después de las críticas que está recibiendo la fabricación de etanol para su uso como combustible a partir de plantas comestibles como el maíz, se están buscando alternativas viables ecológica y éticamente. La más conocida está basada en las …
How much agave are we talking about here? I know one of the issues with corn is that farmers are giving space for other crops to grow it. Would they just start giving up planting other food (corn included) for agave? After all, they have to make a profit as well.
It still takes water to make ethanol even if none is required for irrigation. Let’s do it but think about all that needs to be done to make it work. One gallon of ethanol will need more than one gallon of water to produce.
I think Agave may in fact be one of the few plant sources of fuel that could safely play a part in a new diversified energy infrastructure. It somewhat circumvents the corn/soybean/sugarcane problems of deforestation, soil depletion and agricultural chemical pollution.
However, it still does not seem like a terribly wise choice of fuel. It seems like most of the agave crop would have to be imported, adding transportation fuel costs to the equation. New research on algae makes it the more promising biomass in my mind. Algae is even more efficient than agave, producing up to 10,000 gallons per acre each year, and it can be cultivated virtually anywhere in the US in artificial ponds (See Algae Biofuel - Fuel of the Future).
Exactly Colin: “Our current high corn prices are being driven not by ethanol production but by wall street speculators (just as our current price of oil should be closer to $65 barrel instead of $120+).”
It’s absurd to point the finger at ethanol when speculation and the cost of a barrel of crude are the real culprits behind the difficulties facing our food supplies and economy. What really has more of an impact on the price of corn: the small percentage of crop that is set aside for ethanol production or the stratospheric prices of the oil necessary to grow, harvest, and transport it?
I love this story and the Idea
Actually Josh you do get more power out of an ethanol engine than you do gasoline. If you doubt it, drop me a line, I know a fleet of e85 and blended hot rods that will blow the doors off their gasoline counterparts. Also, e20-e30 blends have shown about 10% greater mileage than gasoline or ethanol by itself. (in cars already on the road, now, not in the future) see http://www.ethanol.org/pdf/contentmgmt/ACE_Optimal_Ethanol_Blend_Level_Study_final_12507.pdf
So if we could replace 20% of the gas used by using ethanol, we’d pick up 10% increase in mileage, further reducing the gasoline being use. This is a perfect situation because it allows a somewhat gradule change over.
omg.. good work, guy
KinOfCain is right agave takes 8-10 years to produce