Monomeric Sugars - Traditional fermentation can directly convert simple sugars such us those from sugar cane and sugar beets into alcohol. This is the primary method that has been used to produce alcohol for human consumption for thousands of years. However the availability of these feedstock痴 is limited because they are also used for food. Today most of the fuel ethanol from sugar is made from sugarcane, in Brazil, where the combination of land, labor and climate provides favorable economic conditions.
Starch - Starch is a biopolymer of glucose, a monomeric sugar. It is the primary component of corn and other grains. Starch cannot be directly fermented to alcohol. An enzyme is required to break it down into simple sugars. Te simple sugars can then be fermented to alcohol. While brewers learned long ago how to use natural enzymes to achieve this conversion, only in the last several decades has modern industrial enzyme technology developed methods to make inexpensive enzymes to allow economic production of fuel ethanol. Those technical developments have made possible the new fuel ethanol industry in the United States based on corn. The availability of starch is an order of magnitude larger than that of monomeric sugars but is also constrained because starch is a food for humans and many farm animals.
Cellulose - Cellulose is the most common form of biomass and is also a biopolymer of glucose. It is structured to be difficult to break down and thus serves as a defense mechanism for plants, because only some animals can digest cellulose.
Hemicellulose - Hemicellulose is the fourth sugar biopolymer. However, unlike the other sugars, it is a highly branched of five- and six-carbon sugars. It is the second most common form of biomass. Like cellulose, only some animals have the capability to digest it. Cellulose-rich feedstock痴 contain 40 - 60 percent cellulose, 20 - 40 percent hemicellulose, and 10 - 25 percent of lignin. Lignin is a non sugar polymer. Like starch, cellulose and hemicellulose can be broken down into their sugars with appropriate enzymes. However, much more sophisticated enzymes are required to break down these biopolymers. A significant growth is expected based on the commercialization of this new technology.
Miscanthus is a tall perennial grass that has been evaluated in Europe during the past 5-10 years as a new bioenergy crop. It is sometimes confused with elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) and has been called both "elephant grass" and "E-grass". Most of the miscanthus cultivars proposed as a commercial crop are sterile hybrids (Miscanthus x giganteus) which originated in Japan. Miscanthus can be harvested every year with a sugar cane harvester and can be grown in a cool climate like that of northern North America or Europe.
Sugarcane is a tropical crop which is processed into raw sugar and molasses. In the United States, sugarcane is planted and harvested in Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Sugarcane is a perennial crop that can be harvested 4 to 5 times before reseeding. U.S. sugarcane production is reported on a fiscal year basis, as the harvest season in Florida, Hawaii, and Texas generally runs from October through March. The harvest season in Louisiana, the most northern growing U.S. area, generally runs from late September through late December or early January.
Corn-based ethanol Corn is the predominant grain processed in U.S. ethanol plants. In some areas of the country other grains including wheat, barley and grain sorghum are used as feedstocks for ethanol. Some process technologies allow multiple grain feedstocks to be used in the same plant. Grain fractions, out of condition grain and off-spec grain can also be used for ethanol production in some cases. However, most process technologies are designed to use a single type of grain that meets specific grading parameters.
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