How Much Ethanol Fuel Can be Produced from Sugarcane in Hawaii?
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2014-03
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This study evaluates how much sugar ethanol Hawaii can produce. Fossil fuel reserves will diminish with time, and alternative energy may not be effective in totally replacing combustible engines for all application. Factors important to sugar ethanol production and distribution are examined and evaluated.
Sugarcane was heavily produced in Hawaii’s past and can be converted into ethanol to use as automobile fuel. There are lots of arable lands available and the island of Hawaii and Maui have enough rain and ground water to supply the sugarcane crops. Sugarcane mills are self-sufficient and can produce their own electricity. However there are some significant barriers to ethanol production right now such as the disposal of odorous vinasse, low sale price of ethanol, and more profitable sugar sales.
Each resource required for producing ethanol in Hawaii is investigated by review of available information and field trips to a sugar plantation on Maui, and calculations are performed on how much sugar ethanol can be made to supply Hawaii’s fuel needs. This report covers the process required to grow sugarcane in order to produce ethanol. It covers available land, rain and ground water, the process, and future projections for growing sugar and ethanol production. Other factors like desalination, vinasse, and the gasoline consumption in Hawaii are also evaluated. This report is not meant to give a solution to automobile fuel after the depletion of fossil fuels, but how sugar ethanol can address the fuel shortage problem of the future.
If all the arable land was used to produce ethanol, 57% of the automobiles in Hawaii could be fueled by ethanol. The estimated probable cost of shipping sugar ethanol from the island of Hawaii and Maui to Oahu by fuel barge can be similar to the barge shipping cost for shipping gasoline from Oahu to the outer island, depending on the volume of fuel to be shipped. The disposal of vinasse is one of the main barriers to producing ethanol in Hawaii, for sugar ethanol to be produced in Hawaii, research and development must be performed to reduce the unpleasant odor of vinasse. If this can be achieved, then vinasse can be a beneficial by product, as it can be used as a fertilizer in Hawaii, where the plantations are close to developed areas. By addressing these issues, ethanol fuel could be produced in Hawaii, and Hawaii would be released from its dependency on fossil fuels.
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John Kwong, Amarjit Singh, O. Francis, R. Babcock, How Much Ethanol Fuel Can be Produced from Sugarcane in Hawaii?, University of Hawaii, College of Engineering, Research Report No. UHM/CEE/14-01, March 2014.
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