Sweet sorghum or sorgo is any of the many varieties of the sorghum grass whose stalks have a high sugar content. Sweet sorghum thrives better under drier and warmer conditions than many other crops and is grown primarily for forage , silage , and syrup production.
112-496: Sweet sorghum syrup is known as sorghum molasses in some regions of the United States, though in most of the U.S. the term molasses refers to a sweet syrupy byproduct of sugarcane or sugar beet sugar extraction. Sweet sorghum has been widely cultivated in the U.S. since the 1850s for use in sweeteners, primarily in the form of sorghum syrup. In 1857 James F. C. Hyde wrote, "Few subjects are of greater importance to us, as
224-561: A blood alcohol concentration of 0.03-0.05 % and induces anesthetic coma at 0.4%. This use carries the high risk of deadly alcohol intoxication , pulmonary aspiration and vomit, which led to use of alternatives in antiquity, such as opium and cannabis , and later diethyl ether, starting in the 1840s. Ethanol is used as an antiseptic in medical wipes and hand sanitizer gels for its bactericidal and anti-fungal effects. Ethanol kills microorganisms by dissolving their membrane lipid bilayer and denaturing their proteins , and
336-586: A combine , or sugarcane harvester . The Austoft 7000 series, the original modern harvester design, has now been copied by other companies, including Cameco / John Deere . The machine cuts the cane at the base of the stalk, strips the leaves, chops the cane into consistent lengths and deposits it into a transporter following alongside. The harvester then blows the trash back onto the field. Such machines can harvest 100 long tons (100 t) each hour, but harvested cane must be rapidly processed. Once cut, sugarcane begins to lose its sugar content, and damage to
448-477: A fuel source for lamps, stoves, and internal combustion engines. Ethanol also can be dehydrated to make ethylene, an important chemical feedstock. As of 2023, world production of ethanol fuel was 29,590,000,000 US gallons (112.0 gigalitres), coming mostly from the U.S. (51%) and Brazil (26%). Ethanol is the systematic name defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry for
560-419: A genetic map developed for USDA ARS -run breeding programs for brown rust of sugarcane . Some sugarcane varieties are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen in association with the bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus . Unlike legumes and other nitrogen-fixing plants that form root nodules in the soil in association with bacteria, G. diazotrophicus lives within the intercellular spaces of
672-414: A hydroxyl group ), which indicates that the carbon of a methyl group (CH 3 −) is attached to the carbon of a methylene group (−CH 2 –), which is attached to the oxygen of a hydroxyl group (−OH). It is a constitutional isomer of dimethyl ether . Ethanol is sometimes abbreviated as EtOH , using the common organic chemistry notation of representing the ethyl group (C 2 H 5 −) with Et . Ethanol
784-541: A choice. West Indian planters, therefore, needed new workers, and they found cheap labour in China and India. The people were subject to indenture , a long-established form of contract, which bound them to unfree labour for a fixed term. The conditions where the indentured servants worked were frequently abysmal, owing to a lack of care among the planters. The first ships carrying indentured labourers from India left in 1836. The migrations to serve sugarcane plantations led to
896-470: A compound consisting of an alkyl group with two carbon atoms (prefix "eth-"), having a single bond between them (infix "-an-") and an attached −OH functional group (suffix "-ol"). The "eth-" prefix and the qualifier "ethyl" in "ethyl alcohol" originally came from the name "ethyl" assigned in 1834 to the group C 2 H 5 − by Justus Liebig . He coined the word from the German name Aether of
1008-478: A cosmetic, and retained that meaning in Middle Latin . The use of 'alcohol' for ethanol (in full, "alcohol of wine") was first recorded in 1753. Before the late 18th century the term alcohol generally referred to any sublimated substance. Ethanol is the oldest known sedative , used as an oral general anesthetic during surgery in ancient Mesopotamia and in medieval times . Mild intoxication starts at
1120-516: A country with a mechanical agriculture looking for a high production of large fields, as in North America, sugarcanes are replanted after two or three harvests to avoid a lowering yields. In countries with a more traditional type of agriculture with smaller fields and hand harvesting, as in the French island of Réunion , sugarcane is often harvested up to 10 years before replanting. Sugarcane
1232-457: A fuel reduces harmful tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen , and other ozone-forming pollutants. Argonne National Laboratory analyzed greenhouse gas emissions of many different engine and fuel combinations, and found that biodiesel /petrodiesel blend ( B20 ) showed a reduction of 8%, conventional E85 ethanol blend a reduction of 17% and cellulosic ethanol 64%, compared with pure gasoline. Ethanol has
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#17327756371161344-503: A greater concentration of sucrose than corn (by about 30%), but is also much easier to extract. The bagasse generated by the process is not discarded, but burned by power plants to produce electricity. Bagasse burning accounts for around 9% of the electricity produced in Brazil. In the 1970s most industrial ethanol in the U.S. was made as a petrochemical, but in the 1980s the U.S. introduced subsidies for corn-based ethanol . According to
1456-461: A much greater research octane number (RON) than gasoline, meaning it is less prone to pre-ignition, allowing for better ignition advance which means more torque, and efficiency in addition to the lower carbon emissions. Ethanol combustion in an internal combustion engine yields many of the products of incomplete combustion produced by gasoline and significantly larger amounts of formaldehyde and related species such as acetaldehyde. This leads to
1568-561: A people, than the producing of sugar; for no country in the world consumes so much as the United States, in proportion to its population." The price of sugar was rising because of decreased production in the British West Indies and more demand for confectionery and fruit preserves , and the United States was actively searching for a sugar plant that could be produced in northern states. The "Chinese sugar-cane" as it
1680-509: A post-processing solvent to remove oils, waxes, and chlorophyll from solution in a process known as winterization . Ethanol is found in paints , tinctures, markers, and personal care products such as mouthwashes, perfumes and deodorants. Polysaccharides precipitate from aqueous solution in the presence of alcohol, and ethanol precipitation is used for this reason in the purification of DNA and RNA . Because of its low freezing point of −114 °C (−173 °F) and low toxicity, ethanol
1792-460: A process called "affination". Its purpose is to wash away the sugar crystals' outer coating, which is less pure than the crystal interior. The remaining sugar is then dissolved to make a syrup, about 60% solids by weight. The sugar solution is clarified by the addition of phosphoric acid and calcium hydroxide , which combine to precipitate calcium phosphate . The calcium phosphate particles entrap some impurities and absorb others, and then float to
1904-604: A resolution on naming alcohols and phenols that was adopted at the International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature that was held in April 1892 in Geneva , Switzerland. The term alcohol now refers to a wider class of substances in chemistry nomenclature, but in common parlance it remains the name of ethanol. It is a medieval loan from Arabic al-kuḥl , a powdered ore of antimony used since antiquity as
2016-864: A significant number of ethnic Indians, Southeast Asians, and Chinese people settling in various parts of the world. In some islands and countries, the South Asian migrants now constitute between 10 and 50% of the population. Sugarcane plantations and Asian ethnic groups continue to thrive in countries such as Fiji , South Africa , Myanmar , Sri Lanka , Malaysia , Indonesia , the Philippines , Guyana , Jamaica, Trinidad , Martinique, French Guiana , Guadeloupe, Grenada , St. Lucia , St. Vincent , St. Kitts , St. Croix , Suriname, Nevis , and Mauritius . Between 1863 and 1900, merchants and plantation owners in Queensland and New South Wales (now part of
2128-416: A significantly larger photochemical reactivity and more ground level ozone . This data has been assembled into The Clean Fuels Report comparison of fuel emissions and show that ethanol exhaust generates 2.14 times as much ozone as gasoline exhaust. When this is added into the custom Localized Pollution Index of The Clean Fuels Report, the local pollution of ethanol (pollution that contributes to smog)
2240-400: A solvent is in making tincture of iodine, cough syrups, etc. It is also miscible with light aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as pentane and hexane , and with aliphatic chlorides such as trichloroethane and tetrachloroethylene . Ethanol's miscibility with water contrasts with the immiscibility of longer-chain alcohols (five or more carbon atoms), whose water miscibility decreases sharply as
2352-467: A substantial portion of the entire plant, accounting for roughly 75% of its composition. A fully mature cane stalk generally comprises a composition of around 11–16% fiber, 12–16% soluble sugars, 2–3% nonsugar carbohydrates, and 63–73% water content. The successful cultivation of sugarcane hinges on a delicate interplay of several factors, including climatic conditions, soil properties, irrigation methods, fertilization practices, pest and disease management,
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#17327756371162464-429: A switch to sweet sorghum could have a considerable economic impact. Sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, perennial grass (in the genus Saccharum , tribe Andropogoneae ) that is used for sugar production . The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sucrose , which accumulates in the stalk internodes . Sugarcanes belong to
2576-405: A temperature called its flash point and an ignition source is then applied to it. For 20% alcohol by mass (about 25% by volume), this will occur at about 25 °C (77 °F). The flash point of pure ethanol is 13 °C (55 °F), but may be influenced very slightly by atmospheric composition such as pressure and humidity. Ethanol mixtures can ignite below average room temperature. Ethanol
2688-475: A traditional breakfast in the Southern United States . Sorghum syrup is also used on pancakes , cornmeal mush , grits and other hot cereals. It can be used as a cooking ingredient with a similar sweetening effect as molasses , though blackstrap molasses still has a higher nutritional value than sorghum syrup in most regards. In India sweet sorghum syrup is promoted as a health food. In
2800-428: A tropical or subtropical climate, with a minimum of 60 cm (24 in) of annual moisture. It is one of the most efficient photosynthesizers in the plant kingdom . It is a C 4 plant , able to convert up to 1% of incident solar energy into biomass . In primary growing regions across the tropics and subtropics , sugarcane crops can produce over 15 kg/m of cane. Sugar cane accounted for around 21% of
2912-1037: A virus vector, which causes the sugarcane disease ramu stunt . Sesamia grisescens is a major pest in Papua New Guinea and so is a serious concern for the Australian industry were it to cross over. To head off such a problem, the Federal Government has pre-announced that they would cover 80% of response costs if it were necessary. Numerous pathogens infect sugarcane, such as sugarcane grassy shoot disease caused by Candidatus Phytoplasma sacchari , whiptail disease or sugarcane smut , pokkah boeng caused by Fusarium moniliforme , Xanthomonas axonopodis bacteria causes Gumming Disease, and red rot disease caused by Colletotrichum falcatum . Viral diseases affecting sugarcane include sugarcane mosaic virus , maize streak virus , and sugarcane yellow leaf virus. Yang et al. , 2017 provides
3024-438: Is 99% sucrose. These two stages are slowly merging. Increasing affluence in the sugarcane-producing tropics increases demand for refined sugar products, driving a trend toward combined milling and refining. Sugarcane processing produces cane sugar (sucrose) from sugarcane. Other products of the processing include bagasse, molasses, and filtercake. Bagasse , the residual dry fiber of the cane after cane juice has been extracted,
3136-419: Is a volatile , flammable , colorless liquid with a characteristic wine -like odor and pungent taste. In nature, grape-sugar breaks up by the action of fermentation into alcohol or carbonic acid, without anything being added. As a psychoactive depressant , it is the active ingredient in alcoholic beverages , and the second most consumed drug globally behind caffeine . Ethanol is naturally produced by
3248-557: Is a volatile, colorless liquid that has a slight odor. It burns with a smokeless blue flame that is not always visible in normal light. The physical properties of ethanol stem primarily from the presence of its hydroxyl group and the shortness of its carbon chain. Ethanol's hydroxyl group is able to participate in hydrogen bonding, rendering it more viscous and less volatile than less polar organic compounds of similar molecular weight, such as propane . Ethanol's adiabatic flame temperature for combustion in air is 2082 °C or 3779 °F. Ethanol
3360-714: Is another potential source of ethanol, and is suitable for growing in dryland conditions. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics is investigating the possibility of growing sorghum as a source of fuel, food, and animal feed in arid parts of Asia and Africa . Sweet sorghum has one-third the water requirement of sugarcane over the same time period. It also requires about 22% less water than corn. The world's first sweet sorghum ethanol distillery began commercial production in 2007 in Andhra Pradesh , India . Ethanol has been produced in
3472-563: Is as an engine fuel and fuel additive . Brazil in particular relies heavily upon the use of ethanol as an engine fuel, due in part to its role as one of the world's leading producers of ethanol. Gasoline sold in Brazil contains at least 25% anhydrous ethanol. Hydrous ethanol (about 95% ethanol and 5% water) can be used as fuel in more than 90% of new gasoline-fueled cars sold in the country. The US and many other countries primarily use E10 (10% ethanol, sometimes known as gasohol) and E85 (85% ethanol) ethanol/gasoline mixtures. Over time, it
Sweet sorghum - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-463: Is being conducted at a research level although there are a number of organizations at the beginning of the commercialization of ethanol fuel cells. Ethanol fireplaces can be used for home heating or for decoration. Ethanol can also be used as stove fuel for cooking. As a central nervous system depressant , ethanol is one of the most commonly consumed psychoactive drugs . Despite alcohol's psychoactive, addictive, and carcinogenic properties, it
3696-439: Is believed that a material portion of the ≈150-billion-US-gallon (570,000,000 m ) per year market for gasoline will begin to be replaced with fuel ethanol. Australian law limits the use of pure ethanol from sugarcane waste to 10 % in automobiles. Older cars (and vintage cars designed to use a slower burning fuel) should have the engine valves upgraded or replaced. According to an industry advocacy group , ethanol as
3808-846: Is closely linked to the migrations of the Austronesian peoples . Saccharum barberi was only cultivated in India after the introduction of S. officinarum . S. officinarum was first domesticated in New Guinea and the islands east of the Wallace Line by Papuans, where it is the modern center of diversity . Beginning around 6,000 BP , several strains were selectively bred from the native Saccharum robustum . From New Guinea, it spread westwards to Maritime Southeast Asia after contact with Austronesians, where it hybridized with Saccharum spontaneum . The second domestication center
3920-416: Is common. Billets (stalks or stalk sections) harvested by a mechanical harvester are planted by a machine that opens and recloses the ground. Once planted, a stand can be harvested several times; after each harvest, the cane sends up new stalks, called ratoons . Successive harvests give decreasing yields, eventually justifying replanting. Two to 10 harvests are usually made depending on the type of culture. In
4032-481: Is considered a flammable liquid (Class 3 Hazardous Material) in concentrations above 2.35% by mass (3.0% by volume; 6 proof ). Dishes using burning alcohol for culinary effects are called flambé . Ethanol is a byproduct of the metabolic process of yeast. As such, ethanol will be present in any yeast habitat. Ethanol can commonly be found in overripe fruit. Ethanol produced by symbiotic yeast can be found in bertam palm blossoms. Although some animal species, such as
4144-439: Is considered a universal solvent , as its molecular structure allows for the dissolving of both polar , hydrophilic and nonpolar , hydrophobic compounds. As ethanol also has a low boiling point , it is easy to remove from a solution that has been used to dissolve other compounds, making it a popular extracting agent for botanical oils. Cannabis oil extraction methods often use ethanol as an extraction solvent, and also as
4256-451: Is currently used in lightweight rocket-powered racing aircraft . Commercial fuel cells operate on reformed natural gas, hydrogen or methanol. Ethanol is an attractive alternative due to its wide availability, low cost, high purity and low toxicity. There is a wide range of fuel cell concepts that have entered trials including direct-ethanol fuel cells , auto-thermal reforming systems and thermally integrated systems. The majority of work
4368-410: Is effective against most bacteria , fungi and viruses . It is ineffective against bacterial spores , which can be treated with hydrogen peroxide . A solution of 70% ethanol is more effective than pure ethanol because ethanol relies on water molecules for optimal antimicrobial activity. Absolute ethanol may inactivate microbes without destroying them because the alcohol is unable to fully permeate
4480-498: Is harvested by hand and mechanically. Hand harvesting accounts for more than half of production, and is dominant in the developing world. In hand harvesting, the field is first set on fire. The fire burns up dry leaves, and chases away or kills venomous snakes, without harming the stalks and roots. Harvesters then cut the cane just above ground-level using cane knives or machetes . A skilled harvester can cut 500 kg (1,100 lb) of sugarcane per hour. Mechanical harvesting uses
4592-429: Is less expensive and more readily available than fomepizole in the role. Ethanol is used to dissolve many water-insoluble medications and related compounds. Liquid preparations of pain medications , cough and cold medicines , and mouth washes, for example, may contain up to 25% ethanol and may need to be avoided in individuals with adverse reactions to ethanol such as alcohol-induced respiratory reactions . Ethanol
Sweet sorghum - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-433: Is more economical depends on prevailing prices of petroleum and grain feed stocks. World production of ethanol in 2006 was 51 gigalitres (1.3 × 10 US gal), with 69% of the world supply coming from Brazil and the U.S. Brazilian ethanol is produced from sugarcane, which has relatively high yields (830% more fuel than the fossil fuels used to produce it) compared to some other energy crops . Sugarcane not only has
4816-585: Is more economical. In an older process, first practiced on the industrial scale in 1930 by Union Carbide but now almost entirely obsolete, ethylene was hydrated indirectly by reacting it with concentrated sulfuric acid to produce ethyl sulfate , which was hydrolyzed to yield ethanol and regenerate the sulfuric acid: Ethanol in alcoholic beverages and fuel is produced by fermentation. Certain species of yeast (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) metabolize sugar (namely polysaccharides ), producing ethanol and carbon dioxide. The chemical equations below summarize
4928-700: Is particularly suitable for growing in dryland conditions, as it only extracts one-seventh of the water used by sugarcane. A 2015 study by researchers at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) found that growing sweet sorghum instead of grain sorghum could increase farmers' incomes by US$ 40 per hectare per crop because it can provide food, feed, and fuel. With grain sorghum currently grown on over 11 million ha in Asia and on 23.4 million ha in Africa,
5040-459: Is present mainly as an antimicrobial preservative in over 700 liquid preparations of medicine including acetaminophen , iron supplements , ranitidine , furosemide , mannitol , phenobarbital , trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and over-the-counter cough medicine . Some medicinal solutions of ethanol are also known as tinctures . In mammals, ethanol is primarily metabolized in the liver and stomach by ADH enzymes. These enzymes catalyze
5152-555: Is produced from sugarcane in specialized mill factories. Sugarcane reeds are used to make pens, mats, screens, and thatch. The young, unexpanded flower head of Saccharum edule ( duruka ) is eaten raw, steamed, or toasted, and prepared in various ways in Southeast Asia, such as certain island communities of Indonesia as well as in Oceanic countries like Fiji . The direct use of sugar cane to produce ethanol for biofuel
5264-675: Is projected to potentially surpass the production of white sugar as an end product. The term sugarcane is a combination of two words: "sugar" and "cane". The former ultimately derives from Sanskrit शर्करा ( śárkarā ) as the crop originated in Southeast Asia. As sugar was traded and spread West, this became سُكَّر ( sukkar ) in Arabic , zúcchero in Italian , zuccarum in Latin , and eventually sucre in both Middle French and Middle English . The second term "cane" began to be used alongside it as
5376-537: Is rated 1.7, where gasoline is 1.0 and higher numbers signify greater pollution. The California Air Resources Board formalized this issue in 2008 by recognizing control standards for formaldehydes as an emissions control group, much like the conventional NOx and reactive organic gases (ROGs). More than 20% of Brazilian cars are able to use 100% ethanol as fuel, which includes ethanol-only engines and flex-fuel engines. Flex-fuel engines in Brazil are able to work with all ethanol, all gasoline or any mixture of both. In
5488-457: Is readily available and legal for sale in many countries. There are laws regulating the sale, exportation/importation, taxation, manufacturing, consumption, and possession of alcoholic beverages. The most common regulation is prohibition for minors. Ethanol is an important industrial ingredient. It has widespread use as a precursor for other organic compounds such as ethyl halides , ethyl esters , diethyl ether, acetic acid, and ethyl amines . It
5600-463: Is slightly more refractive than water, having a refractive index of 1.36242 (at λ=589.3 nm and 18.35 °C or 65.03 °F). The triple point for ethanol is 150 ± 20 K . Ethanol is a versatile solvent, miscible with water and with many organic solvents, including acetic acid , acetone , benzene , carbon tetrachloride , chloroform , diethyl ether, ethylene glycol, glycerol , nitromethane , pyridine , and toluene . Its main use as
5712-418: Is sold as a food and dietary supplement. It is also a common ingredient in animal feed, and is used to produce ethanol, rum, and citric acid . Purer molasses syrups are sold as molasses, and may also be blended with maple syrup , invert sugars, or corn syrup . Both forms of molasses are used in baking. Sugar refining further purifies the raw sugar. It is first mixed with heavy syrup and then centrifuged in
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#17327756371165824-455: Is sometimes produced immediately after the first stage at sugar-extraction mills, intended for local consumption. Sugar crystals appear naturally white in color during the crystallization process. Sulfur dioxide is added to inhibit the formation of color-inducing molecules and to stabilize the sugar juices during evaporation. Refineries, often located nearer to consumers in North America, Europe, and Japan, then produce refined white sugar, which
5936-414: Is sometimes used in laboratories (with dry ice or other coolants) as a cooling bath to keep vessels at temperatures below the freezing point of water. For the same reason, it is also used as the active fluid in alcohol thermometers . Ethanol is a 2-carbon alcohol . Its molecular formula is CH 3 CH 2 OH. The structure of the molecule of ethanol is CH 3 −CH 2 −OH (an ethyl group linked to
6048-728: Is southern China and Taiwan, where S. sinense was a primary cultigen of the Austronesian peoples. Words for sugarcane are reconstructed as *təbuS or *CebuS in Proto-Austronesian , which became *tebuh in Proto-Malayo-Polynesian . It was one of the original major crops of the Austronesian peoples from at least 5,500 BP. Introduction of the sweeter S. officinarum may have gradually replaced it throughout its cultivated range in maritime Southeast Asia. From Insular Southeast Asia, S. officinarum
6160-451: Is the world's largest crop by production quantity, totalling 1.9 billion tonnes in 2020, with Brazil accounting for 40% of the world total. Sugarcane accounts for 79% of sugar produced globally (most of the rest is made from sugar beets ). About 70% of the sugar produced comes from Saccharum officinarum and its hybrids. All sugarcane species can interbreed , and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids . White sugar
6272-409: Is used for several purposes: The primary use of bagasse and bagasse residue is as a fuel source for the boilers in the generation of process steam in sugar plants. Dried filtercake is used as an animal feed supplement, fertilizer, and source of sugarcane wax . Molasses is produced in two forms: blackstrap , which has a characteristic strong flavor, and a purer molasses syrup. Blackstrap molasses
6384-692: The Canary Islands , and the Portuguese from their fields in the Madeira Islands . An article on sugarcane cultivation in Spain is included in Ibn al-'Awwam 's 12th-century Book on Agriculture . In colonial times, sugar formed one side of the triangle trade of New World raw materials, along with European manufactured goods, and African slaves . Christopher Columbus first brought sugarcane to
6496-858: The Caribbean (and the New World ) during his second voyage to the Americas, initially to the island of Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic ). The first sugar harvest happened in Hispaniola in 1501; many sugar mills were constructed in Cuba and Jamaica by the 1520s. The Portuguese introduced sugarcane to Brazil . By 1540, there were 800 cane sugar mills in Santa Catarina Island and another 2,000 on
6608-735: The Natal region of South Africa, it is normally due to anomalous climatic conditions in the region, such as warm ocean currents that sweep down the coast. In terms of altitude, sugarcane crops are found up to 1,600 m or 5,200 ft close to the equator in countries such as Colombia , Ecuador , and Peru . Sugarcane can be grown on many soils ranging from highly fertile, well-drained mollisols , through heavy cracking vertisols , infertile acid oxisols and ultisols , peaty histosols , to rocky andisols . Both plentiful sunshine and water supplies increase cane production. This has made desert countries with good irrigation facilities such as Egypt some of
6720-419: The carburetor ) and attribute the damage to the increased water retention by ethanol in fuel. Ethanol was commonly used as fuel in early bipropellant rocket (liquid-propelled) vehicles, in conjunction with an oxidizer such as liquid oxygen. The German A-4 ballistic rocket of World War II (better known by its propaganda name V-2 ), which is credited as having begun the space age, used ethanol as
6832-429: The fermentation process of sugars by yeasts or via petrochemical processes such as ethylene hydration. Historically it was used as a general anesthetic , and has modern medical applications as an antiseptic , disinfectant , solvent for some medications, and antidote for methanol poisoning and ethylene glycol poisoning . It is used as a chemical solvent and in the synthesis of organic compounds, and as
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#17327756371166944-407: The oxidation of ethanol into acetaldehyde (ethanal): When present in significant concentrations, this metabolism of ethanol is additionally aided by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP2E1 in humans, while trace amounts are also metabolized by catalase . The resulting intermediate, acetaldehyde, is a known carcinogen, and poses significantly greater toxicity in humans than ethanol itself. Many of
7056-449: The pentailed treeshrew , exhibit ethanol-seeking behaviors, most show no interest or avoidance of food sources containing ethanol. Ethanol is also produced during the germination of many plants as a result of natural anaerobiosis . Ethanol has been detected in outer space , forming an icy coating around dust grains in interstellar clouds . Minute quantity amounts (average 196 ppb ) of endogenous ethanol and acetaldehyde were found in
7168-527: The turnip moth , the sugarcane borer ( Diatraea saccharalis ), the African sugarcane borer ( Eldana saccharina ), the Mexican rice borer ( Eoreuma loftini ), the African armyworm ( Spodoptera exempta ), leafcutter ants , termites , spittlebugs (especially Mahanarva fimbriolata and Deois flavopicta ), and Migdolus fryanus (a beetle ). The planthopper insect Eumetopina flavipes acts as
7280-626: The Commonwealth of Australia) brought between 55,000 and 62,500 people from the South Pacific islands to work on sugarcane plantations. An estimated one-third of these workers were coerced or kidnapped into slavery (known as blackbirding ); many others were paid very low wages. Between 1904 and 1908, most of the 10,000 remaining workers were deported in an effort to keep Australia racially homogeneous and protect white workers from cheap foreign labour. Cuban sugar derived from sugarcane
7392-502: The Renewable Fuels Association, as of 30 October 2007, 131 grain ethanol bio-refineries in the U.S. have the capacity to produce 7 × 10 ^ US gal (26,000,000 m ) of ethanol per year. An additional 72 construction projects underway (in the U.S.) can add 6.4 billion US gallons (24,000,000 m ) of new capacity in the next 18 months. In India ethanol is made from sugarcane. Sweet sorghum
7504-615: The South was under naval blockade by the Union navy, making importation of Caribbean cane sugar and molasses expensive and scarce via blockade running . Under these conditions, some farms grew sweet sorghum for syrup to substitute for cane sugar and molasses, which helped ensconce sweet sorghum in Southern food culture . At the same time, anti-slavery families boycotting sweeteners made under slavery as "blood-stained" could grow sorghum and make
7616-598: The U.S. In Central India it was introduced in the early 1970s by Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute for ethanol and syrup production. Sweet sorghum syrup has shown good antioxidant properties and is found to be useful in food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Presently it is grown on large area as a fodder crop. Most sorghum grown for syrup production is grown in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Mississippi , North Carolina , Missouri , and Tennessee . Sorghum syrup and hot biscuits are
7728-490: The U.S. since the 1950s, sorghum has been raised primarily for forage and silage, with sorghum cultivation for cattle feed concentrated in the Great Plains ( Texas , Kansas , and Nebraska are the leading producers), particularly in areas where insufficient rainfall and high temperature make corn production unprofitable. Grain sorghum has also been used by the ethanol industry for quite some time because it yields about
7840-501: The United States, flex-fuel vehicles can run on 0% to 85% ethanol (15% gasoline) since higher ethanol blends are not yet allowed or efficient. Brazil supports this fleet of ethanol-burning automobiles with large national infrastructure that produces ethanol from domestically grown sugarcane. Ethanol's high miscibility with water makes it unsuitable for shipping through modern pipelines like liquid hydrocarbons. Mechanics have seen increased cases of damage to small engines (in particular,
7952-829: The approach to crop management embraced in the cultivation of sugarcane. Ultimately, the successful cultivation of this valuable crop demands a thoughtful integration of various factors to optimize its growth and productivity. Sugarcane is a cash crop , but it is also used as livestock fodder. Sugarcane genome is one of the most complex plant genomes known, mostly due to interspecific hybridization and polyploidization. The two centers of domestication for sugarcane are one for Saccharum officinarum by Papuans in New Guinea and another for Saccharum sinense by Austronesians in Taiwan and southern China. Papuans and Austronesians originally primarily used sugarcane as food for domesticated pigs. The spread of both S. officinarum and S. sinense
8064-445: The cane during mechanical harvesting accelerates this decline. This decline is offset because a modern chopper harvester can complete the harvest faster and more efficiently than hand cutting and loading. Austoft also developed a series of hydraulic high-lift infield transporters to work alongside its harvesters to allow even more rapid transfer of cane to, for example, the nearest railway siding. This mechanical harvesting does not require
8176-429: The carbon. The purified syrup is then concentrated to supersaturation and repeatedly crystallized in a vacuum, to produce white refined sugar . As in a sugar mill, the sugar crystals are separated from the molasses by centrifuging. Additional sugar is recovered by blending the remaining syrup with the washings from affination and again crystallizing to produce brown sugar . When no more sugar can be economically recovered,
8288-469: The characteristic alcohol flush reaction that can cause temporary reddening of the skin as well as a number of related, and often unpleasant, symptoms of acetaldehyde toxicity. This mutation is typically accompanied by another mutation in the ADH enzyme ADH1B in roughly 80 % of east Asians, which improves the catalytic efficiency of converting ethanol into acetaldehyde. The largest single use of ethanol
8400-454: The composition of the ethanol-water azeotrope shifts to more ethanol-rich mixtures. The minimum-pressure azeotrope has an ethanol fraction of 100% and a boiling point of 306 K (33 °C), corresponding to a pressure of roughly 70 torr (9.333 kPa). Below this pressure, there is no azeotrope, and it is possible to distill absolute ethanol from an ethanol-water mixture. An ethanol–water solution will catch fire if heated above
8512-648: The compound C 2 H 5 −O− C 2 H 5 (commonly called "ether" in English , more specifically called " diethyl ether "). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , Ethyl is a contraction of the Ancient Greek αἰθήρ ( aithḗr , "upper air") and the Greek word ὕλη ( hýlē , "wood, raw material", hence "matter, substance"). Ethanol was coined as a result of
8624-546: The crop was grown on plantations in the Caribbean . G anna is the Hindi word for sugarcane. Sugarcane, a perennial tropical grass , exhibits a unique growth pattern characterized by lateral shoots emerging at its base, leading to the development of multiple stems. These stems typically attain a height of 3 to 4 meters (approximately 10 to 13 feet) and possess a diameter of about 5 centimeters (approximately 2 inches). As these stems mature, they evolve into cane stalks, constituting
8736-648: The eighth century, Muslim and Arab traders introduced sugar from medieval India to the other parts of the Abbasid Caliphate in the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia , Egypt , North Africa, and Andalusia . By the 10th century, sources state that every village in Mesopotamia grew sugarcane. It was among the early crops brought to the Americas by the Spanish, mainly Andalusians, from their fields in
8848-414: The ethanol molecule also has a nonpolar end, it will also dissolve nonpolar substances, including most essential oils and numerous flavoring, coloring, and medicinal agents. The addition of even a few percent of ethanol to water sharply reduces the surface tension of water. This property partially explains the " tears of wine " phenomenon. When wine is swirled in a glass, ethanol evaporates quickly from
8960-429: The exhaled breath of healthy volunteers. Auto-brewery syndrome , also known as gut fermentation syndrome, is a rare medical condition in which intoxicating quantities of ethanol are produced through endogenous fermentation within the digestive system . Ethanol is produced both as a petrochemical , through the hydration of ethylene and, via biological processes, by fermenting sugars with yeast . Which process
9072-419: The field to be set on fire; the residue left in the field by the machine consists of cane tops and dead leaves, which serve as mulch for the next planting. The cane beetle (also known as cane grub) can substantially reduce crop yield by eating roots; it can be controlled with imidacloprid (Confidor) or chlorpyrifos (Lorsban). Other important pests are the larvae of some butterfly/moth species, including
9184-491: The final molasses still contains 20–30% sucrose and 15–25% glucose and fructose. To produce granulated sugar , in which individual grains do not clump, sugar must be dried, first by heating in a rotary dryer, and then by blowing cool air through it for several days. Ribbon cane is a subtropical type that was once widely grown in the Southern United States, as far north as coastal North Carolina . The juice
9296-552: The global crop production over the 2000–2021 period. The Americas was the leading region in the production of sugar cane (52% of the world total). Once a major crop of the southeastern region of the United States, sugarcane cultivation declined there during the late 20th century, and is primarily confined to small plantations in Florida , Louisiana , and southeast Texas in the 21st century. Sugarcane cultivation ceased in Hawaii when
9408-407: The grass family, Poaceae , an economically important flowering plant family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum , and many forage crops. It is native to the warm temperate and tropical regions of India, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea . Sugarcane was an ancient crop of the Austronesian and Papuan people . The best evidence available today points to the New Guinea area as the site of
9520-422: The highest-yielding sugarcane-cultivating regions. Sugarcane consumes 9% of the world's potash fertilizer production. Although some sugarcanes produce seeds, modern stem cutting has become the most common reproduction method. Each cutting must contain at least one bud, and the cuttings are sometimes hand-planted. In more technologically advanced countries, such as the United States and Australia, billet planting
9632-406: The laboratory by converting carbon dioxide via biological and electrochemical reactions. Ethanol can be produced from petrochemical feed stocks, primarily by the acid - catalyzed hydration of ethylene. It is often referred to as synthetic ethanol. The catalyst is most commonly phosphoric acid , adsorbed onto a porous support such as silica gel or diatomaceous earth . This catalyst
9744-490: The last operating sugar plantation in the state shut down in 2016. Sugarcane is cultivated in the tropics and subtropics in areas with a plentiful supply of water for a continuous period of more than 6–7 months each year, either from natural rainfall or through irrigation. The crop does not tolerate severe frosts. Therefore, most of the world's sugarcane is grown between 22°N and 22°S , and some up to 33°N and 33°S . When sugarcane crops are found outside this range, such as
9856-450: The main constituent of B-Stoff . Under such nomenclature, the ethanol was mixed with 25% water to reduce the combustion chamber temperature. The V-2's design team helped develop U.S. rockets following World War II, including the ethanol-fueled Redstone rocket , which launched the first U.S. astronaut on suborbital spaceflight . Alcohols fell into general disuse as more energy-dense rocket fuels were developed, although ethanol
9968-512: The microbe's membrane. Ethanol can also be used as a disinfectant and antiseptic by inducing cell dehydration through disruption of the osmotic balance across the cell membrane, causing water to leave the cell, leading to cell death. Ethanol may be administered as an antidote to ethylene glycol poisoning and methanol poisoning . It does so by acting as a competitive inhibitor against methanol and ethylene glycol for alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). Though it has more side effects, ethanol
10080-499: The north coast of Brazil, Demarara , and Suriname . Sugar, often in the form of molasses, was shipped from the Caribbean to Europe or New England, where it was used to make rum . The profits from the sale of sugar were then used to purchase manufactured goods, which were then shipped to West Africa, where they were bartered for slaves. The slaves were then brought back to the Caribbean to be sold to sugar planters. The profits from
10192-409: The number of carbons increases. The miscibility of ethanol with alkanes is limited to alkanes up to undecane : mixtures with dodecane and higher alkanes show a miscibility gap below a certain temperature (about 13 °C for dodecane ). The miscibility gap tends to get wider with higher alkanes, and the temperature for complete miscibility increases. Ethanol-water mixtures have less volume than
10304-507: The original domestication of Saccharum officinarum . It was introduced to Polynesia , Island Melanesia , and Madagascar in prehistoric times via Austronesian sailors. It was also introduced to southern China and India by Austronesian traders around 1200 to 1000 BC. The Persians and Greeks encountered the famous "reeds that produce honey without bees" in India between the sixth and fourth centuries BC. They adopted and then spread sugarcane agriculture. Merchants began to trade in sugar, which
10416-450: The removal of organic and nutrient-rich material, which can decrease future crop yields. It can also result in sediments and other pollutants being washed into aquatic habitats, which can result in a wide range of environmental issues, including eutrophication and acidification. Sugarcane cultivation can also result in soil compaction, which is caused by the use of heavy, infield machinery. Along with impacting invertebrate and fauna within
10528-483: The removal of soil at harvest, as well as improper irrigation practices, which can result in erosion. Erosion is especially significant when the sugarcane is grown on slopes or hillsides, which increases the rate of water runoff. Generally, it is recommended that sugarcane is not planted in areas with a slope greater than 8%. However, in certain areas, such as parts of the Caribbean and South Africa, slopes greater than 20% have been planted. Increased erosion can lead to
10640-509: The sale of the slaves were then used to buy more sugar, which was shipped to Europe. Toil in the sugar plantations became a main basis for a vast network of forced population movement , supplying people to work under brutal coercion. The passage of the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act led to the abolition of slavery through most of the British Empire , and many of the emancipated slaves no longer worked on sugarcane plantations when they had
10752-481: The same amount of ethanol per bushel as corn. As new-generation ethanol processes are studied and improved, sorghum's role may continue to expand. Texas A&M University ran trials to ascertain the best varieties for ethanol production from sorghum leaves and stalks in the USA. In India and other places, sweet sorghum stalks are used for producing biofuel by squeezing the juice and then fermenting into ethanol . The crop
10864-420: The selection of specific varieties, and the timing of the harvest. In terms of yield, the average production of cane stalk stands at 60–70 tonnes per hectare (equivalent to 24–28 long tons per acre or 27–31 short tons per acre) annually. However, this yield figure is not fixed and can vary significantly, ranging from 30 to 180 tonnes per hectare. This variance is contingent upon the level of knowledge applied and
10976-555: The sugarcane's stem. Coating seeds with the bacteria was assayed in 2006 with the intention of enabling crop species to fix nitrogen for its own use. At least 20,000 people are estimated to have died of chronic kidney disease in Central America in the past two decades, most of them sugarcane workers along the Pacific coast. This may be due to working long hours in the heat without adequate fluid intake. Additionally, some of
11088-679: The sum of their individual components at the given fractions. Mixing equal volumes of ethanol and water results in only 1.92 volumes of mixture. Mixing ethanol and water is exothermic , with up to 777 J/mol being released at 298 K. Hydrogen bonding causes pure ethanol to be hygroscopic to the extent that it readily absorbs water from the air. The polar nature of the hydroxyl group causes ethanol to dissolve many ionic compounds, notably sodium and potassium hydroxides , magnesium chloride , calcium chloride , ammonium chloride , ammonium bromide , and sodium bromide . Sodium and potassium chlorides are slightly soluble in ethanol. Because
11200-546: The symptoms typically associated with alcohol intoxication—as well as many of the health hazards typically associated with the long-term consumption of ethanol—can be attributed to acetaldehyde toxicity in humans. The subsequent oxidation of acetaldehyde into acetate is performed by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymes. A mutation in the ALDH2 gene that encodes for an inactive or dysfunctional form of this enzyme affects roughly 50 % of east Asian populations, contributing to
11312-514: The syrup in the North, so it was not solely a Southern foodstuff. By the early 1900s, the U.S. produced 20 million US gallons (76,000 m) of sweet sorghum syrup annually. Making syrup from sorghum (as from sugar cane ) is heavily labor-intensive. Following World War II, with the declining availability of farm labor, sorghum syrup production fell drastically. Currently, less than 1 million US gallons (3,800 m) are produced annually in
11424-449: The thin film of wine on the wall of the glass. As the wine's ethanol content decreases, its surface tension increases and the thin film "beads up" and runs down the glass in channels rather than as a smooth sheet. At atmospheric pressure, mixtures of ethanol and water form an azeotrope at about 89.4 mol% ethanol (95.6% ethanol by mass, 97% alcohol by volume ), with a boiling point of 351.3 K (78.1 °C). At lower pressure,
11536-489: The top of the tank, where they can be skimmed off. An alternative to this "phosphatation" technique is " carbonatation ", which is similar, but uses carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide to produce a calcium carbonate precipitate. After filtering any remaining solids, the clarified syrup is decolorized by filtration through activated carbon . Bone char or coal-based activated carbon is traditionally used in this role. Some remaining color-forming impurities are adsorbed by
11648-498: The upper layers of the soil, compaction can also lead to decreased porosity. This in turn can increase surface runoff , resulting in greater leaching and erosion. Ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol , grain alcohol , drinking alcohol , or simply alcohol ) is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH 3 CH 2 OH . It is an alcohol , with its formula also written as C 2 H 5 OH , C 2 H 6 O or EtOH, where Et stands for ethyl . Ethanol
11760-414: The workers are being exposed to hazards such as: high temperatures, harmful pesticides, and poisonous or venomous animals. This occurs during the process of cutting the sugarcane manually, causing physical ailments due to constant repetitive movements for hours every work day. Traditionally, sugarcane processing requires two stages. Mills extract raw sugar from freshly harvested cane and "mill-white" sugar
11872-511: Was 74 tonnes per hectare, led by Peru with 121 tonnes per hectare. The theoretical possible yield for sugarcane is about 280 tonnes per hectare per year, and small experimental plots in Brazil have demonstrated yields of 236–280 tonnes of cane per hectare. From 2008 to 2016, production of standards-compliant sugarcane experienced a compound annual growth rate of about 52%, while conventional sugarcane increased at less than 1%. The cultivation of sugarcane can lead to increased soil loss through
11984-488: Was called was viewed as a plant that would be productive and high-yielding in that region. In the early 1860s, the American Civil War not only disrupted both interstate and maritime commerce but also diverted commodities from civilian to military purchases; these factors rendered some food and fiber supplies, including sugar cane and the sugar and molasses made from it, unreliable and expensive. In particular,
12096-416: Was considered a luxurious and expensive spice, from India. In the 18th century, sugarcane plantations began in the Caribbean, South American, Indian Ocean, and Pacific island nations. The need for sugar crop laborers became a major driver of large migrations, some people voluntarily accepting indentured servitude and others forcibly imported as slaves . Grown in tropical and subtropical regions, sugarcane
12208-680: Was exported to the USSR , where it received price supports and was ensured a guaranteed market. The 1991 dissolution of the Soviet state forced the closure of most of Cuba's sugar industry. Sugarcane remains an important part of the economy of Cuba, Guyana, Belize , Barbados , and Haiti, along with the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, and other islands. About 70% of the sugar produced globally comes from S. officinarum and hybrids using this species. Sugarcane cultivation requires
12320-558: Was extracted with horse- or mule-powered crushers; the juice was boiled, like maple syrup , in a flat pan, and then used in the syrup form as a food sweetener. It is not currently a commercial crop, but a few growers find ready sales for their product. In 2022, global production of sugarcane was 1.92 billion tonnes, with Brazil producing 38% of the world total, India with 23%, and China producing 5% (table). Worldwide, 26 million hectares were devoted to sugarcane cultivation in 2020. The average worldwide yield of sugarcane crops in 2022
12432-517: Was first used for large-scale ethanol production by the Shell Oil Company in 1947. The reaction is carried out in the presence of high pressure steam at 300 °C (572 °F) where a 5:3 ethylene to steam ratio is maintained. This process was used on an industrial scale by Union Carbide Corporation and others. It is no longer practiced in the US as fermentation ethanol produced from corn
12544-603: Was spread eastward into Polynesia and Micronesia by Austronesian voyagers as a canoe plant by around 3,500 BP. It was also spread westward and northward by around 3,000 BP to China and India by Austronesian traders, where it further hybridized with S. sinense and S. barberi . From there, it spread further into western Eurasia and the Mediterranean . The earliest known production of crystalline sugar began in northern India. The earliest evidence of sugar production comes from ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts. Around
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