Ethanol from cane juice

Fermenting grains with yeast produces a grain alcohol. The process also works with other biomass feedstocks. In fermentation, the yeast decomposes carbohydrates which are starches in grains, or sugar from sugar cane juice into ethyl alcohol (ethanol) and carbon dioxide. The process breaks down complex substances into simpler ones. 

For both the cases of methanol production and the use of vehicle-mounted gasifiers, additional investments will be associated with facilities and equipment for harvesting and transport of the biomass to the conversion sites. In the case of ethanol production from currently produced sugar cane juice or molasses, the conversion facilities would be constructed adjacent to sugar mills that already are receiving the biomass raw material. Thus, additional investments for harvesting and transport equipment would not be required. 

When ethanol is produced from sugarcane or sugarbeet, the molasses, cane juice or beet syrups (thick juice) are directly used as raw material. 

Feed Preparation Ethanol can be produced from a wide range of feedstock. These include sugar-based (cane and beet molasses, cane juice), starch-based (corn, wheat, cassava, rice, barley) and cellulosic (crop residues, sugarcane bagasse, wood, municipal solid wastes) materials. Indian distilleries almost exclusively use sugarcane molasses. Overall, nearly 61% of the world ethanol production is from sugar crops (Berg, 2004). 

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