United States:
Switchgrass
- Produces cellulosic ethanol
- Grows quickly across much of the U.S.
- Survives during the winter, which reduces soil erosion
- Is not a food crop
Switchgrass
Soybeans
Soybeans
Corn
- Produces grain-based ethanol, but must burn fossil fuels to ferment
- Source of 97 percent of ethanol in U.S.
- Is a food crop
Corn
Brazil:
Sugar Cane
- Produces sugar-based ethanol
- Brazil is the leading producer in sugar cane ethanol
- No cars in Brazil run on pure gasoline because it all contains some ethanol
- Is a food crop
Sugar Cane
Europe:
Sugar Beet
- Produces sugar-based ethanol
- Is seven times more efficient to run a car off sugar than corn
- Is a food crop
Sugar Beet
Wheat
- Produced grain-based ethanol
- Contains more fiber than corn and is harder to break down, which may increase the capital cost of a wheat ethanol facility
- Is a food crop
Wheat
China:
Cassava
- Produces sugar-based ethanol
- In the 1990′s, famine spread across Uganda because the cassava crops were diseased
- Is a food crop
Cassava
Sorghum
Sorghum
Southeast Asia:
Miscanthus
- Produces cellulosic ethanol
- The amount of CO2 released when burned is equal to the the amount of CO2 absorbed by the grass
- Is not a food crop
Miscanthus
Oil Palm
- Produces ethanol from sap
- Produces biodiesel from oil
- Can lead to deforestation, which would increase greenhouse gases
- Is not a food crop
Palm
India:
Jathropa
- Produces oil that is used as fuel in diesel engines
- Oil needs little refining before it is used as fuel
- Seeds contain 37 percent oil
- The plant is drought resistant
- Is not a food source
Jathropha
