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Science 18 January 1980:
Vol. 207. no. 4428, pp. 302 - 304
DOI: 10.1126/science.207.4428.302
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Articles

Net Energy Analysis of Alcohol Production from Sugarcane

C. S. HOPKINSON JR. 1 and J. W. DAY JR. 1

1 Coastal Ecology Laboratory, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70803

Energy requirements were calculated for the agricultural and the industrial phase of ethyl alcohol production from sugarcane grown in Louisiana. Agricultural energy requirements comprised 54 percent of all energy inputs, with machinery, fuel, and nitrogen fertilizer representing most of the energy subsidies. Overall net energy benefits (output:input) for alcohol production ranged from 1.8:1 to 0.9:1 depending on whether crop residues or fossil fuels were used for industrial processes.

Submitted on July 27, 1979
Revised on October 29, 1979


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Energy and the U.S. Economy: A Biophysical Perspective.
C. J. Cleveland, R. Costanza, C. A. S. Hall, and R. Kaufmann (1984)
Science 225, 890-897
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