How to Grow Sugar Cane for Fuel

Sugar cane is a plant similar to bamboo and a part of the grass family. Sugar cane is used to create ethanol, which can in turn be used as a fuel alternative to gasoline. While it seems complicated to produce your own alternative fuel source, it actually is not. With proper growing methods sugar cane can be grown in an indoor home garden. Once harvested it can be put through a simple distillation process to create ethanol.

Things You'll Need

• Sugar cane stalk 6 feet long
• Knife
• Seed tray
• Clear plastic bag
• Water spray bottle
• Planter pots, 6-inch
• All-purpose potting mix
• Cane mill
• Distilling vat
• Distillery yeast (turbo, hyper or standard)
• Skimmer
• Condensing vat

Instructions

Growing the Sugar Cane

1. Cut stalks with the knife so each section has two rings. Make sure the stalks have more than six buds on them.

2. Plant the stalks. Locate pots large enough for the sections to be laid horizontally in the pot. Fill the pot with soil until it is 2/3 full. Lay each stalk into a pot horizontally. Cover the stalk with 2 inches of soil. Moisten the soil thoroughly. Repeat this for each stalk.

3. Create the sprouting environment. Put each pot into a plastic bag to create an enclosed humid environment. Put each pot with the bag cover in a warm dark indoor location.

4. Create the growing environment. Wait for new plants to sprout underneath the plastic. Remove the plastic. Move the pots to a location with full sunlight. Allow up to three weeks for shoots to develop. Water as needed to keep the soil moist.

Harvesting the Sugar Cane

1. Cut the sugar cane once it reaches desired height.

2. Take the sugar cane to a mill for processing.

3. Process the sugar cane. Extract the juice by pressing the stalks. Separate juice from the fiber and pulp.

4. Distill the sugar juice. Pour the juice into a vat. Add live yeast cultures according to manufacturers instructions. Allow the mixture to ferment for up to five days.

5. Clean the distilled sugar juice. Look for a black tar byproduct to form on the top of the liquid. This is the result of the sugar molecules breaking down during fermentation. Remove this layer of byproduct with the skimmer. Heat the remaining liquid to desired temperatures to obtain your level of ethanol.

6. Make the fuel. Mix the ethanol with gas to create a 19:1 ratio with the ethanol being the higher number. Adjust this ratio depending on the requirements of your engine. Use the fuel in an engine suited to burn ethanol.

Tips & Warnings

• Find the buds where the rings encircle the stalks.

• Find smaller stalks at ethnic food stores if you cannot find whole stalks.

• The leaves of the sugar cane are sharp and should be handled with gloves.

References

• Plantcultures: Sugar Cane, Grow It
• University of Florida: Backyard Sugar Cane
• Texas State Energy Conservation Office: Crops for Fuel