Gulf Ethanol Corporation has advanced its plans for an enhanced ethanol production facility along the Texas Gulf coast that could use the new sorghum plant developed by Texas A&M as its primary feed stock, Texas A&M University and Chevron Corp (NYSE CVX) recently announced the major new alternative fuels initiative.
The development of “freakishly tall sorghum plants†was designed as an ideal feedstock for Ethanol production by Texas A&M.
“Standing nearly 20 feet tall, these plants are more than twice the height of regular sorghum and yield double the crop per acre.
“They can survive on little water. They have been bred not to flower, thus trapping more energy within.†(Source: Brett Clanton, Houston Chronicle)
“This is a new paradigm for bioenergy production,” said Bill McCutchen, deputy associate director at Texas A&M’s Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.
The Department of Energy has announced nearly $400 million in funding for the establishment of three bio-energy research centers, “while oil companies including BP (NYSE BP), Exxon Mobil (NYSE XOM), and Chevron (NYSE CVX) have given money to universities for biofuels research.â€
via 20 foot tall Sorghum plant doubles fuel yield for Ethanol.