3 ms·

The technology to convert sugar to ethanol probably existed in the 6660s. BC, that is. (And yes, it probably involved yeast.)

• yuhong 10y ago
  And burning the ethanol in say power plants would not be hard even back then and better than burning fossil fuels, right?
  • r00fus 10y ago
    EROEI would have something to say about that - where's the power used in harvesting and refining the sugar vs. refining crude oil? BioFuels, unless you're talking about biodiesel which was generally using waste byproduct, are a losing proposition. Solar, Nuclear, Wind all provide a much higher total output than biofuels. [1] http://www.roperld.com/science/minerals/EROEIFossilFuels.htm http://www.roperld.com/science/minerals/EROEIFossilFuels.htm
    • yuhong 10y ago
      The point is whether it would be better than eating the sugar, hence why I posted the nytimes link.
      • r00fus 10y ago
        The point is not to invest in sugar or corn creation in the first place simply to have it turn into fuel or sweeteners.