Alcohol yield from various feedstocks
Posted by Krzysztof Lis on December 16, 2011
Below you will find a table representing 199+ proof (99,5%+) alcohol yield from various feedstocks. The values are both in US gallons per ton (2,000 lbs) or litres per metric tonne of feedstock. The numbers were obtained from calculation of the amount of fermentable substances contained in the feedstocks. As you can imagine, real values will be noticeably lower.
It doesn’t surprise that the best feedstock for ethanol production is the wheat, along with other grains, like corn and buckwheat. Raisins and prunes work great as they’re dried, and thus contain a lot of sugar per unit mass.
But I was surprised to learn that you can make more ethanol from onions or garlic, than from potatoes. If you have access to significant amounts of garlic or onion waste, you can produce a lot of alcohol fuel from it!
| Feedstock | gal. / ton | liters / metric tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 85,0 | 354,7 |
| Corn | 84,0 | 350,5 |
| Buckwheat | 83,4 | 348,0 |
| Raisins | 81,4 | 339,7 |
| Grain sorghum | 79,5 | 331,7 |
| Rice (rough) | 79,5 | 331,7 |
| Barley | 79,2 | 330,5 |
| Dates (dry) | 79,0 | 329,6 |
| Rye | 78,8 | 328,8 |
| Mesquite | 76,0 | 317,1 |
| Sago palms (fresh) | 75,5 | 315,0 |
| Prunes (dry) | 72,0 | 300,4 |
| Molasses (blackstrap) | 70,4 | 293,8 |
| Sorghum cane | 70,4 | 293,8 |
| Oats | 63,6 | 265,4 |
| Lichens (reindeer moss) | 60,0 | 250,4 |
| Figs (dry) | 59,0 | 246,2 |
| Marine algae (dry) | 55,0 | 229,5 |
| Cassava (U.S.) | 54,8 | 228,7 |
| Manure (dairy cattle) | 40,0 | 166,9 |
| Cassava (Brazil) | 39,0 | 162,7 |
| Sweet potatoes | 34,2 | 142,7 |
| Buffalo gourd | 32,0 | 133,5 |
| Plantains (Costa Rica) | 29,6 | 123,5 |
| Bananas | 28,4 | 118,5 |
| Yams | 27,3 | 113,9 |
| Chil peppers | 27,2 | 113,5 |
| Papayas | 27,2 | 113,5 |
| Jerusalem artichokes | 27,0 | 112,7 |
| Fodder beets | 27,0 | 112,7 |
| Mangos | 27,0 | 112,7 |
| Onions | 24,2 | 101,0 |
| Prickly pear | 24,0 | 100,1 |
| Garlic | 23,1 | 96,4 |
| Cattails (starch only) | 23,0 | 96,0 |
| Potatoes | 22,9 | 95,6 |
| Sugar beets | 22,1 | 92,2 |
| Forage crops ** | 21,1 | 88,0 |
| Nipa palms | 21,1 | 88,0 |
| Figs (fresh) | 21,0 | 87,6 |
| Oranges (whole) | 21,0 | 87,6 |
| Pineapples | 15,6 | 65,1 |
| Sugarcane | 15,2 | 63,4 |
| Grapes | 15,1 | 63,0 |
| Apples | 14,4 | 60,1 |
| Apricots | 13,6 | 56,7 |
| Pears | 11,5 | 48,0 |
| Peaches | 11,5 | 48,0 |
| Plums (nonprune) | 10,9 | 45,5 |
| Carrots | 9,8 | 40,9 |
| Comfrey ** | 9,0 | 37,6 |
| Whey (per 225 gallons) | 6,7 | 28,0 |
| Marine algae (wet) | 6,0 | 25,0 |
This table was taken from the book “Alcohol can be a gas!” by David Blume, the best alcohol fuel encyclopedia ever!
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