Sugarcane specially engineered to produce oil, called lipdc-ane, can be converted into jet fuel, in place of sugar that is currently used for ethanol production, according to a research project - Plants Engineered to Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS) - funded by the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ARPA-E). Lipid-cane with 20% oil (the theoretical maximum) produces more than 15 times more jet fuel per hectare than soybeans. PETROSS sugarcane is also being engineered to be more cold tolerant. If it could be grown on an estimated 23 million acres of marginal land in the Southeastern US, it could replace about 65% of national jet fuel consumption.
Sugarcane specially engineered to produce oil, called lipdc-ane, can be converted into jet fuel, in place of sugar that is currently used for ethanol production, according to a research project - Plants Engineered to Replace Oil in Sugarcane and Sweet Sorghum (PETROSS) - funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E). Lipid-cane with 20% oil (the theoretical maximum) produces more than 15 times more jet fuel per hectare than soybeans. PETROSS sugarcane is also being engineered to be more cold tolerant. If it could be grown on an estimated 23 million acres of marginal land in the Southeastern US, it could replace about 65% of national jet fuel consumption.