A Substitute for Corn in Ethanol Production: Honey and Molasses

Jason Beer & Jim Daly

Abstract
We followed a procedure for making ethanol with corn. However, in our
experiment we used honey and molasses. We were testing whether or not it is more
cost effective to use these materials or corn. We found corn to be the most cost
effective of the three materials.

Introduction:

A.

To be renewable simply means that something can be used without being lost. For

example you can use the wind to fly a kite but there wont be less wind in the future because of
this. Renewable fuels in the form of liquid or gas resulting from renewable biomass energy.
These are replacements for fossil fuels.
B.

Biofuels are produced when biomass is converted directly into liquid fuel. Ethanol is

made by putting biomass in a high temperature and low oxygen environment. This process is
called gasification and it produces a synthesis gas that is later chemically converted into ethanol.
Ethanol is the most common biofuel used today however it is not the only biofuel. Biodiesel is

another biofuel that is made when methanol, vegetable oil, and animal fat or recycled cooking
are combined.
C.

Ethanol is used as a gasoline additive for a few reasons. The main reason is that when

ethanol is blended with gasoline the octane rating goes up and the amount of carbon monoxide
and other bad emission goes down. Adding more ethanol to gasoline also allow us to use less
gasoline.
D.

Advantages of Using Ethanol

There are many advantages to using ethanol as a fuel or fuel additive. First, it is a

renewable resource and unlike petroleum we dont have to worry about it running out. Second,
ethanol is better for the environment because it burns more cleanly than gasoline. This means
that ethanol produces less carbon monoxide. Third, when ethanol is used instead of gasoline
there is less carbon dioxide emissions.
Disadvantages of Using Alcohol
There are also some disadvantages to using ethanol as a fuel or fuel additive. First, using
ethanol requires large amounts of land to make crops that we needed to obtain ethanol. Getting
and using the land can bring about problems like deforestation, erosion, and fertilizer run-off.
Second, if ethanol was used as a fuel major problems could come about from the disposal of
waste fermentation liquors. Third, most current cars cant use high concentrations of ethanol and
would require modifications.
E.

The use of ethanol and other biofuels relates to the topic of global warming because it

relates directly to the amount of greenhouse gases such as CO2. CO2 is used by plants and
therefore the level of CO2 is lower in the warmer months because photosynthesis is occurring.

After we burn ethanol and produce CO2, we plant more corn and some of this CO2 is absorbed.
It is a cycle. Also, the more ethanol that is used in place of gasoline the less emissions of
greenhouse gases will occur due to the fact that less CO2 is produced from burning ethanol than
gasoline. According to the Energy Information Administration, Burning a gallon of E10
produces about 17.68 pounds of CO2 that is emitted from the fossil fuel content. If the CO2
emissions from ethanol combustion are considered, then about 18.95 pounds of CO2 are
produced when a gallon of E10 is combusted. About 12.72 pounds of CO2 are produced when a
gallon of pure ethanol is combusted (U.S. Energy Information Administration).
F.

Steps Used to Produce Ethanol

1. Feedstock makes its ways through a mill which grinds it into meal
2. The meal is mixed into water and an enzyme. The enzyme helps speed the process.
3. This mix goes through cookers and the starch becomes a liquid.
4. The liquid is cooled and another enzyme is added. This enzyme helps to break down
the liquid into sugars that can be fermented.
5. Yeast is now added to ferment the sugars.
6. The fermented mixture is put into a distillation system that uses heat to remove the
alcohol from the mixture.
7. This alcohol is now put through a dehydration system where the remaining water will
be removed.
8. Finally it is ethanol and it just need to be denatured so it is unfit for human
consumption.

G.

I definitely believe corn derived ethanol should be used as a fuel. There are two main

reasons I believe this. The first reason is that corn is renewable and we dont have to worry as
much about it running out in the future. The second reason is that burning ethanol produces less
carbon dioxide emissions, making it better for the environment.
H.

We will be producing ethanol from honey and molasses to determine if this may be a

more cost effective way to produce ethanol.

Experimental Method:
We weighed Honey and Molasses in separate 250mL beakers and added
these to separate 500mL Florence flasks along with 100mL of tap water and then
heated the contents for 10 minutes using a Bunsen burner. We added 2mL of 1%
starch solution to a test tube and 2mL of 1% glucose solution to another test tube
while the Florence flasks were being heated. We then added 6 drops of iodine
solution to both test tubes.
After 10 minutes of heating had passed we added 100mL of water to each
Florence flask. After mixing this we took 2mL of each mixture and added them to
separate test tubes. We then added 6 drops of iodine to each test tube. This allowed
us to compare the color of these to the color of the glucose solution and starch
solution we put iodine drops into earlier. When adding iodine solution to the 2mL
sample of the mixture before enzymes were added, we noticed that is got a little
lighter in color leading us to believe the iodine indicated glucose but not starch.
We then took our two mixtures in Florence flasks and added 10mL of amylase
solution, mixed the mixture, and waited 5 minutes. We then added 35mL of buffer
solution, 15mL of the amyloglucosidase solution, 10mL of the yeast solution, and
mixed the mixture. We then took 2mL of each mixture and placed them in separate
test tubes. After this we added 6 drops of iodine to each test tube. When we added

the iodine solution to the 2mL sample of the mixture after enzymes were added we
noticed the same thing, the mixture became slightly lighter in color which points
towards glucose and not starch.
We then put a one-holed stopper in the top of each Florence flask and
covered it with a piece of plastic wrap that we secured with a rubber band. We
weighted each flask and continued to weigh the flasks in later days.
Data Summary:
Molasses costs $0.0042 per gram
Honey costs $2.18 per 350 grams
We used 72.3g of molasses and 102.9g of honey
Mass of CO2
Corn: (551.31g 540.95g) (413.37g 413.26g) = 10.25g
Molasses: (435.11g 430.97g) (413.37g 413.26g) = 4.03g
Honey: (462.61g 459.69g) (413.37g 413.26g) = 2.81g
Mass of Ethanol Produced
Corn: (46.0 AMU * 10.25g) / 44.0 AMU = 10.7g
Molasses: (46.0 AMU * 4.03g) / 44.0 AMU = 4.20g
Honey: (46.0 AMU * 2.81g) / 44.0 AMU = 2.93g
Cost of Food
Corn: ($0.00174 * 100g) / 1g = $0.2 per 100g
Molasses: ($0.0042 * 72.3g) / 1g = $0.3 per 72.3g
Honey: ($2.18 * 102.9g) / 350g = $0.64 per 102.9g
Cost per Gram of Alcohol
Corn: $0.2 / 10.7g = $0.02 per gram
Molasses: $0.3 / 4.20g = $0.07 per gram
Honey: $0.64 / 2.93g = $0.22 per gram

Weight Data for Corn (100 g) and Blank

Day

Corn (g)

Blank (g)

4/23

551.31

413.37

4/24

551.01

413.35

4/25

548.74

413.32

4/26

545.26

413.30

4/27

544.31

413.30

4/28

543.65

413.29

4/29

543.15

413.29

4/30

541.52

413.28

5/1

540.95

413.26

Weight Data for Molasses (72.3g) and Honey (102.9g)

Day

Molasses (g)

Honey (g)

4/23

435.11

462.61

4/24

435.25

462.66

4/25

435.28

462.71

4/26

435.22

462.64

4/27

435.21

462.62

4/28

435.20

462.62

4/29

435.05

462.59

4/30

433.39

462.30

5/1

430.97

459.69

Discussion of the results:

Weight Data for Corn (100g) and Blank

560
540
520
500
480
460
440
420
400
4/23

4/24

4/25

4/26
Corn (g)

4/27

4/28
Blank (g)

4/29

4/30

5/1

Weight Data for Molasses (72.9g) and Honey (102.9g)

465
460
455
450
445
440
435
430
4/23

4/24

4/25

4/26

4/27

Molasses (g)

4/28

4/29

4/30

5/1

Honey (g)

Conclusions & Recommendations:

Our experiment found that it is not more cost effective to produce ethanol
with honey or molasses than with corn. Not only was it the most cost effective but it
was significantly more cost effective than the other two materials. Producing a gram
of ethanol with honey cost more than three times as much as corn and producing
ethanol with molasses cost more than 10 times as much as corn. Even if honey or
molasses was more cost effective, I think it would probably be challenging to
produce honey or molasses on a large enough scale to make this feasible.
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<http://www.epa.gov/oms/fuels/alternative-

renewablefuels/>.
"Biofuels Basics." NREL: Learning -. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biofuels.html>.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethanol as a Fuel. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.easychem.com.au/production-of-materials/renewableethanol/advantages-and- disadvantages-of-ethanol-as-a-fuel>.
How Is Ethanol Made - Western New York Energy, Medina NY. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr.
2015. <http://www.wnyenergy.com/index.php?pr=How_is_Ethanol_Made>.

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Dioxide Is Produced by Burning Gasoline and Diesel

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