The Energy Tuber
WHAT IS IT ?
THE ENERGY TUBER – A CROP FOR WORLD-WIDE IMPACT
A Natural Solar Panel turning CO2 into energy.
CAREnergy's ENERGY TUBER is a green plant whose leaves act like a solar panel that absorbs the sun’s energy, and uses this energy to turn atmospheric CO2 into sugar and starch. The sugar and starch is stored in the tuber– a better way to store energy than a battery. The tuber can then be processed into FUEL, FOOD, and FEED, replacing petroleum-based fuels (sources of high levels of CO2 and other pollutants in the atmosphere). Replacing fossil fuels like petroleum with biofuels will reduce CO2 levels and start reversing climate change in the USA and world-wide. It will also reduce the air pollution from burning gasoline and diesel, pollutants that contribute to the high incidence of lung cancer and asthma world-wide.
Wars for Oil?
A need for large amounts of oil to keep all transportation moving is a major factor in US involvement in wars. Should our brave men and women who serve in our military, fight wars to keep petroleum flowing from the Middle East? We spend an average of $350 billion/year buying foreign oil, money that could create thousands of local jobs that can’t be outsourced, and are not boom and bust, like jobs in the petroleum industry.
CAREnergy's ENERGY TUBER is a green plant whose leaves act like a solar panel that absorbs the sun’s energy, and uses this energy to turn atmospheric CO2 into sugar and starch. The sugar and starch is stored in the tuber– a better way to store energy than a battery. The tuber can then be processed into FUEL, FOOD, and FEED, replacing petroleum-based fuels (sources of high levels of CO2 and other pollutants in the atmosphere). Replacing fossil fuels like petroleum with biofuels will reduce CO2 levels and start reversing climate change in the USA and world-wide. It will also reduce the air pollution from burning gasoline and diesel, pollutants that contribute to the high incidence of lung cancer and asthma world-wide.
Wars for Oil?
A need for large amounts of oil to keep all transportation moving is a major factor in US involvement in wars. Should our brave men and women who serve in our military, fight wars to keep petroleum flowing from the Middle East? We spend an average of $350 billion/year buying foreign oil, money that could create thousands of local jobs that can’t be outsourced, and are not boom and bust, like jobs in the petroleum industry.
CAN WE DO BETTER THAN USING FOSSIL FUELS?
There are 3 parts to breaking our ‘addiction’ to oil. First, making cars, trucks, planes, etc. more efficient and increasing use of mass transportation. Progress is being made in this area, with innovations like hybrid drive trains, vehicles with stronger lighter materials, etc. Second, the use of electric vehicles, coupled with electricity from renewable sources. This can be a good solution for cities where distances are short, and batteries can be charged, but not practical for long distances. Currently electric vehicles are expensive, and will take a decade or more to turn over the majority of the fleet of current automobiles in the US and Europe, even longer in developing countries. We need solutions to replace fossil fuels NOW that work in todays vehicles and airplanes. The Third solution is to power our long-distance travel by cars, trucks, planes and ships, using liquid biofuels made from ‘advanced’ sustainable, renewable feedstocks. This is being spearheaded by the military. The US military (and other fleets worldwide) have a keen interest in biofuels as a strategic approach to readiness. The US Navy has shown a commitment to biofuels through the ‘Great Green Fleet’ to fuel their planes, ships, trucks and vehicles. http://www.c6f.navy.mil/forces-efforts/great-green-fleet. Both military and commercial aviation organizations are interested in using advanced biofuels to reduce their carbon footprint.
Henry Ford designed the original internal combustion engine for the automobile to run on corn ethanol, and Diesel designed the diesel engine to run on peanut oil. One of the advantages of biofuels is that they can be blended with petroleum fuels. Gasoline blended with Ethanol has higher octane and significantly less air pollution, and Biodiesel blended with diesel reduces sulfur and other air pollution, and results in a cleaner engine.
Ethanol from corn and sugar cane, and biodiesel from soybeans and rape seed were the first crops used to process biofuels, or Generation 1 biofuels. But to expand this industry, what is needed are Advanced Biofuel Feedstock crops.
The ideal biofuel crop will be higher yielding than corn and soybeans, grow on poor soils with modest inputs of water
and fertilizer, and have valuable co-products, ideally food and feed products.
Such a crop is CAREnergy's ENERGY TUBER, a very high yielding, industrial type of sweetpotato, that makes a bowling ball full of carbohydrates - starch and sugar. Field and laboratory trials in multiple states have shown that the crop can produce 45 tons or more of fresh weight per acre, which at 30% carbohydrate is 13.5 tons of carbohydrate per Acre. This makes over 1800 gallons of bioethanol per acre. This compares to 300 to 400 gallons of ethanol per acre for corn in the Midwestern states, when grown in good topsoil and with relatively high inputs of water, nitrogen and pesticides.
Henry Ford designed the original internal combustion engine for the automobile to run on corn ethanol, and Diesel designed the diesel engine to run on peanut oil. One of the advantages of biofuels is that they can be blended with petroleum fuels. Gasoline blended with Ethanol has higher octane and significantly less air pollution, and Biodiesel blended with diesel reduces sulfur and other air pollution, and results in a cleaner engine.
Ethanol from corn and sugar cane, and biodiesel from soybeans and rape seed were the first crops used to process biofuels, or Generation 1 biofuels. But to expand this industry, what is needed are Advanced Biofuel Feedstock crops.
The ideal biofuel crop will be higher yielding than corn and soybeans, grow on poor soils with modest inputs of water
and fertilizer, and have valuable co-products, ideally food and feed products.
Such a crop is CAREnergy's ENERGY TUBER, a very high yielding, industrial type of sweetpotato, that makes a bowling ball full of carbohydrates - starch and sugar. Field and laboratory trials in multiple states have shown that the crop can produce 45 tons or more of fresh weight per acre, which at 30% carbohydrate is 13.5 tons of carbohydrate per Acre. This makes over 1800 gallons of bioethanol per acre. This compares to 300 to 400 gallons of ethanol per acre for corn in the Midwestern states, when grown in good topsoil and with relatively high inputs of water, nitrogen and pesticides.
HOW TO GET FUEL, FOOD AND FEED FROM THE SAME ACRE?
Parties with a vested interest have made a false argument that growing crops for Biofuels takes land for food crops out of production and causes food prices to go up like they did in 2008. However, high food prices in 2008 were not due to corn ethanol (indeed additional acreage was planted to provide for fuel ethanol). Instead these higher prices were due to the very high price of diesel and other petroleum fuels (used in tractors and trucks to grow and transport all food crops, to make Nitrogen fertilizer, etc.)
CAREnergy's ENERGY TUBER grows best in the sunbelt states and will grow best on relatively poor soils like the sand and sandy loam soils of the Coastal plains that range from eastern NJ through FL. Much of the acreage in this area is currently planted in non-food crops like cotton and pine trees. This ENERGY TUBER has also been shown to perform well in damaged soils – like phosphate mines in central FL, or very substandard soils, like the ‘coral rock’ soils in Homestead FL.
CAREnergy's ENERGY TUBER grows best in the sunbelt states and will grow best on relatively poor soils like the sand and sandy loam soils of the Coastal plains that range from eastern NJ through FL. Much of the acreage in this area is currently planted in non-food crops like cotton and pine trees. This ENERGY TUBER has also been shown to perform well in damaged soils – like phosphate mines in central FL, or very substandard soils, like the ‘coral rock’ soils in Homestead FL.
- FOR FUEL – be it ethanol or renewable drop-in fuels like diesel or jet fuel.
- FOR VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS for high investor return.
- FOR QUALITY SUSTAINABLE JOBS!!!
- FOR OUR PLANET EARTH in sequestering then transforming significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere into valuable products.