Sea water desalination using bagasse energy in order to produce ethanol in the desert?

Question

Sea water desalination using bagasse energy in order to produce ethanol in the desert?

Answer 1

...but it seems to me that sweet sorghum bagasse have more energy than the required energy to irrigate the same sweet sorghum with sea water...

Infact

-one hectare of sweet sorghum produces about 20 t. of dry bagasse that is equivalent to around 80000 kwh.

-one hectare of sweet sorghum needs 15000 kwh to produce the required 5000 m3 of irrigation water from the sea.

Isn't it?

Answer 2

It's very interesting!

Sweet sorghum cultivation needs 5000 m3 of water per hectare that you can get from the sea for 3 kwh of electric energy per m3 of irrigation water.

Answer 3

Your posting doesn't make sense.  Sugar cane doesn't grow in, or near, desert climates.  You can make ethanol using bagasse then use the ethanol to power a desal process, but has the desert got to do with it?

You should re-think your question and write more coherently.

Answer 4

ok, I am trying to follow your 'question'...as I understand it, you are a proponent of using bagasse, or the  pulp and plant material left over after the sugar cane has been pressed, then using the sugar syrup as a source of sugar for ethanol production, then using the bagasse, burning it I assume, as an energy source to 1. produce ethanol, and 2 produce energy to desalinate water, in the desert, is that correct?  If that is correct, I have the following observations:

1.   Using bagasse as a source of energy is a well documented fact.  On the big Island of Hawaii, on the Hamakua Coast, the production of sugar cane bagasse was more important than the actual sugar produced, the bagasse was of course burned for the production of electricity on the Hana side of the island.  It has been sorely missed since the Hamakua sugar cane operation shut down.  There are many other examples so that energy source is proven.  

2.  If the site of the proposed production is in the desert, there should be a wealth of solar energy also, so that could be used to supplement the energy requirements.

3.  growing sugar cane on site may not be feasible, as sugar cane does best with frequent watering and mild temperatures, the desert can be very extreme, heat and cold, however, that might be overcome by selecting a variety that is resistant to extreme temperatures....

4.  Ethanol production is a well documented methodology, and some of the newer stills are extremely energy efficient, so that should be ok too....

5.  using the excess energy from the ethanol production to desalinate water is somewhat 'iffy', in that the amount of excess energy available and the amount to convert the water is unknown...

Good thinking, do a little engineering on the btu's available from the bagasse, the supplemental energy needed from solar, depending upon whether you are advocating using direct solar or solar panels, also, amount of water and quality of the water needed to grow the cane, if there are resistant forms that will thrive in the desert, how much product would be available for sale, that is the ethanol, and desalted water, what your markets would potentially be, eg. are you going to market the ethanol as a fuel or as a drink, are you going to market the water as a drink or as a means of irrigation, so yeah, would the project qualify for any tax credits or grants, you get kudos for thinking-crunch the numbers, you may find some potential drawbacks, but good luck and keep up the good work....