Dear Editor,
Ethanol (alcohol derived from sugar cane) has been used in Brazil and – Argentina for many years as an additive to gasoline to mitigate the importation cost of oil. The proportion is not small; usually 22 per cent of alcohol is added to the gasoline without any damage to or modification to the vehicle. A standard gasoline engine can also run on 100 per cent ethanol with a simple setting of the on-board computer.
Ethanol has another important characteristic different from gasoline; it mixes with water, so that any impurity in the gasoline (drops of water) will dissolve in the mix, extending the engine’s life and performance.
Ethanol is such a great solution for the substitution of gasoline that there is a conspiracy theory that the famous ‘dry law’ of the twenties in the USA was voted for as a consequence of the lobbying of the magnates of the oil industry, and had nothing to do with alcoholism.
In view of the depressed prices of sugar worldwide and the necessity of keeping the factories running in order to have more jobs, Guyana could transform its estates into ethanol factories.
The changes required are not huge; extracting the last 5 per cent of water out of the alcohol is challenging, but is a technology widely proven and available in South America.
As we hear so many reports of problems within GuySuCo and Guyoil, an initiative of this type should be directly orchestrated by the Ministry of Agriculture and probably the Prime Minister, who should request assistance from the Government of Brazil to provide the technology. They should probably encourage the foundation of private company using some of the existing sugar facilities, ensuring that it doesn’t impose another burden on the taxpayers.
The selling price of the resulting ethanol can be easily regulated by the government setting it, as for example, not more than the price of regular gasoline. This could be done in such a way that there is job creation without increasing the cost of living, in addition to allowing a private company to make a profit. Once the business is proven feasible, there will be no problem for other investors to follow and open more ethanol factories.
Yours faithfully,
Pierre Boucher
