Computation

Instructions: Read each scenario carefully to answer the computational questions.

Q1. A cellulosic ethanol facility found that its new conversion process requires 0.038 acres of switchgrass per gallon of ethanol, while the traditional process requires 0.045 acres per gallon. If the facility needs to produce 10,000 gallons of ethanol, how many acres of land would they save by using the new process instead of the traditional one? Show your work. 

Q2. A biofuel producer currently uses 8.5 million cubic meters of total water per year (including crop irrigation and processing) to make ethanol from sugarcane. They’re considering converting to switchgrass, which would reduce their total water consumption by 25%. First, convert their current water usage to liters (1 cubic meter = 1,000 liters). Then, calculate how many liters of water they would save annually by converting to switchgrass. Show your work. 

Q3. A farmer harvests switchgrass from 15 acres of land, yielding approximately 5 tons of biomass per acre. If each ton of switchgrass can produce 80 gallons of ethanol, and each gallon of ethanol contains 76,330 BTUs of energy, how many total BTUs of energy can be produced from this harvest? Show your work. 

Q4. An energy startup is comparing different biofuel crops. They know that switchgrass yields 5 tons of biomass per acre, and each ton produces 80 gallons of ethanol. If petroleum diesel contains 138,000 BTUs per gallon, and switchgrass ethanol contains 76,330 BTUs per gallon, how many acres of switchgrass would be needed to match the energy content of 100,000 gallons of petroleum diesel? Show your work.