Agave, the plant used to make tequila, could someday be filling
gas tanks, instead of just getting partiers tanked on
margaritas. Instead of using the plant to produce firewater, the
same fermentation and distillation process could be used to
produce ethanol for firing the engines of automobiles, according
to research published in a special agave edition of the journal
Global Change Biology Bioenergy. Fans of tequila and mescal
could still have their drink of choice, while the leftover plant
material could be used to create earth-friendly energy,
according to Ana Valenzuela of the University of Guadalajara.
The leftovers from the tequila making process could be burned to
produce energy or used to make cellulosic ethanol. Other
varieties of agave, grown for fiber, could be even better
sources of biomass. What's more, agave might even benefit from
higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and increasing
temperatures, according to researchers at the Colegio de
Postgraduados en Ciencias Agricolas (Postgraduate Col