I would rank sugarcane as the feedstock with the highest potential. The main reason is the speed and ease with which you can grow it. Jatropha has to grow for

5 years, but will give you crude oil over 50 years. Sugarcane, however, needs to grow only for 6 months for a good harvest, but you need to replant it every 6 years. Jatropha cannot be harvested mechanically yet, but already 50% of sugarcane is harvested mechanically, so it reduces the costs substantially. Furthermore, it has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, diversify energy supplies, increase independency from oil, and create jobs. Sugarcane and bagasse (the fibrous biomass residue after sugarcane is crushed) have a fantastic potential. You can use bagasse to generate bioelectricity, cellulosic biofuels, agripellets, biodiesel, and even biokerosene. New sugarcane plantations in Brazil are often planted on degraded pastures or on non-arable soil, so that there is no competition with other food commodities. Furthermore sugarcane is used for the production of PET products (e. g., biodegradable bottles). Last, but not least, sugarcane ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 90% on average compared to gasoline — the best carbon performance of any biofuel produced at a commercial scale.

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