«This application could be considered a sensor by software,
as the ethanol present does not respond directly to the sensors used, which only respond to the ions present in the solution,» outlines the researcher.
Their findings showed a startling 218 - 990 million hectares of land would have to be converted to switchgrass (which is 14 - 65 times
as much land
as the US uses to grow corn for
ethanol); also 17 - 79 million tonnes of fertiliser a year — which would be 75 % of all global nitrogen fertiliser used at
present; and 1.6 - 7.4 trillion cubic metres of water a year.