Once sugar cane is cut from its roots in the field, it must be made into ethanol within 48-72 hours, otherwise it will spontaneously ferment and lose its fuel-making properties.
There are dozens of varieties of cane — an annual plant with an average lifespan of four years. However, in the region of Ribeirão Preto, Brazil's capital of cane, they say the soil is so good you can push the lifespan of cane up to 10 years in the right conditions.
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