The most exciting event I attended today was by far a workshop sponsored by the Mexican Pavilion about tequila. Tequila production involves cooking and mashing the agave azul tequilana plant, and subsequently extracting the juices from which tequila can be distilled. As the only useful part of the plant is the juice, all of the leftover stock(known as bagasse) and leaves go to waste. However, a new start-up company in Mexico has devised a way to use this waste as a renewable energy source! The leftover crop waste (leaves and bagasse) is chipped and mixed into a powder that is then compressed into small, dense pellets or larger bricks. These pellets and bricks can then be burned as a fuel source, replacing fossil fuel energy. The bricks have a high heat value and burn with a low residue, so they are not harmful to the environment. Even more, the left over plant parts would naturally decay and release the same amount of CO2 and CH4 regardless; this method allows that energy that would otherwise go to waste to be harnessed and is thus a carbon neutral process. The bagasse is available year round, and converting the excess into fuel is beneficial for many reasons - not only is an economical, carbon neutral fuel source extracted, but excess waste is also eliminated. Because the fuel can be produced so cheaply, it will be a competitive source against fossil fuels. The company has plans to export the energy (which is readily transportable) throughout North America, and potentially to Europe as well.
As if that isn't already too good to be true, the lecture was followed by a tequila tasting, in which we got a chance to sample the three major tequila varieties! It's being run again today (because it was so awesome), so if you're in Cancun, I highly recommend checking it out!
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