Non-Food Uses for Sugar Cane

Fuels

• According to an article published at the CNN Money website, cane ethanol is far more cheaply produced than corn ethanol and requires fewer chemicals during the refinement process as well. Like corn ethanol, can ethanol is less efficient than regular gasoline fuels, but since sugar cane grows very quickly and is a totally renewable resource, it may eventually be a viable alternative to other fuels. Sugar cane may also have a future replacing jet fuel and diesel as well as gasoline, as some biotech companies are working to convert sugar cane into renewable hydrocarbon fuels.

Bioplastics

• Compostable bioplastics made with sugar cane called sugar cane polyethylene are gaining traction in the plastics markets, according to an article in the Packaging News website. These plastics are successful in part for the same reasons sugar cane biofuel is: Sugar cane is cheap to produce, grows quickly and requires fewer chemicals to refine than corn-based bioplastics. These "green" plastics degrade naturally over time, which may help cut down on plastic waste in landfills once the bioplastics gain mainstream popularity.

Cosmetics

• Sugar produced by the sugar cane plant is used in many skin-care and hair-removal cosmetic products. You can mix your own sugar-cosmetic hair-removal product by combining warm water, lemon juice and sugar until you've created a thick paste. Once you've smeared it over yourself, press a strip of cloth over the paste and allow it to dry. You'll remove a lot of body hair when you pull up the strip. You'll also find sugar in many exfoliating products, such as soaps or scrubs. The coarse sugar grains are used to rub off dead skin.

Folk Medicines

• According to the Plant Cultures website, some South Asian cultures use sugar cane as a treatment or folk cure for an assortment of maladies, including skin problems, bronchitis, constipation, low breast milk production, cough, low blood pressure and jaundice. The site recommends treating a case of the hiccups with a mixture of dry ginger and fresh sugar cane stem juice.