10 Top Biofuel Crops

Corn: A USDA chemist checks the color and quality of a corn fiber oil sample.

Rapeseed/Canola: Yellow rapeseed is used to make biodiesel, and holds up in cold climates.

Sugarcane: If there is one country that has done the most to wean itself from oil and increase its use of biofuel, it is Brazil.

Palm Oil: Palm oil is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of biofuels. On one hand, palm oil, extracted from the fruit of palm trees.

Jatropha: You might not have heard of jatropha before, but in the world of biofuel, the ugly, poisonous weed is a rock star.

Soybeans: Most biodiesel and some ethanol (seen here) in the United States comes from soybean oil.

Cottonseed: Although it's chiefly used to fry potato chips and other snacks, cottonseed oil can be transformed into biodiesel.

Sunflowers: Geneticist Jerry Miller (left) and technician Dale Rehder pollinate sunflowers to develop new inbred lines that produce oil in the mid-oleic range.

Wheat: When it comes to ethanol production in the United States, wheat is corn's ugly stepsister. While refineries produce.

Switchgrass: Forget corn. The heck with soybeans. Don't even mention palm oil. If anyone wants to take a look at the wonder plant.