cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3535523
Russian companies have established a barter trade system with Pakistan to facilitate economic exchanges without the need for monetary transactions, as they seek to overcome challenges with payments related to Western sanctions on Moscow.
Under the terms of the agreement, Russia will export 20,000 tons of chickpeas, while Pakistan will supply an equivalent amount of rice. Another contract stipulates that Russia will send 15,000 tons of chickpeas and 10,000 tons of lentils in exchange for 15,000 tons of mandarins and 10,000 tons of potatoes.
While monetary transactions are under increasing scrutiny due to international sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, barter schemes offer companies a way to circumvent complications by exchanging goods directly rather than involving bank payments. Such deals help avoid attention from monitoring organizations tasked with ensuring compliance with sanctions.
This is not Russia’s first exploration of barter trade as a solution to payment issues. In August, Reuters reported that Russia had been in discussions with China about resuming barter trade, particularly in metals and agricultural products. However, that project has been slow to gain momentum, as individual companies have struggled to meet the specific needs of both sides.
How many liters of vodka can you make out of those 10k tons of potatoes?
Here we go.
Potatoes are approximately 18% starch by weight.
Total weight of potatoes: 10,000 tons = 10,000,000 kg
Starch content: 18% of 10,000,000 kg = 1,800,000 kg of starch
Starch must be broken down into glucose for fermentation. Assuming an ideal conversion:
Glucose yield: 1,800,000 kg (since starch is converted to an equal weight of glucose)
The theoretical maximum yield of ethanol from glucose fermentation is about 51.1%.
Ethanol yield: 51.1% of 1,800,000 kg = 919,800 kg of ethanol
The density of ethanol is approximately 0.789 kg/L.
Volume of ethanol: 919,800 kg ÷ 0.789 kg/L ≈ 1,165,902 liters
Vodka is typically bottled at 40% alcohol by volume (ABV).
Total vodka volume: 1,165,902 liters ÷ 0.40 ≈ 2,914,755 liters
Conclusion:
From 10,000 tons of potatoes, you can produce approximately 2.9 million liters of vodka at 40% ABV.