Global View of Biofuel Butanol and Economics of Its Production by Fermentation from Sweet Sorghum Bagasse, Food Waste, and Yellow Top Presscake: Application of Novel Technologies . Handbook No. The vinasse, which is a mixture of dead yeast and plant material after fermentation, can be composted and sold for fertilizer. For the biofuels industry, sweet sorghum offers compelling options – if the hybrids work eco - nomically and the adoption is there. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Be sure to purchase a model that automatically compensates for temperature. Sorghum seed head. U.S. Dept. Memphis Bioworks Foundation and BioDimensions. This work is supported by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. Corn also requires a fair amount of water. The successful production of sweet sorghum in South Africa is restricted due to a lack of sustainable production systems. As a land grant university, the UA has a mission to serve the state, the country and the world. The study found that sweet sorghum is comparable if not better than sugarcane for ethanol production. It also includes market size and … How will we fuel the future? Sweet sorghum as a biofuel crop: Where are we now? To minimize transportation costs, a small gasification or fermentation processing center should be located near production fields. Sweet sorghum … Bitzer, M. 2009. However, this crop may someday have another use in the Commonwealth — as a bioenergy crop. The stalk and seed are used directly for biomass energy and their high sugar content allows them to be fermented to make ethanol. That isn’t happening yet in the United States, which is more attached to corn, but the federal energy and agriculture … Plant lodging is more likely to occur in high population fields because stalks become smaller in diameter due to competition. University of Missouri Extension M171. The United States, the world’s largest sorghum producer, is organizing a conference this year on using sorghum as biofuel. Tania Martinez-Cruz, a graduate student from Mexico, is looking at different varieties of sweet sorghum and how they grow. Active sweet sorghum breeding programs are under way in several states. It needs less fertilizer than corn, which results in less water contamination, says Ray Coniglio, a spokesman for Sebastian, Fla.-based Renewable Energy LLC, which has invested in the production of sweet sorghum … The development of alternative forms of biofuels … http://www.agbioworks.org/regional.cfm. Biomass type sorghum was superior to sweet type as non-food ethanol feedstock. Dale is resistant to most diseases. Sugar in the stalk is not the primary focus. Considering the energy challenges we face in the United States, the research Slack and his team are doing is of interest to a great many people and organizations, from private industry all the way up to the federal government. Sweet sorghum is any of the many varieties of sorghum which have a high sugar content. With less need for nitrogen fertilizer and its incredibly drought-tolerant nature, it is a much more affordable and viable … This project integrates all three of those missions,” says Slack. An international group called the Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Association was organized in 2007 to promote sweet sorghum crop management practices and technologies to make ethanol and bio-derivatives. As a result of the efforts of Congressman Raul Grijalva, the United States Department of Energy is also helping to fund the project. “Sweet sorghum is supposed to be a drought-tolerant crop. With less need for nitrogen fertilizer and its incredibly drought-tolerant nature, it is a much more affordable and viable option than corn for fuel production. For gasification to be economically feasible, small-scale pyrolysis systems are needed. In favorable environments, sweet sorghum varieties can grow 14 feet tall and produce 20 to 50 tons of biomass (fresh weight) per acre. A group of researchers led by Purdue University scientists believes sweet and biomass sorghum would meet the need for next-generation biofuels to … Several herbicides are labeled for grain and forage sorghum. The study was concluded prior to the enactment into law of the Biofuels Act (RA 9637) which requires vehicle manufacturers and owners as well as oil companies to use fuels diluted with sugar or starch-derived alcohol to reduce the country's dependence on imported fuel and promote cleaner air. Latest potent biofuel made from Sweet sorghum sap. Wednesday, May 14, 2008. To design a sustainable production system, apply enough fertilizer to offset crop removal or spread the bagasse and vinasse back on the field. Belum VS Reddy, P Srinivasa Rao, A Ashok Kumar, P Sanjana Reddy, P Parthasarathy Rao, Kiran K Sharma, Michael Blummel and Ch Ravinder Reddy International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India. In India and other places, sweet sorghum stalks are used for producing biofuel by squeezing the juice and then fermenting into ethanol. Indo-US Biofuels Research Project - The second generation biofuels consortium will focus on development of sustainable, advanced lignocellulosic biofuel … Westbrook. The report includes region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. (520) 621-3691. of Agr. Dr. Morris Bitzer calculated that corn has an energy efficiency of 1:1.8, while sweet sorghum has an efficiency of 1:8 (personal communication, 2009). Consult manufacturers to be sure they can be applied on sweet sorghum. Regional strategy for biobased products in the Mississippi Delta. Missouri pest management guide: corn, grain sorghum, soybean, and winter wheat. Sweet sorghum [SS; Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a potential biofuel crop for the Great Plains. Nebraska. ST. GABRIEL, La. Sweet sorghum: from booze to biofuel. Sweet sorghum is similar to grain sorghum but with sugar-rich stalks and the ability to use water efficiently. Soil temperatures should be above 65°F at planting to achieve good seed emergence. Sweet sorghum can be grown in many regions of the United States. Fortunately, sorghum plants can often compensate for low plant stands by producing several tillers per plant. In his eyes, offering a great educational experience is what gives rise to excellent research an innovation. E-Mail; Print Although sweet sorghum is primarily grown to produce sorghum syrup, it can also be used as a feedstock for biofuel. In Texas, sorghum varieties are being bred to produce high biomass yields (Juerg et al., 2009). Dale is a mid-season variety developed at the U.S. Sugar Crops Field Station. 2009. International Year of Planet Ea rth, 5–9 October 2008, Houston, Texas. Sweet sorghum as a biofuel crop in . For sweet sorghum, you will probably reduce the nitrogen fertilizer and increase the potassium and phosphorus fertilizer relative to grain sorghum. Keller and M81E are resistant to red stalk rot (anthracnose) but are susceptible to maize dwarf virus (MDM). This is about twice that from corn grain. Several equipment companies are testing sweet sorghum harvester prototypes. In this regard, the concept of super sweet sorghum ideotypes is proposed to stimulate discussion on how to combine the various biofuel syndromes to design the genomes of sweet sorghum hybrids for the various climatic zones. For this project, both high-biomass sorghum and sweet sorghum will be tested in the US, while high-biomass sorghum and bmr sorghum will be grown in India. In favorable environments, sweet sorghum … To utilize the bagasse for feeding, cattle should be in the vicinity. The diversion of crop land for cultivation of sweet sorghum does not … 2015-41595-24254 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The UA has multiple agricultural research facilities; Slack and his team are working on their sweet sorghum project at the Red Rock Agricultural Center, a 320-acre facility 40 miles north of Tucson. Sweet Sorghum biofuel research at OSU seeks to offer economically viable options January 1, 2013 | Meghan Sapp In Oklahoma, Danielle Bellmer, an associate professor at Oklahoma State University, has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, United Sorghum Checkoff Program, Oklahoma Bioenergy Center and the South Central Sun Grant Program to develop biofuels from sweet sorghum. 2009 International Annual Meetings. Sweet sorghum can be planted in marginal land areas in less developed countries and areas, particularly in Africa, to stimulate local economies; and the establishment of flexible biorefineries should allow exploitation of these multiple feedstocks and extend the projected environmental and economic benefits of biofuels. Charlotte Niemiec is OFI’s editorial assistant The companies intend to work together to support the introduction of sweet sorghum as a source of fermentable sugars at Brazil’s 400 or more ethanol mills. Most of sweet sorghum models for biofuel production use either gasification or fermentation to process plant material into biofuel. Stalks of sweet sorghum contain fermentable sugars in the sap equal to 400-600 gallons of ethanol per acre. Below is a budget by David Reinbott, extension agricultural economist at the University of Missouri. Most labs request a forage yield estimate when soil samples are submitted to make crop removal calculations. 1986. (Photo by Swathi Sridharan via Creative Commons) Countries such as India and Brazil are already ramping up sweet sorghum production to supplement sugar cane as an ethanol ingredient. Sweet sorghum is a "smart" crop, providing grain for human consumption, stover for fodder and juicy stalks for use in biofuel production. Ideally, each sweet sorghum farm would have its own processing facility. Nutrient crop removal for sweet sorghum is similar to forage sorghum. Producing ethanol from sweet sorghum uses about two thirds the amount of water of corn and one seventh the … The super sweet sorghum aims to produce high biomass, higher yields, and stem soluble sugars, under marginal land. Optimum planting rates vary by region and soils. For P and K recommendations, collect soil samples and send them to a soil laboratory. Most sweet sorghum varieties planted in the United States today were developed at the U.S. Sugar Crops Field Station at Meridian, Mississippi. The United States, the world’s largest sorghum producer, is organizing a conference this year on using sorghum as biofuel. To estimate input costs for sweet sorghum, begin with a crop budget for grain sorghum. Other … Email: b.reddy@cgiar.org Introduction Agriculture and energy have always … Unless a harvesting machine is developed to squeeze juice on-the-go and re-deposit stalks and leaves in the field, a significant amount of P and K will be removed in the biomass. sweet sorghum has shot into prominence because of its competitiveness as a … Indian Institute of Millet Research to Use Sweet Sorghum to Boost Ethanol Production (New Indian Express) Sweet sorghum is a variety of sorghum or jowar/jonna, which has high sugar levels in its stalk … Furthermore, cultivating sweet sorghum in dryland conditions does not compromise the food or feed security as farmers could continue to use grain for food or feed and stalk juice for renewable biofuels production. Sweet sorghum can be grown in most of the continental United States. Switchgrass and sweet sorghum fertilization for bioenergy feedstocks. As a leading public research university, the University of Arizona is working hard to answer this question through pioneering research in alternative fuels. Integrated pest management (IPM) practices should be used to control insects in sweet sorghum. (http://extension.missouri.edu/seregion/Crop_Budgets_PDF&Excell/Grain_Sorghum.pdf). However, sorghum is less cold tolerant than corn. Sweet sorghum is similar to grain sorghum but with sugar-rich stalks and the ability to use water efficiently. production methods, and the land cover prior to sweet sorghum cultivation (Ko¨ppen et al., 2009). International Year of Planet Ea rth, 5–9 October 2008, Houston, Texas. Sweet Sorghum Culture and Syrup Production. Soils were deep with medium … Obviously, the higher the sugar content in the stalks, the higher the potential ethanol yield. “Sweet Sorghum in some ways is similar to corn,” says Don Slack, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biosystems Engineering. Sugar in the stalk is not the primary focus. Under favorable growing conditions, sorghum can produce high biomass yields with low rates of nitrogen fertilizer. Before planting, sweet sorghum seed was treated with fluxofenin herbicide seed safener to minimize crop injury. “The Department of Energy is very interested in alternative energy – in particular, biofuels,” says Slack. pp. Various review works based on the … Height is also an issue; sweet sorghum can be blown down in strong winds. Although sweet sorghum is primarily grown to produce sorghum syrup, it can also be used as a feedstock for biofuel. to other crops such as corn or sugarcane. One challenge is that, upon harvest, sugars rapidly degrade. Generally, target plant population should be 60,000 to 100,000 plants per acre. Freeman, K.C., D.M. Sweet sorghum as a biofuel crop in . Sorghum holds promise for American Indian farmers who have rights to a fairly significant amount of CAP (Central Arizona Project) water. Drying fuel and electricity can be deleted from the budget. In test plots in Missouri, atrazine and metolachor gave good grass and broadleaf weed control. 2009. Pinal Energy currently imports corn from the Midwest, so they are quite interested in the potential for locally produced sweet sorghum. It is a multipurpose crop, yielding food in the form of grain and fuel in … “We need to have plant scientists to understand how the plants grow and mature,” says Slack. Sweet Sorghum Sweet Sorghum Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is similar to grain sorghum with sugar-rich stalks. Potential for Sweet sorghum as a biofuel. By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press Writer. Biofuels Home. Sweet sorghum could be grown on about half of this land. for heat in buildings or to produce electricity. DA-BAR’s director, William Medrano, says the use of sorghum as a biofuel fits with the Philippine government’s current energy conservation efforts, which involve the development and use of biologically derived alternatives to expensive oil imports. “As a scientist, I am focusing on some very important problems to our world like food security, water security and also energy security,” says Martinez. Photo: Dennis Pennington, Bioenergy Educator. In addition, sweet sorghum has a °Brix or estimated fermentable sugar of 9 percent, and as the fermentable sugar of sweet sorghum increases, wherein studies show results higher than the estimated 9 percent, the more viable the ethanol’s country production using sweet sorghum becomes. It grows in dry conditions, tolerates heat, salt and waterlogging, and provides steady income for poor farmers. Biofuel. Yield of sweet sorghum varieties at Blairsville, Georgia, and Quicksand, Kentucky.1. Let's start with the basics. Sweet sorghum. Researchers find sweet sorghum and sugarcane can cut biorefinery down time January 10, 2017 | Meghan Sapp In Illinois, today many biofuel refineries operate for only seven months each year, turning … Now researchers at the University of Missouri Delta Research Center are studying ways to boost the plant’s potential to brew not booze, but biofuel. Indo-US Biofuels Research Project - The second generation biofuels consortium will focus on development of sustainable, advanced lignocellulosic biofuel systems. Most of the sweet sorghum research around the world is focused on traditional sugar fermentation by yeast from the juice. Normally, the fibrous parts of the plant are discarded after juicing. It’s a favorite part of what I do.”, 1177 E. 4th Street, Shantz Building, Room 403, Tucson, AZ, USA 85721-0038 Sweet sorghum is the same species (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) as grain sorghum. Technical challenges of using sweet sorghum for biofuels are a short harvest period for highest sugar content and fast sugar degradation during storage. Courtesy of University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Sweet sorghum diseases are best controlled by rotating fields with non-grass crops such as soybean and by planting disease-resistant sweet sorghum varieties. Theis is resistant to both red stalk rot and MDM. Photo: Dennis Pennington, Bioenergy Educator. 1Freeman et al., 1986. However, sweet sorghum seed and equipment costs will be higher than grain sorghum. In 2007, the University of Kentucky and the University of Nebraska jointly released a male-sterile hybrid named KNMorris. “I love working with graduate students. Bioethanol. From 2007 to 2009, University of Kentucky researchers examined the feasibility of ethanol … The bagasse can be used to feed livestock or pelletized to burn. Handheld light refractometers and battery-powered digital refractometers can be purchased. -- LSU AgCenter scientists are researching efficient means for processing energycane and sweet sorghum for use in biofuels. 6-7 Oct. Olive Branch, MS. Tripp, S., R. Powell, and P. Nelson. To maintain high sugar content in the stems, remove the seed heads “when the seed is in the late milk stage” (Bitzer, 2009). Bio Fuels Revolution – Sweet Sorghum – The Smart Crop Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is frequently called as smart crop for its ability of not only produce food but fuel as well. 1-5 Nov. Pittsburgh, PA. Stevens, G., R. Holou, D. Dunn, and A. Wrather. The statement “all biomass is local” also applies to sweet sorghum feedstock. Fields with irrigation should have higher populations than non-irrigated fields. The United States, the world’s largest sorghum producer, is organizing a conference this year on using sorghum as biofuel. Study on palletizing machine for yeast cells immobilized carrier production. Sweet sorghum packs punch for Arizona’s biofuels industry Known as the sugarcane of the desert, sweet sorghum could be a sustainable and ecological future biofuel crop for Arizona. Photo: Larry Rana, USDA; Wikimedia Commons. However, large-scale planting on … 611. Slack has two graduate students working on the project. Sweet sorghum may grow up to twenty feet tall and produce significantly higher biomass yields compared to grain sorghum. In this system, the synthetic gas and bio-oil are used for transportation fuel, and the charcoal is applied to fields to improve soil structure. Dr. Mike Ackerson describes the process and benefits of making gasoline quality biofuel from sweet sorghum. Corn (left) and sweet sorghum (right) at the Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners, Michigan. Bradley, K., L. Sweets, W. Bailey, and J. Wrather. Sweet sorghum, a plant that grows to a height of 8 to 12 … Slack is also partnering with Pinal Energy of Maricopa Arizona, a 50-million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant. It is relatively drought tolerant, has a high forage and ethanol yield per acre, has relatively low cost of production, is adaptable to no-till, has a co-product called … To estimate sugar content in juice, use a refractometer to make Brix (%) measurements. Such a combination of talents and areas of expertise is absolutely essential for the success of an effort of this scope and complexity. http://nssppa.org/. Most of the sweet … The crop is highly adaptable to wide range of climatic conditions including drought and salinity. It is harnessing that curiosity and passion in his students that Slack sees as the core of his work. Memphis, TN. Sweet sorghum can be used the the production of biofuels in two ways. Sweet sorghum is a promising target for biofuel production. Nebraska. Unfortunately, this facility closed in 1983. ASA-CSSA-SSSA. 611, 55 pp. “This project is a pilot project,” he says, “which means that we move it beyond the laboratory into the field.” They are looking at how their methods scale to the field to see if they represent viable ways of growing bio-fuel and bio-energy crops in the bright, dry environment of Southern Arizona. Sugar contents in sweet sorghum tend to be highest in years with low rainfall and sunny days late in the season. Sweet sorghum could become leading bioethanol feedstocks. “We need to have chemical engineers who understand how the materials can be refined into a product, and we need agricultural engineers who can work with machinery to extract the juices and process the materials.”. It is more drought tolerant than corn and requires less nitrogen fertilizer. SWEET SORGHUM FOR BIOFUEL INDUSTRY. Xie Fenzhou, Sugar accumulation law in stem Juice of sweet sorghum, Liaoning Agricultural Science .1989.5 4.2. Sweet sorghum was first introduced into the United States in 1852. Through the research in Slack’s lab, he and his graduate students are finding better ways to grow the plants and optimize their production of juice, which is then fermented into ethanol. Dr. Ismail Dweikat at Nebraska is developing sweet sorghum cultivars with increased cold tolerance. “The land grant university has three very specific, important missions: education, research and extension. The same diseases that affect grain sorghum also attack sweet sorghum. “Sweet sorghum” is a special-purpose sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) with a sugar-rich stalk similar to sugarcane. The crop is particularly suitable for growing in dryland conditions, as it only extracts one-seventh of the water used by sugarcane. http://extension.missouri.edu/seregion/Crop_Budgets_PDF&Excell/Grain_Sorghum.pdf, Energy Answers for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher, NEWBio Team Defines Human Systems Driving the Bioeconomy Transition, NEWBio Harvest, Preprocessing, and Logistics Team Optimizes Biomass Supply Chain Processes, NEWBio Feedstock Improvement Team Breeds Better Switchgrass and Willow for the Bioeconomy. Sorghum is a multipurpose crop and can be used for food, feed, fuel and fodder. The Sorghum Checkoff is committed to meeting the needs of sorghum growers and ethanol producers. Southern Plant Nutrition Management Conf. “Arizona is one of the places where we can grow sweet sorghum very efficiently, so the Department of Energy has funded this research for the past two years.”. It is a C4 crop with low input requirements and accumulates high levels of sugars in its stalks. The seeds can be used for food and/or … The energy gain from sweet sorghum is substantially more than the energy used in production. Thus, with a higher fermentable sugar of as much as 15 percent, with a Php/TC of 700, the projected … When it comes to discussing the potential of sweet sorghum in the biofuels production process, we share in the excitement. 2. Brix numbers from 14 to 20% would be considered acceptable levels for harvesting. “We’re here to educate students, and the byproduct of our educating students is the research,” he says. Sweet sorghum could be grown on about half of this land. Sorghum biomass is burned by fast pyrolysis to produce syngas, bio-oil, and charcoal. Paper presented at the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting, Celebrating the . “Sweet sorghum is supposed to be a drought-tolerant crop. Besides having rapid growth, high sugar accumulation, and biomass production potential, sweet sorghum has wide adaptability (Reddy and Sanjana 2003). 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