Author : Jnaneshwar Raghunath Girase
Publisher :
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 17,29 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Alcohol fuel industry
ISBN :
Author : P. Srinivasa Rao
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 134 pages
File Size : 23,61 MB
Release : 2012-10-05
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 8132207831
A number of driving forces, including the soaring global crude oil prices and environmental concerns in both developed and developing nations has triggered a renewed interest in the recent years on the R&D of biofuel crops. In this regard, many countries across the globe are investing heavily in the bioenergy sector for R&D to increase their energy security and reduce their dependence on imported fossil fuels. Currently, most of the biofuel requirement is met by sugarcane in Brazil and corn in the United States, while biodiesel from rapeseed oil in Europe. Sweet sorghum has been identified as a unique biofuel feedstock in India since it is well adapted to Indian agro-climatic conditions and more importantly it does not jeopardize food security at the cost of fuel. Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is considered as a SMART new generation energy crop as it can accumulate sugars in its stalks similar to sugarcane, but without food¬¬-fuel trade-offs and can be cultivated in almost all temperate and tropical climatic conditions and has many other advantages. The grain can be harvested from the panicles at maturity. There is no single publication detailing the agronomic and biochemical traits of tropical sweet sorghum cultivars and hybrid parents. Hence, an attempt is made in this publication- “Characterization of improved sweet sorghum cultivars” to detail the complete description of cultivars. This book serves as a ready reference on the detailed characterization of different improved sweet sorghum genotypes following the PPVFRA guidelines for the researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers and other stakeholders to identify the available sweet sorghum cultivars and understand their yield potential in tropics.
Author : Brittany Danielle Morris
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 46,40 MB
Release : 2010
Category :
ISBN :
Environmental and political concerns centered on energy use from gasoline have led to a great deal of research on ethanol production. The goal of this thesis is to determine if it is profitable to produce ethanol in Texas using sweet sorghum juice. Four different areas, Moore, Hill, Willacy, and Wharton Counties, using two feedstock alternatives, sweet sorghum only and sweet sorghum and corn, will be analyzed using Monte Carlo simulation to determine the probability of economic success. Economic returns to the farmers in the form of a contract price for the average sweet sorghum yield per acre in each study area and to the ethanol plant buying sweet sorghum at the contract price will be simulated and ranked. The calculated sweet sorghum contract prices offered to farmers are $9.94, $11.44, $29.98, and $36.21 per ton in Wharton, Willacy, Moore, and Hill Counties, respectively. The contract prices are equal to the next most profitable crop returns or ten percent more than the total cost to produce sweet sorghum in the study area. The wide variation in the price is due to competing crop returns and the sweet sorghum growing season. Ethanol production using sweet sorghum and corn is the most profitable alternative analyzed for an ethanol plant. A Moore County ethanol plant has the highest average net present value of $492.39 million and is most preferred overall when using sweet sorghum and corn to produce ethanol. Sweet sorghum ethanol production is most profitable in Willacy County but is not economically successful with an average net present value of $-11.06 million. Ethanol production in Hill County is least preferred with an average net present value of $-712.00 and $48.40 million when using sweet sorghum only and sweet sorghum and corn, respectively. Producing unsubsidized ethanol from sweet sorghum juice alone is not profitable in Texas. Sweet sorghum ethanol supplemented by grain is more economical but would not be as profitable as producing ethanol from only grain in the Texas Panhandle. Farmers profit on average from contract prices for sweet sorghum when prices cover total production costs for the crop.
Author : Bharat P. Singh
Publisher : CABI
Page : 537 pages
File Size : 19,17 MB
Release : 2013
Category : Science
ISBN : 1845938852
Providing comprehensive coverage on biofuel crop production and the technological, environmental and resource issues associated with a sustainable biofuel industry, this book is ideal for researchers and industry personnel. Beginning with an introduction to biofuels and the challenges they face, the book then includes detailed coverage on crops of current importance or with high future prospects, including sections on algae, sugar crops and grass, oil and forestry species. The chapters focus on the genetics, breeding, cultivation, harvesting and handling of each crop.
Author : Joseph Andrew Linton
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 46,25 MB
Release : 2010
Category : Alcohol as fuel
ISBN :
This study examines the feasibility of producing sweet sorghum as an ethanol feedstock in Mississippi. An enterprise budgeting system is used along with estimates of transportation costs to estimate farmers' breakeven costs for producing and delivering sweet sorghum biomass. This breakeven cost for the farmer, along with breakeven costs for the producer based on wholesale ethanol price, production costs, and transportation and marketing costs for the refined ethanol, is used to estimate the amounts that farmers and ethanol producers would be willing to accept (WTA) and willing to pay (WTP), respectively, for sweet sorghum biomass. These WTA and WTP estimates are analyzed by varying key factors in the biomass and ethanol production processes. Deterministic and stochastic models are used to estimate profits for sweet sorghum and competing crops in two representative counties in Mississippi, with sweet sorghum consistently yielding negative per-acre profits in both counties.
Author : John A. Veracruz
Publisher :
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 26,7 MB
Release : 2015
Category :
ISBN :
Between 2012 and 2013 the world increased biofuel consumption by 6.1% and if forecasts hold, according to the International Energy Agency, by 2050 27% of the world’s transport energy will come from biofuels. Rather than succumb to a shortage of corn, alternative feedstocks must gain the same traction corn has gained within the ethanol production industry. When considering an alternative feedstock what must also be considered it is that energy output from ethanol production exceeds the energy needed to produce one liter of alcohol. With origins traced back to Africa, sweet sorghum, or Sorghum bicolor(L) Moench, has gained traction as a viable ethanol feedstock due to the plant’s ability to reach a harvest maturity in as little as four months. With similarities to that of sugarcane, sweet sorghum’s stalk contains a relatively balanced amount of both insoluble and soluble carbohydrates. Although sweet sorghum will flourish with the appropriate amount of water, its drought resistance provides versatility other ethanol feedstocks do not possess. However, lower inputs, drought resistance, and the ability to grow on fallow land are all meaningless if growers miss a relatively short harvesting window, or even worse, allow fermentable sugars to decay by not expediting fermentation. If sweet sorghum ethanol is to displace any amount of corn and prove its feedstock viability, its energy balance must show more energy is output than is input. By using a bottom-up matrix based approach using energy return rations (ERRs), a product’s system may be evaluated to determine its usefulness to society. The Brandt et al. framework requires the creation of two matrices; a technology matrix, A, and an intervention matrix, B. Devising information from these matrices requires the use of three main vectors which serve as the foundation for calculating the desired ERR. Using this method in conjunction with four ERRs allows the study of energy processes used to create inputs for sweet sorghum pathways and possibly allude to how this energy is used to eliminate waste or improve efficiency through cleaner energy sources.
Author : David Scott Horton (II)
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 45,31 MB
Release : 2011
Category : Alcohol as fuel
ISBN :
Petroleum prices have made alternative fuel crops a viable option for ethanol production. Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor] is a non-food crop that may produce large quantities of ethanol with minimal inputs. Eleven cultivars were planted in 2008 and 2009 as a half-season crop. Four-row plots 6.9 m by 0.5 m, were monitored bimonthly for °Brix, height, and sugar accumulation. Yield and extractable sap were taken at the end of season. Stalk yield was greatest for the cultivar Sugar Top (4945 kg ha -1) and lowest for Simon (1054 kg ha−1). Dale ranked highest ethanol output (807 L ha−1) while Simon (123 L ha−1) is the lowest. All cultivars peak Brix accumulation occurs in early October. Individual sugar concentrations indicated sucrose is the predominant sugar with glucose and fructose levels dependent on cultivar. Supplemental ethanol in fermented wort was the best preservative tested to halt degradation of sorghum wort.
Author : Seth A. Perkins
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 17,50 MB
Release : 2012
Category :
ISBN :
Opportunities for alternative biofuel feedstocks are widespread for a number of reasons: increased environmental and economic concerns over corn production and processing, limitations in the use of corn-based ethanol to 57 billion L (15 billion gal) by the Energy Independence and Security Act (US Congress, 2007), and target requirements of 136 billion L (36 billion gal) of renewable fuel production by 2022. The objective of this study was to select the most promising among currently available crop models that have the potential to model sweet sorghum biomass production in the central US, specifically Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and to develop and test sweet sorghum crop parameters for this model. Five crop models were selected (CropSyst, CERE-Sorghum, APSIM, ALMANAC, and SORKAM), and the models were compared based on ease of use, model support, and availability of inputs and outputs from sweet sorghum biomass data and literature. After reviewing the five models, ALMANAC was selected as the best suited for the development and testing of sweet sorghum crop parameters. The results of the model comparison show that more data are needed about sweet sorghum physiological development stages and specific growth/development factors before the other models reviewed in this study can be readily used for sweet sorghum crop modeling. This study used a unique method to calibrate the sweet sorghum crop parameter development site. Ten years of crop performance data (Corn and Grain Sorghum) for Kansas Counties (Riley and Ellis) were used to select an optimum soil water (SW) estimation method (Saxton and Rawls, Ritchie et al., and a method that added 0.01 m m−1 to the minimum SW value given in the SSURGO soil database) and evapotranspiration (ET) method (Penman-Montieth, Priestley-Taylor, and Hargraeves and Samani) combination for use in the sweet sorghum parameter development. ALMANAC general parameters for corn and grain sorghum were used for the calibration/selection of the SW/ET combination. Variations in the harvest indexes were used to simulate variations in geo-climate region grain yield. A step through comparison method was utilized to select the appropriate SW/ET combination. Once the SW/ET combination was selected the combination was used to develop the sweet sorghum crop parameters. Two main conclusions can be drawn from the sweet sorghum crop parameter development study. First, the combination of Saxton and Rawls (2006) and Priestley-Taylor (1972) (SR-PT) methods has the potential for wide applicability in the US Central Plains for simulating grain yields using ALMANAC. Secondly, from the development of the sweet sorghum crop model parameters, ALMANAC modeled biomass yields with reasonable accuracy; differences from observed biomass values ranged from 0.89 to 1.76 Mg ha −1 (2.8 to 9.8%) in Kansas (Riley County), Oklahoma (Texas County), and Texas (Hale County). Future research for sweet sorghum physiology, Radiation Use Efficiency/Vapor Pressure Deficit relationships, and weather data integration would be useful in improving sweet sorghum biomass modeling.
Author :
Publisher :
Page : 24 pages
File Size : 19,87 MB
Release : 2010
Category :
ISBN :
The development of a robust source of renewable transportation fuel will require a large amount of biomass feedstocks. It is generally accepted that in addition to agricultural and forestry residues, we will need crops grown specifically for subsequent conversion into fuels. There has been a lot of research on several of these so-called "dedicated bioenergy crops" including switchgrass, miscanthus, sugarcane, and poplar. It is likely that all of these crops will end up playing a role as feedstocks, depending on local environmental and market conditions. Many different types of sorghum have been grown to produce syrup, grain, and animal feed for many years. It has several features that may make it as compelling as other crops mentioned above as a renewable, sustainable biomass feedstock; however, very little work has been done to investigate sorghum as a dedicated bioenergy crop. The goal of this project was to investigate the feasibility of using sorghum biomass to produce ethanol. The work performed included a detailed examination of the agronomics and composition of a large number of sorghum varieties, laboratory experiments to convert sorghum to ethanol, and economic and life-cycle analyses of the sorghum-to-ethanol process. This work showed that sorghum has a very wide range of composition, which depended on the specific sorghum cultivar as well as the growing conditions. The results of laboratory- and pilot-scale experiments indicated that a typical high-biomass sorghum variety performed very similarly to corn stover during the multi-step process required to convert biomass feedstocks to ethanol; yields of ethanol for sorghum were very similar to the corn stover used as a control in these experiments. Based on multi-year agronomic data and theoretical ethanol production, sorghum can achieve more than 1,300 gallons of ethanol per acre given the correct genetics and environment. In summary, sorghum may be a compelling dedicated bioenergy crop that could help provide a major portion of the feedstocks required to produce renewable domestic transportation fuels.
Author : Prashant V. Bele
Publisher :
Page : 59 pages
File Size : 41,8 MB
Release : 2007
Category :
ISBN : 9781109817133
Scope and method of study. Specific objective of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of production of ethanol on-farm using sweet sorghum as primary feed stock. The study would help evaluate the possible scenarios, requirements and difficulties while putting this concept in practice in an economical way. The study included analysis through OSU Enterprise Budget software and Harvester software. The parameters were evaluated for 500, 1000 and 1500 acres harvested with low, medium and high inputs.
