The Use of Sweet Sorghum as a Feedstock for Ethanol Production

Lincoln Villi Gerke, Gabriela Lionço Zeferino, Armin Feiden

Mestrado em Engenharia de Energia na Agricultura, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Cascavel, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2014.521349                

Abstract

The sweet sorghum is investigated as an alternative source in place of sugar cane for ethanol production. Its mass can be processed with the same machinery used in the processing of sugar cane, also offering a quantity of biomass (bagasse) similar in volume to the operation. The results obtained in the experiment showed that sweet sorghum cultivar Sugargraze produces ethanol lower than cane sugar ratio. The sugar content in this variety did not show the expected values in the first cut, which resulted in a short amount of ethanol, 740 liters per hectare. The material reached 3.7 meters and suffered no lodging, being easy to handle and cut with common shredder, same equipment used in the processing of corn. The conclusion of the study pointed to the viability of producing ethanol from sweet sorghum in commercial larger scales.

Keywords

Ethanol, Sweet Sorghum, Sugar Cane

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

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