Adding sweet sorghum juice into current dry-grind ethanol process for improving ethanol yields and water efficiency
Keywords:
sweet sorghum, biomass, ethanol yield, hydrolyzing time, conversion efficiencyAbstract
Sweet sorghum is a promising energy crop due to its low fertilizer and water requirements, short growth period, and high biomass yield. However, the challenge for sweet sorghum as a feedstock for ethanol production is its short harvest period and the extreme instability of its juice, both of which make achieving a year-round production process difficult. One way to solve this challenge and to meet the growing demand of bio-renewable ethanol is to incorporate sweet sorghum juice into the current dry-grind ethanol process. In the dry-grind process, the whole grain kernel is milled and fermented to produce ethanol. In this study, sweet sorghum juice with varying grain sorghum flour contents was liquefied, saccharified, fermented, and distilled to produce ethanol. Ethanol yield from sweet sorghum juice with the optimum grain sorghum flour loading was about 28% higher than that from the conventional ethanol process. Enzymatic hydrolysis with this process could be reduced by 30 min. The fermentation performance of sweet sorghum juice with grain flour using a raw starch hydrolyzing enzyme was also investigated, and ethanol yield was about 21% higher than that from the conventional process. This innovative technology enabling ethanol production from sweet sorghum juice could improve ethanol yield, save energy, and significantly decrease water use in the current dry-grind ethanol process. Keywords: sweet sorghum, biomass, ethanol yield, hydrolyzing time, conversion efficiency DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20150802.1513References
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[33] Zhao R, Bean S, Wu X, Wang D. Assessing fermentation quality of grain sorghum for fuel ethanol production using rapid viscoanalyzer. Cereal Chem., 2008; 85: 830–836.
[34] Akbulut M, Özcan M M. Some physical, chemical, and rheological properties of sweet sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor (L) Moench) Pekmez (Molasses). International Journal of Food Properties, 2008; 11: 79–91.
[35] Khullar E, Sall E D, Rausch K D, Tumbleson M E, Singh V. Ethanol production from modified and conventional dry-grind processes using different corn types. Cereal Chem., 2009; 86(6): 616–622.
[2] RFA (Renewable Fuel Association). 2014. Policy Positions: Ethanol and Water. Available at: http://www. ethanolrfa.org/pages/policy-positions-ethanol-and-water. Assessed on [2014-03-13].
[3] George E, Rentsen B, Tabil L G, Meda V. Optimization of wheat debranning using laboratory equipment for ethanol production. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(6): 54-66.
[4] Xue Z, Qu L Q, Yang X S. Potential production and spatial distribution of hybrid poplar as a biofuel crop in Connecticut, USA. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2014; 7(2): 10-18.
[5] Geng S, Hills F J, Johnson S S, Sah R N. Potential yields and on-farm ethanol production cost of corn, sweet sorghum, fodderbeet, and sugarbeet. J. Agron. Crop Sci., 1989; 162: 21–29.
[6] Rooney W L, Blumenthal J, Bean B, Mullet J E. Designing sorghum as a dedicated bioenergy feedstock. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 2007; 12: 147–157.
[7] Srinivasa R P, Umakanth A V, Reddy B V S, Dweikat I, Bhargava S, Kumar C G, et al. Sweet sorghum: genetics, breeding and commercialization, in: Biofuel Crops: Production, Physiology and Genetics (ed. BP Singh) Fort Valley, Georgia, 2013; pp 172–198
[8] Harrison M D, O’Hara I M. Food and feed products from sweet sorghum. Sweet sorghum: Opportunities for a new, renewable fuel and food industry in Australia. Kingston ACT. 2013; pp 62-–77.
[9] Rao S S, Patil J V, Prasad P V V, Reddy D C S, Mashra J S, Umakanth A V, et al. Sweet Sorghum planting effects on stalk yield and sugar quality in semi-arid tropical environment. Agronomy Journal, 2013; 105: 1458–1465.
[10] Wu X, Staggenborg S, Propheter J L, Rooney W L, Yu J, Wang D. Features of sweet sorghum juice and their performance in ethanol fermentation. Industrial Crops and Products, 2010; 31: 164–170.
[11] University of Kentucky. Sweet sorghum for biofuel (Review by Todd Pfeiffer, Michael Montross, and Michael Barrett), 2013. Available at: http://www.uky.edu/Ag/ CDBREC/introsheets/sorghumbiofuel.pdf. Accessed on [2013-10-25].
[12] Reddy B V S, Ramesh S, Ashok Kumar A, Wani S P, Ortiz R. Biofuel crops research for energy security and rural development in developing countries. Bioenergy Research, 2008; 1: 248–258.
[13] Reddy B V S, Ramesh S, Reddy S, Ramaiah P, Salimath B. Sweet sorghum – a potential alternative raw material for bioethanol and bio-energy. International Sorghum and Millets Newsletter, 2005; 46: 79–86.
[14] Srinivasa R P, Rao S S, Seetharama N, Umakanth AV, Sanjana R P. Sweet sorghum for biofuel and strategies for its improvement. Information Bulletin No 77, 2009.
[15] Gnansounou E, Dauriat A, Wyman C E. Refining sweet sorghum to ethanol and sugar: economic trade-offs in the context of North China. Bioresource Technol, 2005; 96: 985–1002.
[16] Stevens G, Holou R A. Sweet Sorghum as a Biofuel Crop. In: Halford NG, Karp A. editors. Energy Crops: The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2010; pp 56–76.
[17] Serna-Saldívar S O, Chuck-Hernández C, Pérez-Carrillo E, Heredia-Olea E. Sorghum as a multifunctional crop for the production of fuel ethanol: Current status and future trends. In Bioethanol, edited by M.A.P. Lima and A.P.P. Natalense, InTech, 2012; pp. 51–74.
[18] Rohowsky B, Häßler T, Gladis A, Remmele E, Schieder D, Faulstich M. Feasibility of simultaneous saccharification and juice co-fermentation on hydrothermal pretreated sweet sorghum bagasse for ethanol production. Applied Energy, 2013; 102: 211–219.
[19] Sipos B, Réczey J, Somorai Z, Kádár Z, Dienes D, Réczey K. Sweet sorghum as feedstock for ethanol production: enzymatic hydrolysis of steam-pretreated bagasse. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol, 2009; 153: 151–162.
[20] RFA (Renewable Fuels Association). Pocket guide to ethanol 2014. Available at: http://www.ethanolrfa.org/ page/-/rfa-association-site/Resource%20Center/2014%20Pocket%20Guide%20to%20Ethanol.pdf?nocdn=1. Assessed on [2014-03-01].
[21] NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Water usage for current and future ethanol production, 2007. Available at http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm? FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=3d2f1427-d51d-4a54-8739-166853ee1c44. Assessed on [2014-03-13].
[22] Wang P. Granular starch hydrolysis for fuel ethanol production. ProQuest LLC. Ann Arbor, MI. 2009. 7–29.
[23] Robertson G H, Wong D W S, Lee C C, Wagschal K, Smith M R, Orts W J. Native or raw starch digestion: a key step in energy efficient biorefining of grain J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006; 54: 353−365.
[24] Weller C, Steinberg M P, Rodda E D. Fuel ethanol from raw corn. Trans. ASABE, 1984; 27: 1911–1916.
[25] Kelsall D R, Lyons T P. Grain dry milling and cooking procedures: extracting sugars in preparation for fermentation. in: The Alcohol Textbook, 4th edition; Jacques, K., Lyons, T. P., Kelsall, D. R., Eds.; Nottingham University Press: Nottingham, 2003; pp. 9–22.
[26] Gavez A. Analyzing cold enzyme starch hydrolysis technology in new ethanol plant design. Ethanol Producer, 2005; 11: 58–60.
[27] AACC. Methods 55-10 and 76-13. In AACC International Approved Methods of Analysis. 10th ed. St. Paul, Minn.: AACC International, 2000.
[28] Wu X, Zhao R, Bean S, Seib P A, McLaren J, Madl R L, et al. Factors impacting ethanol production from grain sorghumin the dry-grind process. Cereal Chem, 2007; 94(2): 130–136.
[29] Thomas, K C, Hynes S H, Ingledew W M. Practical and theoretical considerations in the production of high concentrations of alcohol by fermentation. Proc. Biochem, 1996; 31(4): 321–331.
[30] Liu L, Maier A, Klocke N L, Yan S, Rogers D H, Tesso T, et al. Impact of deficit irrigation on sorghum physical and chemical properties and ethanol yield. Transactions of the ASABE, 2013; 56(4): 1541–1549.
[31] Liu L, Klocke N L, Yan S, Rogers D H, Schlegel A, Lamm F, et al. Impact of Deficit Irrigation on Maize Physical and Chemical Properties and Ethanol Yield. Cereal Chem., 2013; 90(5): 453–462.
[32] Wang D, Bean S, McLaren J, Seib P, Madl R, Tuinstra M, et al. Grain sorghum is a viable feedstock for ethanol production. J Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol, 2008; 35: 313–320.
[33] Zhao R, Bean S, Wu X, Wang D. Assessing fermentation quality of grain sorghum for fuel ethanol production using rapid viscoanalyzer. Cereal Chem., 2008; 85: 830–836.
[34] Akbulut M, Özcan M M. Some physical, chemical, and rheological properties of sweet sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor (L) Moench) Pekmez (Molasses). International Journal of Food Properties, 2008; 11: 79–91.
[35] Khullar E, Sall E D, Rausch K D, Tumbleson M E, Singh V. Ethanol production from modified and conventional dry-grind processes using different corn types. Cereal Chem., 2009; 86(6): 616–622.
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Published
2015-04-01
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Appiah-Nkansah, N. B., Saul, K., Rooney, W. L., & Wang, D. (2015). Adding sweet sorghum juice into current dry-grind ethanol process for improving ethanol yields and water efficiency. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 8(2), 97–103. Retrieved from https://ijabe.migration.pkpps03.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/ijabe/article/view/1513
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Renewable Energy and Material Systems
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