Sorghum R&D and supply chain management for 1G and 2G Biofuel Production: Progress and Way forward

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1 Sorghum R&D and supply chain management for 1G and 2G Biofuel Production: Progress and Way forward A Ashok Kumar and Team a.ashokkumar@cgiar.org National Technical Seminar of All India Distilleries Association Bengaluru 5 th October 2017

2 Non-profit, non-political international R & D institution established in 1972 Belongs to CGIAR system with 15 sister centers, contributing for global food security Sorghum, Pearl millet, Finger millet, Chickpea, Pigeonpea and Groundnut are the six mandate crops of ICRISAT HQ in Hyderabad with eight regional/county offices in Africa ICRISAT at a glance

3 World s top five ethanol producing countries Major Ethanol Producers in 2016 (bg) USA Brazil China India France Govt. of India keen on increasing the ethanol blending in gasoline to 10% but there is no enough ethanol in the country

4 Ethanol production and demand in India Sugarcane molasses is the major raw material for ethanol but availability and prices of molasses highly fluctuating Ethanol (~2.5 billion lit) from molasses goes to potable, industrial and fuel demands stiff competition Large gap in current blending (~3%) and targeted ethanol blending in gasoline (20% by 2017) Need to increase the ethanol production by using diverse feedstocks (to meet the blending targets under EBP) Sweet sorghum is one of the major feedstocks identified for ethanol production (National Biofuel Policy 2009)

5 Advantages of sweet sorghum Drivers: Population, Energy and Climate Change As crop As ethanol source As bagasse Multipurpose smart crop Efficient in photosynthesis High RUE, WUE, NUE Short duration dryland crop Greater resilience Non-invasive species Seed propagated Eco-friendly process Superior quality (low sulphur and lead) Automobile friendly (up to 85% blend) Higher biological value Rich in micronutrients Use as feed/for power cogeneration/ bio-compost RUE: Radiation use efficiency; WUE: Water-use efficiency; NUE: Nutrient use efficiency

6 Ideal harvesting time of sweet sorghum to get higher sugar Dough stage Physiological maturity Genotype Mean Postphysiological maturity Sugar yield is highest at physiological maturity followed by post-physiological maturity

7 Effective utilization of bagasse (besides cogen) Treatment Intake (g/kg live weight) Weight gain (kg/day) Commercial feed block a Bagasse-leave feed block a Sorghum stover (chopped) Source: Michael Blümmel et al. 2009; a. Statistically not significant.

8 Net returns to farmers are higher from sweet sorghum than grain sorghum (India)* Sweet sorghum Grain sorghum Grain yield (t ha -1 ) Stalk yield (t ha -1 ) 20 4 (dry) Grain value (US$ season -1 ) Stalk value (US$ season 1 ) Total value (US$ season -1 ) Leaf stripping (US$ season -1 ) 15 - Net value (US$ season -1 ) Gain from sweet sorghum (US$ season -1 ha -1 ) * Adopted from Rajasekhar (23%)

9 Energy balance for gasoline and ethanol, by feedstock Feedstock Energy output/ fossil energy input Sugarcane (Brazil) 8.3 Sugar beet (European Union) 1.9 Corn (United States) Wheat (Canada) 1.2 Fossil-fuels Sweet sorghum (Hosein Shapouri, USDA) 8 (12-16 in temperate areas) 1. For one unit spent;

10 CSH 22 SS first sweet sorghum hybrid used for biofuel in India IIMR and ICRISAT Partnership hybrid released in 2005 Excellent grain and stalk yield Used for 1G ethanol production Single cut forage 25 t h -1 stalk yield under onfarm conditions

11 On-farm sweet sorghum production for biofuel use Worked with more than 10,000 farmers in Telangana and Maharashtra Supplied the seeds, literature Trained farmers in crop production for higher yields Linked them with ethanol distilleries and decentralized crushing units

12 Supply chain Models Centralized and decentralized Centralized model is similar to contract farming Distillery supports for all inputs and training and buyback the stalks Within 50 km radius of distillery DCU DCU area Distillery Centralized area DCU DCU area Decentralized is combination of both contract farming and Cooperative/FPO Distillery support for training but buy-back the syrup (not stalks) >50 km from distillery

13 Sweet sorghum ethanol production - ICRISAT and partners liaised with Rusni Distilleries, Telangana

14 Adoption of improved cultivars and management practices key for achieving higher on-farm yields Sweet Realty Rainy season Farmer Name: Ramesh Rao Village Name: Gunthapally, Telangana Acreage: 2 Acres Stalk supplied: 49.7 tonnes Total Income: Rs. 29,874 (US$747) Input cost: Rs (US$47) Returns: Rs (US$700)

15 Sweet sorghum ethanol production Centralized distillery 2 (Tata Chemicals Ltd, Nanded, Maharashtra)

16 Feedstock production and supply (TCL area ) Particulars Area sown (ha) Actual area under crop (ha) Yield t ha Harvested area (ha) Quantity of stalk crushed (t) Harvesting window Stalks Purchase Price (Rs./t) 500 ($ 9) 675($ 11) 1000($18) cultivars grown Sugar Grace (98%), Urja, SSV 84 Urja, RSSSV 84, J K Recova, Sugar Graze J K Recova, Sugar Grace, CSH 22 SS, ICSV 93046, RSSV 9

17 DCU established and syrup produced in villages

18 How the two supply chain models worked? 1. Centralized model (Rusni, Telangana & TCL, Mahrashtra) 1 t stalks kg juice 44 L ethanol (Lab); 45 L (Rusni); 50 L (Praj); 50 L (DA-BAR, Philippines) 2. Decentralized model (Ibrahimbad, Telangana & Parbhani, Maharashtra) 1 t stalks kg juice kg syrup L ethanol

19 Economics of sweet sorghum ethanol production (Rusni Distilleries) Economics favors well for direct conversion of sweet sorghum juice to ethanol with variable cost of production Indicator INR USD Cost of the raw material (Rs t -1 ) Cost of processing (Rs t -1) Recovery of ethanol (l t -1 ) 45 Cost of ethanol (Rs l -1 ) Price of ethanol received (Rs l -1 ) Benefit to cost ratio 1.22 The ethanol price received was not sufficient to make the industry viable Feedstock supply was not continuous so limited period of operations Non compliance for ethanol blending targets - low market demand

20 Key lessons learnt from sweet sorghum ethanol initiative Distillery should be multi-feedstock unit and produce multiple products and by-products Explore sugar mills for using Sweet sorghum as complimentary feedstock no capex Distilleries can use sweet sorghum need crushers Target area to be clustered rather than dispersed Strong agri R&D set up & supply chain management Whole plant utilization of sweet sorghum critical for benefit maximization Mechanized crop production and harvesting Enabling policy environment - critical

21 Can sweet sorghum fit in sugar mills? Ethanol price high now, close to Rs 40 ($0.67) Large demand for ethanol for blending There are >600 sugar mills in India, of which >400 have distilleries attached Sugarcane crushing: Nov-Mar Proposed Sweet sorghum based Bioenergy Calendar JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Sugarcane harvesting Sweet sorghum planting Sweet sorghum harvesting

22 Best performing SS cultivars identified across states S No Sugar Mill Cultivars 1 Madhucon sugar and power industries, Telangana State 2 Shree Ganesh Khand Udyog Sahakari Mandli Limited, Gujarat ICSV 25308, ICSV 25306, ICSSH 28, Phule Vasundhara and ICSV ICSSH 28, Phule Vasundhara, ICSV 25306, CSH 22 SS 3 U.P. Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation Limited, Uttar Pradesh 4 Salem Co-operative Sugar Mills Limited, Tamil Nadu Phule Vasundhara and ICSV ICSV 25308, ICSV 12012, ICSSH 28, CSH 22 SS, Phule vasundhara, CSV 24SS and Sugar graze 5 Core green sugars, Yadagiri, Karnataka ICSSH 28, ICSV 12012, ICSV and ICSV 25306

23 Big Mill Test at Madhucon Sugar industries 2015

24 Sweet sorghum grown in sugar mill area was crushed in factory Sweet sorghum can be crushed in a sugar factory without changing a nut or bolt

25 Sweet sorghum can be crushed without changing a nut or bolt in the sugar mill The primary juice brix is 15% (close to sugar cane, brix 16%)

26 Big Mill Test at Shree Ganesh Khand Udyog Mandli Ltd. Gujarat during rainy season 2016

27 Big Mill Test results at Shree Ganesh Khand Udyog Mandli Ltd. during rainy season 2016 Sweet sorghum can be crushed in sugar mill without changing its set up The juice extraction is high with hot water treatment The primary juice brix% (>15) is close to sugar cane No difficulties posed in juice fermentation or distillation The brix% of selected sweet sorghum cultivars to similar to sugarcane (17-20%) but purity is less compared to sugar cane 31 lit of ethanol obtained from ton of stalk

28 New sorghum hybrid with 17% Brix and >90 tons fresh biomass yield Improved genotypes have higher potential for ethanol production

29 What is needed at distilleries to use sweet sorghum as feedstock Establish a crushing section and connect to fermentation chambers Identify target area and farmers based on the capacity of the distillery Recruit a small team with agriculture background for growing the crop Manage the supply chain (Agri team working with farmers) Link with an Oil Market Companies for lifting ethanol

30 Can Sorghum be a feedstock for 2G Biofuel Production? It is one of the best feedstocks for 2G Biofuel Short duration (4 months) and can be grown across the country and in multiple seasons High productivity dry tons per ha High biomass hybrids available and strong seed industry in place for supplying seeds Scope for building strong supply chain - grow cultivars with different maturities -cultivars amenable for ratooning - dry biomass storable for 6-12 months

31 Sorghum hybrid RVICSH 28 released for cultivation in Madhya Pradesh Suitable for 1G and 2G Biofuel Varieties On-farm fresh stalk yields (t h -1 ) District Gwalior CSH 24 MF District Dewas & Khargone Mean Mean CSH IS ICSSH CSV 24 SS SPSSV SSV MP Chari

32 ICSV 93046, released in Kazakhstan and ready for national release in India and Philippines (suitable for 1G and 2G Biofuel) Plant height: : 3.0 to 3.4 m Grain yield : 2.5 to 3.5 t ha -1 Season : Rainy and postrainy seasons Salinity tolerant

33 Drought tolerant high biomass cultivars (ICSV and IS 18542) in pipeline On-farm productivity ~25 t h -1

34 Ratoonability is key in biomass supply chain Main crop yield 60 tons/ha Main crop (in the back) and first ratoon First ratoon 45 days old First ratoon yield 62 tons/ha No added inputs Or water to ratoon First ratoon 30 days old First ratoon 80 days old

35 Processing and analysis of high biomass sorghum ICSV The dry biomass of ICSV analyzed at DBT-ICT center (Mumbai), DBT-IOC center (Faridabad) Treatment Cellulose Xylose Arabinose Total Lignin % Ash % Total of % (w/w) % (w/w) % (w/w) Sugars % (w/w) (w/w) components % (w/w) Raw Biomass (Triplicate) Acid Treatment Alkali Treatment Total alcohol potential (100g dry basis of biomass) = 288L/ton if C5+C6 fermented together

36 Strong in-country and external partnerships Genes for waterlogging tolerance (in US) identified from sorghum mini-core accessions supplied by ICRISAT The GC-MS analysis of ICRISAT bmr samples being carried out by Wilfred Vermerris, University of Florida Strong partnerships with Brazil, China, Thailand, Mexico, South Africa, The Philippines, Mozambique, Kenya, Italy, Germany, UK

37 What is next?? Further improved hybrids

38 What is next? Contd Bmr sorghums with high biomass Lignin content ~10%

39 Working closely with 2G biofuel processors Shell, Bengaluru Praj Pune DBT-ICT IGL Kashipur

40 Working with policy makers and all stakeholders to enhance sorghum based biofuel value chain Two day National Workshop at ICRISAT and IIMR, Hyderabad Bioenergy Urja Utsav at Pune

41 Way forward Improved biomass hybrids that can be grown round the year Genotypes with different maturity durations and higher ratoonability Resistance to shoot fly, stem borer, aphids Drought and salinity tolerance Best bet practices for maximizing on-farm productivity and system sustainability Strong supply chain mechanisms feedstock production and aggregation and processing Knowledge sharing with farmers, processors and consumers Strong policy advocacy to promote Biofuels

42 Partnership is the key to make it happen Thank You