FORAGE SORGHUM: AN EXCELLENT FEEDSTOCK FOR SECOND GENERATION BIOFUELS IN THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION OF THE USA Marisol Berti*1, Burton Johnson1, Russ Gesch2, Dulan Samarappuli1, Yun Ji3, Wayne Seames3, and Srinivas Reddy Kamireddy3 1Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, USA 2USDA-ARS, North Central Soil Conservation Research Lab, Morris, MN 56267, USA. 3Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
Current biofuels situation in the USA Replace non-renewable energy sources Energy needs - transportation fuels Ethanol from corn (90%) (50 BLY) RFS2-136 BLY in 2022 43% expected to come from the Midwest (in red) 50 BLY dedicated energy crops
Biomass resources and Too dry for RCG Competition with food crops Annuals vs. perennials potential Compete with food and feed- Marginal land http://www.usda.gov/documents/usda_biofuels_report_6232010.pdf
Ideal energy crop for the Northern Great Plains High biomass yield Drought tolerant Salt tolerant Low input High N and water use efficiency C4 Photosynthesis Known by growers Dual purpose
Looking East after taking-off from Fargo, ND and.. of course a crop that grows in North Dakota s very short growing season March 25, 2013
North Dakota in numbers #1 state in 12 food crops #2 state in oil production 82% electricity from coal Population 700K Area: 183K km 2 Latitude 46 55 Growing season about 90 to 100 days Annual rainfall 510 mm Average annual temperature is (4 C), ranging from -14 C in January to 21 C in July.
Objectives Determine the potential of forage sorghum as a second generation feedstock for biofuel in the northern Great Plains in the USA
Materials and Methods Eighteen to 24 entries of forage sorghum, sweet sorghum, sudangrass and sorghum X sudangrass were evaluated at Prosper and Fargo, ND, from 2009 to 2012. Prosper, 2010 Brown mid-rib (BMR)and non-bmr sorghums were evaluated.
Materials and Methods Chemical Composition Biomass pretreatment Wet chemistry (Van Soest) Batch reactor pretreatment CP ADF NDF ADL Ash N Biomass composition NREL-LAP protocols Partial factorial design Three independent factors Temperature(150 and 160 C) Acid concentration (1 and 2%) Time (10 and 20 min) Lignin Hemicellulose Cellulose
Biomass and ethanol yield BMR vs. non-bmr Biomass yield Ethanol yield Mg dry matter/ha L/ha BMR 12.01 2166 Non-BMR 14.04 1799 Max. 19.90 2853 P value 0.033 ns Range 8.9-19.9 1298-2853
Biomass Quality Ash Lignin (ADL) NDF ADF ----------% of dry matter----------- BMR 12.0 3.5 60.4 37.7 Non-BMR 11.2 4.4 61.8 35.6 Min 6.30 2.9 57.6 30.7 P value ns 0.05 ns 0.02 Range 6.3-20.6 2.9-5.3 57-69 30-50
Biomass Quality PC1= 53% PC2= 20% Ethanol yield 0.6 0.4 Environment PC1 Crude protein, N content BMR character 0.2 Cellulose 0-0.4-0.3-0.2-0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 ADF -0.2 Biomass yield NDF Hemicellulose ADL Ash -0.4-0.6 PC2
Compositional analysis of raw biomass Glucan Xylan Lignin Ash ----------% of dry weight----------- BMR 33.7±1.1 22.8±0.9 13.9±2.1 4.2±0.1 Non-BMR 33.9±0.5 21.0±0.4 15.8±0.4 3.3±0.3 Corn stover 37.3±1.1 24.6±0.9 18.1±2.1 5.9±0.6
Compositional analysis of pretreated biomass 10 min 160 C 1% acid Maximum glucose and xylose yield for both sorghum types
Conclusions Forage sorghum can outperform yield of any other biomass crop and has the potential to yield 20 Mg/ha with low inputs. Non-BMR sorghums have a 2 Mg/ha advantage in yield than BMR-sorghums. Biomass yield strongly associated to environment and main cell wall components
Conclusions Ethanol yield was mainly associated to the presence or absence of the BMR character. Maximum glucose and xylose yield was reached with 160 C, 10 min, and 1% acid concentration and was similar for both sorghum types. Finally, forage sorghum is an excellent feedstock for 2G biofuels for the Northern Great Plains in the USA.
Projects SUNGRANT Initiative (2011-2013) Double- and relay- cropping systems for oil and biomass feedstocks production in North Dakota. Midwest Forage Association (2010-2011) Sorghum: a potential forage and biomass crop in North Dakota. DOE/EPSCor UND/NDSU (2010-2011) Evaluation of kenaf as a renewable source for green chemicals and fuels. USDA-CREES 2009-34622-19970 (2009-2012) Renewable energy and products: Agronomic potential for fuel production in North Dakota.
Thank you for your attention and interest Marisol Berti Associate professor Dep. of Plant Sciences, NDSU Dept. 7670 Fargo, ND 58108-6050 Phone (701) 231-6110, Fax (701) 231-8474 e-mail: marisol.berti@ndsu.edu