New Crops for Biofuel/Bioproduct Production Donal F. Day Professor, LSU AgCenter
The Deep South has the climate, land and infrastructure to produce 50% of the Biofuel feedstocks for the United States K E Y T E C H N I C A L G O A L S Suitable crops Low input farming Fermentable sugars Biomass sugars Sugars to fuels Economics/invest ment S T A T U S AFRI-CAP Program # 2011-69005-30515
Useful Parameters for Biofuel Crops I D E A L Year round availability High yield Wide range Low-input R E A L I T Y Crops have a single harvest Species variable Climate and water requirement Soil fertility maintenance Minimal agricultural and environmental disruption Economic sustainability Replacement of existing crop cover may affect wildlife and water run-off Dependent on oil prices and by-product values
Complementary Crops with similar harvest and processing Sweet Sorghum July - September Energycane August - March Bagasse, syrup, woodchips, molasses, etc.
Year round feedstock supply Month Sorghum E-cane Commercial sugar Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Other Bagasse Bagasse Bagasse
Sept. 1 st Stubble Courtesy of Chris Adams. Energycane- a perennial crop Has a sugar containing juice
Experimental Production sites Sites were established in different soil and climatic zones in Louisiana for growing energycane and sweet sorghum.
Temperature F January 29-30 th, 2014, Chacahoula (Air temp low 20.6 F, 40 wind chill 13.0 F) Soil depth packed on top of seed cane insulates against cold temperatures. 2 3 4 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Soil surface 2.5" down Residue 28.5 36.1 Burn 18.5 35.2
Date of Harvest Chacahoula Varieties Ho 02-113 L 79-1002 Ho 72-114 Ho 00-961 Ho 01-07 Ho 02-144 Ho 02-147 Ho 06-9001 Ho 06-9002 Ho 08-9076 HoCP 04-838 HoCP 96-540 Harvest Date August Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.
% Cellulose Cellulose = fiber/brix+fiber 1.00 0.90 0.80 0.70 0.60 0.50 0.40 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.00 A A A A B B C C C D* E F 01-1002 113 114 144 147 540 838 9001 9002 9076 961 07 Adj cell 0.71 0.83 0.77 0.81 0.79 0.76 0.64 0.62 0.83 0.83 0.84 0.76 *Bars with the same letter are not different at the P<0.0001 level.
Tons/Acre (As-Is) 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 CD* Date of Harvest Yield 2013-2014 B A BC 0 Aug Sept Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar yield 52 57 65 55 51 43 40 D E E *Bars with the same letter are not different at the P<0.0001 level. Courtesy Paul While
Tons/Acre (Dry Matter) Dry Matter Yield 2013-2014 30.0 25.0 20.0 15.0 C A A B C C 10.0 D* 5.0 0.0 Aug Sept Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar DM 13.4 18.3 24.1 22.8 21.1 18.0 17.0 *Bars with the same letter are not different at the P<0.0001 level.
Energycane Production Summary Dry matter yields of 9 tons/acre with very minimal inputs on marginal land. 7 Over 8 months, deliverable feedstock (dry matter) was between 9 16 tons/acre. Most e-canes tested pass EPA cellulose limits (>75%). So far nitrogen affects are limited, but it may be more important in stubble crops.
Sweet Sorghum Annual crop Contains, a sugar containing juice, starch containing seed heads and fiber 90-120 day crop cycle, can be grown across target region Gross structure similar to sugarcane Can be widely grown across Southern US About 6,000 acres required to sustain processing plant for 3 months
Harvesting initiated at hard-dough stage Dry-weight biomass yield ranged from approximately 1.0 ton/a to > 9.0 tons/a and fermentable sugar yields have ranged from < 1.0 tons/a to > 3 tons/a.. Considerably less yield in years 2 and 3, which may be due to N leaching and cool/wet springs.
Planting hybrids of different maturity (90-days to 150- days) from early April to June allowed for the harvesting from late July through October (Viator) C O M P A R I S O N O F 9 0 - D A Y H Y B R I D T O 1 2 0 - D A Y H Y B R I D C O M P A R I S O N O F 9 0 - D A Y H Y B R I D T O 1 5 0 - D A Y H Y B R I D Varieties supplied by CERES
Sweet sorghum production following legume incorporation in the soil (low input testing)
Issues of Concern L O D G I N G E R G O T
Crop Comparison Energycane Harvest time(months) 7 Ag Inputs Planting Acres/1000t/day factory Growth in nontraditional regions none perennial 8,000 yes Dry ton/acre 9-16 Sweet sorghum Harvest time(months) 3 Ag Inputs Planting Acres/1000t/day factory Growth in nontraditional regions None* annual 6,000 yes Dry ton/acre 1-9 *fallow with clover
1.3 million acres of idle cropland in AR, LA and MS Potential Feedstock Production Acreage (Idle Cropland Acres) 5 (> 10,000 acres ) 4 (7,000-9,999 acres) 3 (4,000-6,999 acres) 2 (1,000-3,999 acres) 1 (< 1,000 acres)
Crop choices ( Approximate Sugars Yields) Energycane Sweet Sorghum Wet ton/acre lbs simple Sugar/ton lbs complex Sugar/ton Total lbs Sugar/acre 51 123.6 362.3 12,633 Wet ton/acre 20 lbs simple Sugar/ton lbs complex Sugar/ton Total lbs Sugar/acre 184.1 186.4 7,410 Meets EPA requirement for RFS Does not meet EPA requirement
Estimated Value of Fermentable sugars from Crops Crop Lbs FS/wet ton $ @ 0.08/lb Lbs dry biomass/ton $@$65/ton Energycane 124 9.92 270 8.77 Sweet sorghum 184 14.72 130 4.23 tons/acre FS $/acre Biomass $/acre Energycane 51 505.92 447.27 922.64* Sweet sorghum 17 250.24 71.91 121.92* *value of complex sugars in biomass Gross value/acre est. 953.19 1427.91* 322.15 372.18*
Sugar Syrups
Thanks to the many researchers who contributed to this project