AIR1-CT92-0041 Sweet Sorghum, A Sustainable Crop for Energy Production in Europe

Contacts
Summary Information



To find similar Items, click on a keyword below:
AIR Cluster I - Biomass Production : Biological Conversion : Crops for Liquid Biofuels and Biogas : Crops for Paper/Pulp : Enviromental Aspects : Fibre : Liquid Biofuels and Biogas : Paper/Pulp : Plant Genetics : Sugar : Thermochemical Conversion

	Proposal No:	AIR1-CT92-0041
	Date Prepared:	September 1999
	Source:	Final report 1997

---

Final report 1997

Summary

This project, a continuation of previous activities, aimed to optimise the production, throughout the EU, of sorghum for use as an energy crop and for fibre. It focused on previously identified limitations relating to growth and use of the crop; including temperature sensitivity, harvesting, extraction and bagasse use. For agriculture, water and nitrogen use was optimised and linked to a productivity model. Further information was obtained about the composition of the crop and suitability for use as an industrial raw material. Alternative processes (juice extraction, fermentation, use of bagasse for electricity generation or production of paper and anaerobic digestion of wastes) were modelled. Results were used to simulate various economic and environmental scenarios, providing conclusions on the basis of which specific actions could be recommended.

Recommendations

This activity, based in part on an existing model and associated agricultural data relating to process methodology and opportunity costs, used for simulation, suggested a priority should be the setting up of industrial or pre-industrial projects. Based on either paper or ethanol (including use of surplus bagasse for electricity generation), the industrial projects would be initiated at either a local or a regional level. It was shown that the economic viability of such alternatives has to be confirmed and improved. Although economic evaluation tools and results from these exist, sets of regionalised data are required. The inclusion of sorghum within complementary agricultural and industrial systems appeared most likely to lead to success. Even so, such a proposal still requires differential analysis of the limitations and advantages of sorghum versus other systems, for example: sorghum versus maize at the agricultural stage, sorghum versus Miscanthus for fibre and sorghum versus beet or wheat for ethanol.

Agricultural aspects needing further effort are:

• a long-term plant breeding programme resulting in improvement in adaptation to low temperature in northern regions increasing the possibility of an earlier harvest, while for southern countries there is a need to increase drought resistance;
• optimisation and economic evaluation of agricultural techniques and procedures.

Harvesting remains a critical operation, although for sweet sorghum, existing sugar cane harvesters (small and large) may be adequate. Even so harvesters have to be adapted to the crops, with the overall organisation and logistics, including harvesting, storage and pretreatments, being crucial for success. The potential of this raw material has been demonstrated for production of pulp for paper from sweet sorghum bagasse. Some improvements may be required for bleaching of mechanical pulp, but technical solutions exist. The main priority is to set up a pre-industrial plant

The fermentation process has to be optimised to make alcohol production economically viable, while a major effort has to be focused on the first step of the industrial phase: the separation of juice from bagasse. A more detailed technical and economic investigation comparing centralised or decentralised systems has to be carried out. Many reasons for developing biomass-based systems are linked to environmental considerations. The use of both fibre and sweet sorghum has clear benefits in this respect. Nevertheless, there is a need to focus on local and regional considerations, rather than global ones. More information is required in order to quantify impacts due to chemical inputs (nitrates, pesticides) and effects on biological components (fauna, flora) and landscape in order to obtained a realistic evaluation of those externalities that can be considered in economic analysis. Since the European Commission funded this project, sorghum was considered mainly in terms of use within the European Union. However, a large potential exists for growing this crop elsewhere. For example in other parts (east, south) of Europe with a continental climate and in tropical countries where it might be grown in association with the sugar cane industry. These possibilities should be considered further.