Monday, May 2, 2011
Grand Ballroom C-D, 2nd fl (Sheraton Seattle)
Juice and bagasse from sweet sorghum – a recently identified energy crop can both be used for producing biofuels. While high sugar-containing sorghum juice is readily to be converted to bioethanol, the pathway of transforming bagasse to biofuels is not that simple. Generally speaking, sorghum bagasse contains cellulose, hemicelluose, and lignin in the range of 28-45%, 18-36%, and 19-25%, respectively. To produce bioenergy from sorghum bagasse through the biochemical route, one needs to identify the best pretreatment and hydrolysis approaches.
In this presentation, we will provide a brief review of the biofuels (ethanol, lipid, and hydrogen) that have been produced from sweet sorghum, especially sorghum bagasse. We will then report the studies that have been conducted in our laboratory, which include: bagasse pretreatment by lime-assisted microwave, lime under traditional heating, fermentation of the hydrolysates by Cryptococcus curvatus (an oleaginous yeast) for lipid production. Detailed calculations regarding cellulose and hemicellulose conversion and lipid yield in terms of g lipid per g bagasse will be provided. The accumulated lipids assembling Jatropha oil or Palm oil can certainly be utilized for producing biodiesel and possibly green diesel.