Evaluation of bioethanol production from sweet sorghum variety Roger under different tillage and fertilizer treatments

IOSVANY LÓPEZ-SANDIN; FRANCISCO ZAVALA-GARCÍA; LAURA LEVIN; HÉCTOR A. RUIZ; CARLOS E. HERNÁNDEZ-LUNA; GUADALUPE GUTIÉRREZ-SOTO

BioEnergy Research

Springer

Año: 2021

1939-1242

Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a promising crop for bioethanol production characterized by its high biomass yield, sugar-rich stalks, easy juice extraction, and ability to adapt to different production systems. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of cultivation practices (soil treatments) on the juice, sugar, and ethanol yields of ROGER sweet sorghum variety. Three methods of tillage (minimum, traditional, and traditional tillage with rupture of the plow layer) and three types of fertilizers (inorganic, organic, and without fertilizer) were assayed. The best results of stem yield (44.3 t/ha), juice production (25.6 m3/ha), total soluble solids content (16.9 °Bx), and juice ethanol yield (2.1 m3/ha), were obtained under a mixture of traditional plowing with plow layer breaking, applying organic fertilizer. In addition, the extracted juice allowed yeast (industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae PE-2) growth and conversion to ethanol without the need for nutrients supplementation. Therefore, sweet sorghum continues to be an interesting bioenergetic crop for the production of first-generation biofuels.