Sugar crops as a source of fuels. Volume I. Agricultural research. Final report

Abstract

This report by Battelle Columbus Division presents the results of a study of the feasibility of using sugar crops as a source of fuels. The program is a cooperative effort, including universities, USDA field experiment stations, research organizations, and engineering companies. Narrow-row spacing experiments were conducted at Houma, Louisiana; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Belle Glade, Florida. Narrow-row spacing promotes more rapid canopy closure which helps a short season location more than a long season location. Sweet sorghum experiments in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ohio indicate favorable yields compared with sugarcane, and yield increases with close spacing in all areas. The project team concludes that sweet sorghum has considerable fuel potential, based on its ability to grow wherever corn or soybeans grow. Initial evaluation of the Tilby cane separator process, which separates the pith from the rind fiber without crushing and grinding, indicates that the process is promising as a means of obtaining fermentable sugars at low cost. The advantages of the Tilby process (yet to be demonstrated on a commercial scale) are low energy consumption, high value for the rind fiber coproducts in products that perform like plywood, pulp or paper making, and ability to use high fiber sugarcane ormore » sweet sorghum. « less

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