Alternative uses of sorghum encompass utilization of grain and sweet stalk in food and non-food sectors forth production of commercially valued products, such as alcohol (potable and industrial grade), syrups (natural and high fructose), glucose (liquid and powder), modified starches, maltodextrins, jaggery, sorbitol and citricacid (downstream products from starch).

In India

In India, sorghum is traditionally consumed in the form of unleavened flat bread (roti). In southern India, it is consumed in the form of sankati, annam and ganji (thin porridge). Popped sorghum and sorghum noodles are eaten as breakfast or snack foods. The possible promising alternative food products from sorghum are bakery products, maltodextrins as fat replacers in cookies, liquid or powder glucose, high fructose syrup and sorbitol. Malted sorghum can be a good alternative for baby weaning foods.

The industrial products made from sorghum grain include alcohol (potable grade) and lager beer. Commercialization of alcohol production from grain is already in practice. Other technologies such as production of glucose, maltodextrins, high fructose syrup and cakes from sorghum are yet to be scaled up. The sweet sorghum with its juicy sweet stalk is used as a bio-energy crop. Sweet sorghum products like syrup and jaggery have received good attention from dry land farmers. Attempts for scaling up the technology for alcohol production from sweet sorghum were successful, but more work is needed to integrate the current production with potential market.

In China

Since ancient times sorghum grain has been used in China as food and as raw material for Chinese liquor, starch, vinegar and caramel. There are many traditional sorghum foods in China, with various processing methods. According to Zhao Shukun (1987), it was found that there were a round 40 traditional sorghum foods, which could be sorted in to three groups based on raw materials and processing methods: polished grain foods, flour foods and popped foods. Chinese sorghum beer was first made with sorghum as main raw material in the Institute of Sorghum, Shanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences in early 1980s based on traditional technology for barley beer. Popped sorghum is a newly developed food in recent years. Crisp and popped sorghum made with special popping machine is popular. Sorghum pigment (red) is chemically a derivative of flavones – like compound, which is a natural pigment with no toxicity or flavour. Usually it is a red powder or lumpy solid, and can also be processed in to liquid o r paste as needed. It can bed is solved in water. Sorghum pigment can be widely used for colouring processed me at and fish, soy bean products, cake, drinks, candy, medical capsules, etc.

Because sorghum is not as popular as rice and wheat, and seed companies are reluctant to manage sorghum seed, it is not easy for farmers to get new sorghum varieties or relevant technologies that are desired. Sometimes research results cannot meet requirements of winery. So it is necessary to establish a coalition of research institutes, producers and processing companies.

In Pakistan

Sorghum is mainly consumed as a food grain (87%) while only 5% of it goes into feed. Sorghum is the most important summer fodder crop with increasing importance in the irrigated areas near towns. Like many developing countries, the available data on production and utilization of sorghum in Pakistan are less accurate because these are primarily grown in outlying areas as subsistence crops. Also, in the hot and dry agro-eco regions, they are grown as dual-purpose crops, where both grain and stover are highly valued outputs. Currently sorghum and millet, each contribute about 3% of the cereal area and slightly less than 1% of cereal production. Before the development of commercial poultry feed industry, the grains of these crops were basically used to feed livestock and rural poultry.

In Thailand

Methods and feasibility on alternative uses of sorghum in Thailand are discussed. The use of sweet sorghum for ethanol production is proposed. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is an important cereal crop grown in Thailand and ranks third following rice (Oryza sativa) and maize (Zea mays). It is cultivated for its grain and primarily used for animal feeding. There are four classes of sorghum commonly grown in Thailand: grain sorghum, fodder sorghum, sweet sorghum and broomcorn. Major emphasis is on grain sorghum production. In Thailand, sorghum grain is primarily utilized for the livestock feed industry. However, high tannin sorghum grains are not efficiently utilized by monogastric animals. Recently, the Thai government promoted the use of gasohol (gasoline +10% of 99.5% ethanol) and also tried to promote the use of diesohol (diesel+10% ethanol) in the future.

Of the raw materials, ie, rice, cassava (Manihot esculenta), sugarcane, molasses and sweet sorghum for producing ethanol in Thailand, only cassava and molasses were cost effective Use of cassava and molasses as raw materials for producing ethanol can generate more income than selling as cassava chips, cassava pellet s and raw molasses. Production of ethanol from rice and sugarcane will decrease the value of the crops. Many experiments on sweet sorghum production have been done at Khon Kaen University, Thailand. It is already proved that sweet sorghum is one of the suitable crops for use as an energy resource.

Source: Alternative Uses of Sorghum and Pearl Millet in Asia, Proceedings of the Expert Meeting, ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India, 1-4 July 2003

The additional mechanism available to these plants helps them survive in warm, with plenty of sunshine habitats, where water availability is limited. That is why the sweet sorghum plant stands in soils with limited irrigation.

Although the cultivation of sweet sorghum represents multiple advantages, for a farmer, disadvantages of the particular crop must seriously be considered. Specifically:
• Soil humidity: Depletes soil humidity and soil nutrients leading to degrading its structure.
• Crop residues: The crop residues from cultivation encourage the soil microorganism’s growth that competes with future cultivations for nitrogen (N). Therefore as a culture can follow any other cultivation, does not apply with those who follow the cultivation of sweet sorghum in a crop rotation.
• Allelopathy: Crop residues of certain varieties effect the development of some cultivated crops.

These mean that a proper crop rotation must be design in order to avoid problems to crops following by the sweet sorghum cultivation. The cultivation of sweet sorghum is recommended not to exceed two continuously years.
The choice of leguminous crops as soil improvers such as alfalfa, clover, vetch etc, where they will alternated with linear cultivation of sweet sorghum, so that benefits the last and enhance the fertility and health status of the soil, is an excellent option for the crop rotation.

Source: PhD Thesis: Photosynthetic characteristics of representative plant species of the Mediterranean ecosystem – Sally Alloh Sumbele.
Dimas Kitsios, Associate Professor, School of Agricultural Technology, A.E.T.I, Thessaloniki

As stated in its official presentation, the objective of Master TAPAS is to develop knowledgeable specialists in technology management and development for the sustainable production of farming systems, fostering their technical education and research abilities. Teaching and training program is organized into five modules: I, Methodology for analysis of agro-systems, II, Quality and degradation of agro-systems, III, Agricultural technology for sustainable production, IV, Advanced seminars and V, Final Thesis for the Master’s degree.

Bioenergy and plant species for a sustainable development of bioenergy (in short, ‘Bioenergy’) are the subjects of one out of the four courses offered in Module III of Master TAPAS, and the research group GA-UPM is the responsible for this course. It is worth mentioning that the overall objective of GA-UPM is the promotion of sustainable bioenergy and the development of alternative energy crops and their applications. Members of GA-UPM have a wide background in biomass teaching and training and their facilities are well-suited to experimental activities pertaining to energy crops, biomass production and biomass conversion technologies.

The course in Bioenergy aims at teaching of technical knowledge and at training in all issues related to biomass as a renewable energy source. In the current academic year (2011-12) the course was scheduled for the period comprised between January 16 and March 1. Fundamentals of bioenergy, state-of-the-art regarding energy crops, agro-energy industries, liquid and solid biofuels, bio-electricity, sustainability and rural development are the main subjects of the course in Bioenergy and according to the structure of the course, the section on liquid biofuels is given in week 5. Lectures on liquid biofuels deal with the current state and prospects of first and second generation biofuels, production of feedstocks, conversion technologies, applications of biofuels and by-products and R+D+i issues.  

Special attention is paid within the course in Bioenergy to alternative feedstocks of liquid biofuels, like sweet sorghum. On this subject, a number of topics have been addressed in the lectures given during the current academic year. Main topics have been the state-of-the-art on sweet sorghum, crop requirements, varieties, crop cycle, cultivation techniques, yields in biomass and sugars, interactions, conversion technologies, R+D+i activities and web resources. In this respect, information generated by EU-funded projects on sorghum has been discussed and also the Sweethanol-online community web site has been presented.

The number of issues dealt with and the active participation of the students have contributed to the dissemination of the knowledge of sweet sorghum as well as to the success of the course in Bioenergy of Master TAPAS.

“They will use sweet sorghum as a complementary crop when they start operating by May,” said Dr. William D. Dar, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid tropics (Icrisat) said during the Philippine International Bioenergy Conference over the weekend.

GFII is a joint venture between Itochu Corp of Japan, JGC Corp.-Japan, Philippine Bioethanol and Energy Investment Corp. and Taiwanese holding firm GCO. The Isabela plant has a production capapcity of 200,000 liters of bioethanol per day or 54 million liters per year. This is close to the combined capacity of the two bioethanol operating plants San Carlos Bioenergy and Roxol Bioenergy with a total of 68 million liters per year.

The new ethanol plants have sustained their interest in sweet sorghum as cost-effective complementary feedstock to sugarcane or molasses as economic feasibility showed a profitable growing of the feedstock.

Sweet sorghum can generate a net income of P83,962 for two croppings in a year at a cane yield of 50 metric tons (MT) per hectare and seed (grain) yield of three MT per hectare, a University of the Philippines-Los Banos-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) study showed. The Philippines has to keep with developments in sweet sorghum growing worldwide as ethanol leader Brazil is already embracing it.

“Private companies in Brazil are partnering with us in doing research on sweet sorghum. (They’re a leader in sugarcane ethanol), that’s why they’re tapping sweet sorghum as a visibility advantage,” Dar said. The potential is “the big sugarcane” area in Brazil.

US multinational Du Pont’s seed company Pioneer and Advanta, an Indian global seed company, have started working with Icrisat on sweet sorghum. Philippines had the lead in getting the support of ICRISAT over the last five years. Icrisat is an international organizations funded by a network of private-public groups supporting the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It has been extending its technical assistance to the Philippines through its superior varieties and support for field trials initiated by BAR since 2006. “It costs us $500,000 dollars to develop a line. If we gave 1,000 varieties to the Philippines, it means we’ve given half a billion dollar. Of course, Icrisat is investing not only for the Philippines but for other developing countries in the world,” Dar said.

SOURCE: http://mb.com.ph/articles/348211/ethanol-plant-uses-sweet-sorghum

Dlamini said what was left as regards the progress of the multi-billion emalangeni project was to conduct a final study, which would be done soon.

“As the project will require land measuring 15 000 hectares, the company is currently negotiating for some government farms to be used as a base for the initiative. To show commitment towards the project, government has listed some farms in Lavumisa to help with the needed area,” he said.

He said once the study was completed, the ethanol project which comprises establishment of a plant at Somntongo constituency would take place.

“The ministry is excited about the progress of the project so far and it is promising. The initiative will significantly contribute to the country’s economy as close to 2 000 people will be hired. Worth noting is that farmers will be greatly capacitated once the project reaches full swing,” he said.

Dlamini said the ministry of natural resources and energy was also negotiating with South Africa pertaining a reliable supply of water. He said the factory that would manufacture ethanol from sweet sorghum was to open along the Siphofaneni/Lavumisa corridor.

 Farmers to own shares in company

Member of Parliament Doward Sihlongonyane says once the ethanol plant to be established along the Siphofaneni/Lavumisa corridor gains momentum, farmers will also own shares.

He said the consultancy firm that conducted the preliminary study on the project said the project would be sustainable. Sihlongonyane said the project was definitely continuing, adding that operations would start next year. He said the owners of the company were very keen to start operations.

“The company has had talks with the farmers of the area and they were told that they would also own shares.

“The farmers are excited about this. It is encouraging to see investors who are also interested in empowering local people,” he said.

Sihlongonyane said the farmers would grow the sorghum and supply the ethanol factory. He said besides the employment part, the communities surrounding the project area would have a reliable source of water.

Sihlongonyane said the area where the project would be based had good infrastructure which would expedite doing business. He said His Majesty King Mswati III would officiate at a sod cutting ceremony to mark the launch of the project.

Sihlongonyane said the very same company to operate the ethanol firm would be the one that would run the Dvokolwako Diamond Mine.

by Nomthandazo Nkambule

Source: http://www.observer.org.sz

The guidelines are applied in some case studies in Italy, Greece and Spain, in order to complete the technical description with economic and environmental data to use these guidelines in feasibility studies.

The handbook is mainly target at farmers, agricultural associations, fuel processors, SMEs, seeds and agricultural companies.

The award will fund a three-year program to develop new varieties of sweet sorghum for use as an energy-rich, low cost feedstock for transportation fuels.

“Building on our success deploying our proprietary technology that can add multiple sets of genes to sorghum, we are able to produce sorghum varieties that meet the specific needs of renewable-energy producers,” said Dave Jessen, Chromatin’s Chief Technology Officer. “In collaboration with academic and industry experts, this award will accelerate Chromatin’s optimization of sorghum as a feedstock for drop-in biofuels and energy-rich replacements for coal and petroleum.”

Chromatin is working to develop non-food varieties of sorghum that have higher energy content making it ideal for the production of low-cost and renewable transportation fuel, high value chemicals and a high-BTU source of biopower. Sorghum can produce tremendous biomass yields with less water and fewer chemical inputs than major food crops and on land that is not devoted to food production.

Source: http://www.chromatininc.com/

DuPont didn’t disclose the size of its equity investment, Jane Bachmann, a spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview. NexSteppe, which last month received $14 million in a round of funding led by Braemar Energy Ventures, will partner with Pioneer Hi-Bred, DuPont’s seed unit.

“There’s going to be some information and data exchange,” Bachmann said.

NexSteppe, based in Malibu, California, develops breeding programs for sorghum and switchgrass, which can be converted into biofuel or burned at power plants. The company has developed sweet sorghum that’s now being used in commercial trials at ethanol mills in Brasil, Chief Executive Officer Anna Rath said in a telephone interview today.

Ethanol mills that crush sugar cane seven to nine months a year can remain operational an additional one to two months by using sweet sorghum, Rath said.

“By adding sweet sorghum alongside sugar cane, they will now be able to run those mills more months out of the year and improve the costs of ethanol production,” Rath said. “It can be harvested with the same equipment, it can be crushed with the same equipment, it can be fermented with the same yeast, so it’s a drop-in into their existing process.”

The collaboration with Pioneer begins immediately, said Rath, who declined to elaborate on specific projects or target dates for future products.

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Doom in New York at jdoom1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net

Global Biofuels will start “the implementation of an agro- based industrial activity for the production of ethanol, biomass electric power and food, all from a single industrial complex, using sweet sorghum as raw materials,” Olusegun Aganga, Trade and Investment minister, said in an e-mailed statement.

Work on a pilot plant in the southwestern Ekiti State will start in the first quarter and is expected to be completed within 12 months, while 14 additional plants will be established in 14 other states after the pilot project is finished, he said.

About 70 percent of the project will be funded by the Chinese government, while the remaining 30 percent will come from financial institutions including NEXIM Bank, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, Africa Finance Corp., Fond Gari of Togo, and First Bank of Nigeria Plc, the statement said, citing Felix Obada, chief executive officer of Global.

Source: www.bloomberg.com

To contact the reporter on this story: Elisha Bala-Gbogbo in Abuja at ebalagbogbo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is in talks with San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SCBI) for the construction of a bioethanol processing plant in Negros Occidental to push the development of sweet sorghum in the province.

In a statement, the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAR) said discussions between the government and SCBI are beginning to shape the prospect of a commercial scale sweet sorghum-based ethanol production in line with the implementation of the Biofuels Act of 2006.

“With the collaboration with the SCBI, which is the first multi-feedstock bioethanol and co-generation facility in the country, this endeavour may soon be realized in the coming years,” BAR said.

The agency said it has been exploring with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) other potential feedstocks that would complement the production of sugarcane for ethanol – with sweet sorghum showing massive development potential.

“Over the years, ongoing researches on sweet sorghum trials have shown and yielded positive results and indicated further that the crop is viable and a competitive complementary feedstock to sugarcane,” the agency said.

Since then, BAR has conducted a series of plantation trials in selected regions in the country.

With this development, the biofuels program of BAR shifted its gear, directing its attention to the production of sweet sorghum syrup needed for ethanol production.

“Specific to this undertaking we are tapping experts to conduct pre-planting seminar to the concerned LGUs focusing on the effective planting and other cultural management for sweet sorghum. The commissioned experts will conduct on-site assessment visits to the identified potential plantation areas in the northern and southern parts of Negros,” BAR said.

With the biofuels research team on board, extending its technical support, cooperation of the LGU, and funding assistance from BAR – promoting the potentials of sweet sorghum as a viable and alternative source for ethanol production is on the go, the agency added.

The introduction of sweet sorghum will make it a dedicated crop for bioethanol production and ensure that sugarcane will be used for sugar production and not diverted to bioethanol production in the country.

Earlier, BAR conducted a summit and plantation showcase in Bacolod City to help draw up the plans and strategies needed for the targeted planting schedule of sweet sorghum in the province of Negros.

 Source:

Written by: James Konstantin Galvez

www.manilatimes.net