Characterizing compositional changes of Napier grass at different stages of growth for biofuel and biobased products potential

Abstract

Napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum, is a high yielding, perennial feedstock that can be harvested year-round in (sub)tropical geographies of the world. Because of its high moisture content (∼ 80%w/w), Napier grass presents a unique opportunity for fractionation into solid and liquid streams, where the extruded cellulosic fibers can serve as a substrate for biofuel production, and the nutrient-rich juice can serve as a substrate for co-product generation. The aim of this study evaluated the effects of biomass age on constituents relevant to biofuel and biobased product generation. Although obvious morphological changes can be observed in the field due to natural senescence, the results obtained in this work suggested that the cellulose content does not change significantly with respect to age. Data surrounding the hemicellulose and lignin contents, however, were inconclusive as their degree of significance varied with the statistics applied to analyze the raw data.

Potential use of Pennisetum purpureum for phytoremediation and bioenergy production: a mini review

“…Using P. purpureum that is proven to be an efficient phytoremediator in a wetland system will make phytoremediation more sustainable and more practical in treating wastewater and soil pollution. In addition, P. purpureum which produces high biomass yield has also been used to produce bioenergy (Takara and Khanal, 2015). Hence, this phytoremediation approach could also benefit from the income generated through the production of bioenergy, both for its own maintenance as well as generating extra profit.…”

“…As mentioned previously, P. purpureum is fast growing, has high biomass yield, and also has impressive adaptability to the environment which makes it a stable renewable source to produce biofuel (Wen et al, 2015). Besides, the structural analysis of P. purpureum shows that it has considerable cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents which are 40-50%, 20-40% and 10-25% by weight respectively; which in turn indicate substantial sources of sugars for sustainable biofuel production (Mohammed et al, 2015;Takara and Khanal, 2015).…”

“…This is also one of the zero-waste concept management since all the biomass is being fully utilized (Figure 4). In this context, the efficiency of P. purpureum for bioenergy production cannot be denied as it has been well studied that it can serve as a feedstock for biofuel processing (Mohammed et al, 2015;Mohammed et al, 2019;Takara and Khanal, 2015). As mentioned previously, P. purpureum is fast growing, has high biomass yield, and also has impressive adaptability to the environment which makes it a stable renewable source to produce biofuel (Wen et al, 2015).…”

“…More importantly, P. purpureum is well known to be used as an animal feed, mainly in the cut and carry feeding systems, or made into hay or silage (Orodho, 2006). In addition, P. purpureum has also been used to produce biofuels because of its high cellulose content (Takara and Khanal, 2015). This high cellulose content can be utilized as a carbon source for the production of biofuels, such as ethanol and butanol (Ko et al, 2017;He et al, 2017).…”

Suppression of Inflammatory Mediators by Ethanol Extracts of <i>Pennisetum purpureum </i>S. (Napiergrass Taishigrass no. 2) in Activated RAW 264.7 Macrophages

“…The bioorganic energy soup is a plant-based beverage, and is commonly consumed by healthy and illness pollutions, because it is thought to have health-promoting effects. Nowadays, scientific evidence regarding napiergrass has mainly focused on animal feeding [8,9] and renewable energy sources [10,11], but less information on its health-promoting effects was reported. Previously, the boiling-water extract of purple napiergrass was indicated to prevent in vitro low-density lipoprotein from oxidation, increase antioxidative enzyme activities in murine BNL hepatocytes, and decrease NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages [12].…”