Evaluation of the environmental impacts of ethanol production from sweet sorghum

Olukoya, Ife A.; Bellmer, Danielle D.; Whiteley, James R.; Aichele, Clint P.

doi:10.1016/j.esd.2014.10.004

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(18 reference statements)

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“…Although moisture availability is critical for the plant growth [53], sweet sorghum is relatively drought-tolerant and can be adapted to grow on marginal lands with low water availability [54, 55]. The well-developed root structure that can extend up to 2 m below ground aids to obtain moisture from the soil.…”

Section: Life Cycle and Growth Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sweet sorghum as biofuel feedstock: recent advances and available resources

Mathur

Umakanth

Tonapi

et al. 2017

Biotechnol Biofuels

188

119

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Sweet sorghum is a promising target for biofuel production. It is a C4 crop with low input requirements and accumulates high levels of sugars in its stalks. However, large-scale planting on marginal lands would require improved varieties with optimized biofuel-related traits and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Considering this, many studies have been carried out to generate genetic and genomic resources for sweet sorghum. In this review, we discuss various attributes of sweet sorghum that make it an ideal candidate for biofuel feedstock, and provide an overview of genetic diversity, tools, and resources available for engineering and/or marker-assisting breeding of sweet sorghum. Finally, the progress made so far, in identification of genes/quantitative trait loci (QTLs) important for agronomic traits and ongoing molecular breeding efforts to generate improved varieties, has been discussed.

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Section: Life Cycle and Growth Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sweet sorghum as biofuel feedstock: recent advances and available resources

Mathur

Umakanth

Tonapi

et al. 2017

Biotechnol Biofuels

188

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Given that the net energy gain by Wang et al was a standard, net energy gain in this paper should range from 0.16 million MJ to 5.93 million MJ rather than from −1.4 million MJ to 2.3 million MJ. GHG emission potential was compared with a study documented by Olukoya et al According to Olukoya et al, GHG emissions were reduced by 27% and 15% with two different ethanol producing options [40]. In this study, GHG emission and GHG emission reduction of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol on marginal lands were 36.66 million tons and 2.47 million tons, respectively, indicating a 6.7% decrease of GHG emissions.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Studiesmentioning

confidence: 51%

Assessment of Sweet Sorghum-Based Ethanol Potential in China within the Water–Energy–Food Nexus Framework

Yan

Jiang

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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As bio-ethanol is developing rapidly, its impacts on food security, water security and the environment begin to receive worldwide attention, especially within the Water-Energy-Food nexus framework. The aim of this study is to present an integrated method of assessing sweet sorghum-based ethanol potential in China in compliance with the Water-Energy-Food nexus principles. Life cycle assessment is coupled with the DSSAT (the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) model and geographic information technology to evaluate the spatial distribution of water consumption, net energy gain and Greenhouse Gas emission reduction potentials of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol on marginal lands instead of cultivated land in China. Marginal lands with high water stress are excluded from the results considering their unsuitability of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol due to possible energy-water conflicts. The results show that the water consumption, net energy gain and Greenhouse Gas emission reduction of developing sweet sorghum-based ethanol in China are evaluated as 348.95 billion m 3 , 182.62 billion MJ, and 2.47 million t carbon per year, respectively. Some regions such as Yunnan Province in south China should be given priority for sweet sorghum-based ethanol development, while Jilin Province and Heilongjiang Province need further studies and assessment.

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“…Electricity source in the base case scenario was~60% of fossil fuel; due to the large reduction in GHG emission by replacing electricity from renewables, sensitivity analysis on electricity sources (fossil fuel or renewable fuel) were investigated. GHG emission was reported to increase~35% with a 50% increase in transportation distance for a centralized biorefinery plant [46]; thus, it has the potential to be a sensitive input as well. Product yield was selected due to the uncertainty associated with the production process itself.…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of Pressure Sensitive Bio-Adhesive Production

Yang

Rosentrater

2019

Energies

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Bioproducts have attracted much attention in recent years due to the increasing environmental concerns about petroleum products. In this study, we aimed to explore potential environmental impacts and economic feasibility of pressure sensitive bio-adhesive (PSA) produced from the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization process. A detail process model of pressure sensitive bio-adhesive was developed in order to thoroughly understand both economic and environmental impacts of this production process. Life cycle assessment results showed that the overall environmental impacts of bio-adhesive was ~30% lower compared to the petro-adhesive’s production process. The minimum selling price for this pressure sensitive bio-adhesive was calculated as $3.48/kg. Sensitivity analysis results indicated that raw materials costs had the most significant impact on pressure sensitive bio-adhesive’s selling price, followed by total capital investment. Electricity sources had larger environmental impacts to the overall bio-adhesive production process compared to transportation distance and product yield. These results highlight the environmental advantage and potential economic competency of this pressure sensitive bio-based adhesive.

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Evaluation of the environmental impacts of ethanol production from sweet sorghum

Cited by 21 publications

References 16 publications

Sweet sorghum as biofuel feedstock: recent advances and available resources

Sweet sorghum as biofuel feedstock: recent advances and available resources

Assessment of Sweet Sorghum-Based Ethanol Potential in China within the Water–Energy–Food Nexus Framework

Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis of Pressure Sensitive Bio-Adhesive Production

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