Harvest Methods for Estimated Ethanol Yields from Relative Fermentable Carbohydrate Accumulation in Maize Hybrids¹

Abstract

Recurring energy shortages suggest the need for evaluation of alternate fuel energy sources. Conversion of plant carbohydrate to ethanol, as a fuel source, is considered a viable option with efficient energy‐producing crops such as maize, Zea mays L. Three maize hybrids (‘Coker 77’, ‘Pioneer 3369A’, and ‘Sokota Sugar Chop’) were grown in a Norfolk loamy sand (fine‐loamy, silicious Typic Paleudult) from 1981 to 1983 to evaluate four procedures for harvesting. The objective was to identify procedure(s) that maximize carbohydrate production potential, measured as estimated fermentable carbohydrate converted to ethanol. Ethanol yield estimates, calculated from grain or stalk sugars, or both, to make possible direct comparisons of harvest treatments, were analyzed as a split‐plot design with 10 replicates. Whole plots were hybrids, and subplots were harvest treatments. The treatments consisted of (i) covered ear shoots (EC); (ii) removed ear shoots (ER); (iii) grain and stalks harvested simultaneously (P‐SimH); and (iv) stalks harvested separately, 1 to 2 weeks after grain harvest (P‐ SepH). Coker 77 produced the least grain but significantly greater estimated ethanol yields than did the other hybrids in 2 of 3 yr because of greater stalk sugar yields. The P‐SepH and P‐SimH treatments of this hybrid produced less than twice as much estimated ethanol per plant, and other hybrids produced about three times as much as the EC and ER treatments of Coker 77. Differences between the P‐SimH and P‐SepH treatments were nonsignificant, and simultaneous harvest of grain and stalk sugar at physiological maturity proved an efficient procedure to produce high estimated ethanol yields.

Insights of the dental calculi microbiome of pre-Columbian inhabitants from Puerto Rico

“…Detection of Actinomyces DNA in the Saladoid is intriguing as it supports observations that pre-Columbian cultures from the Caribbean also suffered from oral diseases ( Chalmers et al, 2015 ; Ziesemer et al, 2015 ). Our data may also be consistent with a previous study suggesting that dental caries in ancient human populations may have resulted from the intake of fermentable carbohydrates ( Adler et al, 2013 ), as there is archaeological evidence suggesting that the Saladoid ingested fermentable carbohydrates ( Widstrom et al, 1987 ; Humphrey et al, 2014 ) that are part of the root crops.…”

Mycobiome-Host Coevolution? The Mycobiome of Ancestral Human Populations Seems to Be Different and Less Diverse Than Those of Extant Native and Urban-Industrialized Populations

“…in Huecoid, Saladoid, and Mexican coprolites might be associated with the contamination of a wide variety of food included in the diet of these pre-Columbian cultures or the consumption of fermented foods [64]. Indeed, archaeological evidence suggests that Saladoids consumed fermentable carbohydrates from root crops [65,66]. Similarly, the prevalence of Penicillium spp.…”

Desarrollo y evaluación de nuevo germoplasma de maíz (Zea mays L.) para uso especial en Argentina

“…En teoría, 1 g de almidón produce 1,1 g de glucosa y 1 mol de ésta se convierte en 2 moles de etanol + 2 moles de CO 2 . En consecuencia, 100 g de almidón producen 56,73 g de etanol (=69,61 ml EtOH) (Widstrom et al, 1987;Gulati et al, 1996;Srichuwong et al, 2010). Sin embargo, en el proceso industrial las levaduras no fermentan únicamente a la glucosa hidrolizada a partir del almidón, sino también a otros azúcares fermentables (fructosa, maltosa y sacarosa) que están presentes en el grano antes de la molienda y también aquellos probablemente liberados a partir de polisacáridos no almidonosos durante la trituración del grano (Zhao et al, 2009) En la Tabla 8.102 se presenta el rendimiento expresado en Kg.…”