Sugar Beet as an Energy Crop

Abstract

The combination of volatility in the oil market and finite oil resources and the effect on global climate change from the addition of CO 2 to the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels has increased the interest in sustainable energy generation from renewable biofuels. Most 1st generation biofuels in current production are liquid with bioethanol the product of fermentation. Sugar beet provides an abundance of sucrose, which is easily fermented by many microbes and on a per hectare basis; sugar beet is one of the most efficient sources of ethanol, however storage of harvested roots is problematic. Most studies have indicated sustainable biofuels have reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) when compared to petroleum based fuels. Bioethanol from sugar beet reduces GHG comparably or superiorly to maize or sugarcane. There also are other biofuels from fermentation, including biomethanol, biobutanol ETBE, biomethane, and biohydrogen, many of which are more energy dense than ethanol. Storage of sugar beet is a problem that could be solved by ensilage and anaerobic digestion producing a biogas, which could yield more energy per hectare than bioethanol. As the global economy moves away from fossil fuels, sugar beet will play an increasing role in the adoption of more sustainable energy generation.

Review of catalytic systems and thermodynamics for the Guerbet condensation reaction and challenges for biomass valorization

“…10 Bioethanol is usually produced via fermentation of carbohydrates such as starch and sugars (first generation ethanol). 11,12 In order to be truly sustainable, the production of chemicals and fuels from biomass should not compete with food production. Therefore, much research focuses on the development of more efficient technologies from low-cost and non-food biomass sources.…”

“…The oils are first extracted from plants and converted to fatty alcohols by catalytic hydrogenation. 38,59 Smaller fatty alcohols (C [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] ) are typically obtained from coconut and palm oils, while longer alcohols (C [18][19][20][21][22] ) are produced from rapeseed and soybean oils, amongst others. 60 Recent developments also report metabolic engineering as a tool for the microbial production of fatty alcohols, acids or esters.…”

Bioenergy productivity of sugar beet irrigated with reclaimed wastewaters

“…Despite the fact that the yield potential of sugar beet as an energy crop has been repeatedly pointed out (Venturi and Venturi, 2003;Panella, 2010), the agrotecniques for producing under limited water conditions are worthy of further studies (Pidgeon et al, 2001). The climate of Mediterranean area is favourable to the sugar beet eco-physiology, but the scarcity of water resources limits its cultivation, unless a suitable exploitation plan of the available water resources are identified, including wastewaters to optimise the root biomass yields.…”

Industrial sugar beets to biofuel: Field to fuel production system and cost estimates

“…Most ethanol produced in the USA is corn (Zea mays L.) grain based but a growing interest to diversify biofuel feedstock sources has encouraged field trial research of industrial beets across several geographical regions in the USA including the Southern Great Plains [4e7]. Interest in beets is growing also because sugar crops have successfully been used commercially for ethanol production in Europe (sugar beets) and in Brazil (sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum)) and have demonstrated great potential to lower GHG emissions than other feedstocks (corn, rapeseed (Brassica napus)) [4,8].…”