sweet - cropwatch sorghum... · dweikat says.“on a one crop basis,sweet sorghum out-pro-duces...

SORGHUM

ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE JULY 2008192

SWEETHARVESTMany years have passed since sweet sorghum made itsdebut in the 1800s as a potential substitute for sugarcane.The crop is now back by popular demand, this time as apotential ethanol feedstock.

By Timothy Charles Holmseth

SORGHUM

ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE JULY 2008 193


SORGHUM

ne hundred and fifty years ago sweet sorghumplants could be found swaying in the windsacross parts of southeastern United States. AU.S. patent officer brought the plant to the

United States in 1853, according to the National SweetSorghum Producers and Processors Association. The plantwas of interest as a substitute for sugarcane, but it proved toohard to extract dry sugar from the syrup. Sorghum productionpeaked in the 1880s and declined as it faced competition fromsugarcane and sugar beets.

Today, sweet sorghum is making its second debut as a ver-satile feedstock that can be used for food, fuel and animalfeed. “It is the only crop that can save the United States,” saysIsmail Dweikat, an associate professor at the University ofNebraska-Lincoln. An agronomy and horticulture expert,Dweikat says the speed bumps, headaches, economical andpolitical challenges the nation presently faces as it attempts towean itself from foreign oil could be avoided if we wouldfocus on using the sugar from this 18-foot-tall energy crop toproduce ethanol. “Despite controversy, support for nonpetro-leum fuels remains strong,” he says.

Dweikat spoke to attendees at the 13th annual NationalEthanol Conference in February in Orlando using this quotefrom George Washington Carver to kick off his presentation:“I believe that the great Creator has put ores and oils on this

earth to give us a breathing spell. As we exhaust them, we mustbe prepared to fall back on our farms, which is God’s truestorehouse and can never be exhausted. We can learn to syn-thesize material for every human need from things that grow.”

Dweikat believes that sweet sorghum can do the job ofproducing ethanol for the nation, and he’s giving it a personalletter of recommendation. Sweet sorghum is appealing on sev-eral fronts, he explains. “It doesn’t need additional irrigation soyou can save money on irrigation,” he says. “It doesn’t need asmuch nitrogen as corn—50 to 60 pounds of nitrogen will giveyou a full crop of sweet sorghum,” he said, noting that onepound of nitrogen is required for each bushel of corn pro-duced.

Dweikat explains that the total biomassstover from corn is 4 to 5 tons per acre plus150 to 180 bushels of grain per acre. Sweetsorghum trumps corn when produced andsold to cellulosic ethanol plants. Sweetsorghum typically yields 14 tons of biomassper acre. “If you are selling it for $40 a ton,that’s about $560 per acre. That would out-produce corn, with less output,” he says, not-ing they both go for about $40 per ton.

“Sweet sorghum requires half the amount of water thatsugarcane needs. It has more sugar on a plant than sugarcane,”

O

DWEIKAT


SORGHUM

ne hundred and fifty years ago sweet sorghumplants could be found swaying in the windsacross parts of southeastern United States. AU.S. patent officer brought the plant to the

United States in 1853, according to the National SweetSorghum Producers and Processors Association. The plantwas of interest as a substitute for sugarcane, but it proved toohard to extract dry sugar from the syrup. Sorghum productionpeaked in the 1880s and declined as it faced competition fromsugarcane and sugar beets.

Today, sweet sorghum is making its second debut as a ver-satile feedstock that can be used for food, fuel and animalfeed. “It is the only crop that can save the United States,” saysIsmail Dweikat, an associate professor at the University ofNebraska-Lincoln. An agronomy and horticulture expert,Dweikat says the speed bumps, headaches, economical andpolitical challenges the nation presently faces as it attempts towean itself from foreign oil could be avoided if we wouldfocus on using the sugar from this 18-foot-tall energy crop toproduce ethanol. “Despite controversy, support for nonpetro-leum fuels remains strong,” he says.

Dweikat spoke to attendees at the 13th annual NationalEthanol Conference in February in Orlando using this quotefrom George Washington Carver to kick off his presentation:“I believe that the great Creator has put ores and oils on this

earth to give us a breathing spell. As we exhaust them, we mustbe prepared to fall back on our farms, which is God’s truestorehouse and can never be exhausted. We can learn to syn-thesize material for every human need from things that grow.”

Dweikat believes that sweet sorghum can do the job ofproducing ethanol for the nation, and he’s giving it a personalletter of recommendation. Sweet sorghum is appealing on sev-eral fronts, he explains. “It doesn’t need additional irrigation soyou can save money on irrigation,” he says. “It doesn’t need asmuch nitrogen as corn—50 to 60 pounds of nitrogen will giveyou a full crop of sweet sorghum,” he said, noting that onepound of nitrogen is required for each bushel of corn pro-duced.

Dweikat explains that the total biomassstover from corn is 4 to 5 tons per acre plus150 to 180 bushels of grain per acre. Sweetsorghum trumps corn when produced andsold to cellulosic ethanol plants. Sweetsorghum typically yields 14 tons of biomassper acre. “If you are selling it for $40 a ton,that’s about $560 per acre. That would out-produce corn, with less output,” he says, not-ing they both go for about $40 per ton.

“Sweet sorghum requires half the amount of water thatsugarcane needs. It has more sugar on a plant than sugarcane,”

O

DWEIKAT

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SORGHUM

Dweikat says. “On a one crop basis, sweet sorghum out-pro-duces sugarcane because sweet sorghum matures within 100 to120 days, while it takes the first sugarcane crop one year tomature. Also on a volume basis, sweet sorghum has highersugar content compared with sugarcane. As sweet sorghumrequires less water (one-third less than sugarcane) and has ahigher fermentable sugar content than sugarcane (which con-tains more crystallizable sugars), it is better suited for ethanolproduction than sugarcane. Also, sweet sorghum-basedethanol is sulfur-free and cleaner than molasses-based ethanol,when mixed with gasoline,” he explains.

Sizing it all up Dweikat says quite plainly, “The moresugar, the more ethanol.” The net energy ratios of sugarcaneand sweet sorghum are similar, with 1 input rendering 8 out-puts, he says. “In corn … [the ratio] is 1:1.25,” he adds.

David Cukierman, president and chief executive officer ofEthano Peru LLC in Houston, compares sweet sorghum withcorn. “The average corn yield in the U.S. is about 150 bushelsper acre. The average ethanol yield per bushel is 2.8 gallons perbushel,” he explains. “That equates to an average productionrate of 420 gallons per acre.”

The average sweet sorghum yield in the United States cor-responds with two cuttings per year, in comparison to the fourcuttings it renders in Peru, Cukierman explains. They are plan-ning to test their hybrids in the South Texas Valley near the Rio

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Field Erected Steel Tanksand Storage Silos



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Field Erected Steel Tanksand Storage SilosSince 1887, Caldwell Tanks has been perfecting the craft of building high-quality field erected STAINLESS & CARBON STEEL tanks -- on time and on budget. With multiple U.S. manufacturing plants and highly trained field crews, Caldwell has the resources to deliver what others can only promise. So when your facility requires process storage, trust a proven leader. Trust Caldwell Tanks.

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SORGHUM

Dweikat says. “On a one crop basis, sweet sorghum out-pro-duces sugarcane because sweet sorghum matures within 100 to120 days, while it takes the first sugarcane crop one year tomature. Also on a volume basis, sweet sorghum has highersugar content compared with sugarcane. As sweet sorghumrequires less water (one-third less than sugarcane) and has ahigher fermentable sugar content than sugarcane (which con-tains more crystallizable sugars), it is better suited for ethanolproduction than sugarcane. Also, sweet sorghum-basedethanol is sulfur-free and cleaner than molasses-based ethanol,when mixed with gasoline,” he explains.

Sizing it all up Dweikat says quite plainly, “The moresugar, the more ethanol.” The net energy ratios of sugarcaneand sweet sorghum are similar, with 1 input rendering 8 out-puts, he says. “In corn … [the ratio] is 1:1.25,” he adds.

David Cukierman, president and chief executive officer ofEthano Peru LLC in Houston, compares sweet sorghum withcorn. “The average corn yield in the U.S. is about 150 bushelsper acre. The average ethanol yield per bushel is 2.8 gallons perbushel,” he explains. “That equates to an average productionrate of 420 gallons per acre.”

The average sweet sorghum yield in the United States cor-responds with two cuttings per year, in comparison to the fourcuttings it renders in Peru, Cukierman explains. They are plan-ning to test their hybrids in the South Texas Valley near the Rio

Caption

PHOTO

:

A mature rainfed field of sweet sorghum variety M81E grown at Havelock, NE in 2007 The crop was planted in rotation with soybean and no additional nitrogen was applied. Total biomass yield is 35.5 tons/ha.

ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE JULY 2008 197

LOUSIANTA CHEMICAL

SORGHUM

They can be crushed and used by a dis-tillery to produce ethanol. The crushedstalk, after the juice is extracted [andthe stripped leaves], can also be used asanimal feed.”

At a distillery not far fromICRISAT, sweet sorghum juice is beingconverted into ethanol at a rate of10,000 gallons per day, Reddy says.“Ethanol can also be produced fromgrain sorghum,” he says, althoughICRISAT encourages farmers to sellsorghum grain for ethanol only after alltheir food needs are met.

With testing underway on severalcontinents, sweet sorghum productionis being observed in a variety of climac-tic conditions. With 750 acres of test-ing grounds on the coast of Peru,Cukierman says his company is rapidlydiscovering methods that will lead tosweet sorghum’s production as anethanol feedstock on a worldwide basis.

One issue producer’s face is find-ing seed, but research into corn hybridsis being used to remedy that situation.“In their native countries, seed is savedfrom sorghum plants by farmers toplant the next generation crop,”Cukierman says. Over time plant breed-ers discovered and applied hybrid vigorto corn that rendered a higher yieldthan either parent, and the concepteventually reached sorghum. “Itinvolves producing and maintaining amale and a female line,” he says.

Ethano Peru’s experimentationwith hybrid seeds for sweet sorghumhas shown promising results. “Hybridsof sweet sorghum for Peru are very fastgrowers,” Cukierman explained. The

cycle for one crop is 90 days to harvest.With that short of a growing cycle, fourcrops per year could be produced.

Although the cost involved inbreeding, producing, storing and mar-keting hybrid seed makes the cost ofproduction relatively high, that cost isnot prohibitive because the perform-ance of the seeds is so high and moregallons of ethanol are produced withsweet sorghum, Cukierman says.

Dweikat points to Brazil and itsresearch advances over the past 30years using sugarcane to prove thatenergy independence can be obtained.“[Brazil] announced last year that theysoon expect to be oil free,” he says.

A Viable Biomass Alternative How does sweet sorghum fare in

the viability arena? Dweikat says theplant meets or exceeds expectations.The criteria for determining the viabili-ty of biomass use for biofuels centerson the four general areas: energy bal-ance, materiality, sustainability and eco-nomics, he observes. “Does it yieldmore energy than is required to pro-duce it?” he asks rhetorically, pointingout that sweet sorghum does. “Can itbe produced at a large enough scale tobe meaningful in terms of fuel sup-ply?” he continues, stating that sweetsorghum certainly can. “The U.S. iscapable of producing 1 billion dry tonsof biomass annually—enough for 60billion gallons of ethanol per year,[which is] 30 percent of today’s trans-portation fuel usage,” Dweikatexplains, noting the numbers includeagricultural and forestry wastes, grains

Grande, he says, adding that cuttings are determined by glob-al longitude and latitude and three annual cutting are expected in that region. “[Ethano Peru] strongly believes that sweet sorghum is the future and the answer to the foodversus-fuel controversy based on tests with our own hybrids in Peru,” Cukierman says. Sweet sorghum also wouldn’t interfere with food produc-tion because it can be grown on marginal land, Dweikat explains. “You don’t have to use your best land,” he says. It’s also drought tolerant, he says describing how the plant behaves much like a camel. “It is more drought-tolerant than corn,” Dweikat says.

Testing and Investing Most commonly grown in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Florida, Kansas and Iowa, sweet sorghum has gar-nered some attention, and significant money has been invested to advance its growth. “In Florida, they have just approved a $54 million ethanol plant based on sweet sorghum ethanol,” Dweikat says. “In Louisiana, they are going to plant 750 acres this year to replace sugarcane because it requires less irrigation.” Testing is also underway in Nebraska and Texas, he notes. The crop has proven to be durable under the relentless heat of the Texas plains, where corn doesn’t thrive as well. “The Southeast grows pretty crappy corn,” says Juerg Blumenthal, associate professor and state sorghum cropping specialist at Texas A&M University. “One-hundred-bushel corn is common.” Biomass sorghum can endure peri-ods of stress much better than grain sorghum or corn, he says. Although sweet sorghum can be grown a little further north, it has some issues with the cold winters, Dweikat explains. “The problem in the Midwest is that it gets killed by the freeze so you have to re-plant it every year, like corn” he says. “That’s one of the limitations here in the United States.” However, continuous testing and hybrids are being pursued to address the plants’ tol-erance for cold. “We are trying to make sweet sorghum a cold-tolerant plant by introducing a rhizome to it,” Dweikat notes. He says indicators of sweet sorghum’s viability can be found across the globe where much testing is taking place. “In terms of acreage, the premier country that is using [sweet sorghum] now for ethanol is India,” Dweikat says. Belum Reddy, the principal sorghum breeder for the Inter-national Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Andhra Pradesh, India, says a future exists for this plant. “In the past 35 years, the ICRISAT has been doing continuous research


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SORGHUM

Grande, he says, adding that cuttingsare determined by global longitude andlatitude and three annual cutting areexpected in that region. “[Ethano Peru]strongly believes that sweet sorghum isthe future and the answer to the food-versus-fuel controversy based on testswith our own hybrids in Peru,”Cukierman says.

Sweet sorghum also wouldn’tinterfere with food production becauseit can be grown on marginal land,Dweikat explains. “You don’t have touse your best land,” he says. It’s alsodrought tolerant, he says describinghow the plant behaves much like acamel. “It is more drought-tolerantthan corn,” Dweikat says.

Testing and Investing Most commonly grown in Texas,

Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nebraska,Florida, Kansas and Iowa, sweetsorghum has garnered some attention,and significant money has been invest-ed to advance its growth. “In Florida,they have just approved a $54 millionethanol plant based on sweet sorghumethanol,” Dweikat says. “In Louisiana,they are going to plant 750 acres thisyear to replace sugarcane because itrequires less irrigation.” Testing is alsounderway in Nebraska and Texas, henotes.

The crop has proven to be durableunder the relentless heat of the Texasplains, where corn doesn’t thrive aswell. “The Southeast grows pretty crap-py corn,” says Juerg Blumenthal, asso-ciate professor and state sorghum crop-ping specialist at Texas A&M

University. “One-hundred-bushel cornis common.” Biomass sorghum canendure periods of stress much betterthan grain sorghum or corn, he says.

Although sweet sorghum can begrown a little further north, it has someissues with the cold winters, Dweikatexplains. “The problem in the Midwestis that it gets killed by the freeze so youhave to re-plant it every year, like corn”he says. “That’s one of the limitationshere in the United States.” However,continuous testing and hybrids arebeing pursued to address the plants’tolerance for cold. “We are trying tomake sweet sorghum a cold-tolerantplant by introducing a rhizome to it,”Dweikat notes.

He says indicators of sweetsorghum’s viability can be found acrossthe globe where much testing is takingplace. “In terms of acreage, the pre-mier country that is using [sweetsorghum] now for ethanol is India,”Dweikat says.

Belum Reddy, the principalsorghum breeder for the InternationalCrops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Andhra Pradesh, India,says a future exists for this plant. “Inthe past 35 years, the ICRISAT hasbeen doing continuous research todevelop improved sorghum hybrid par-ents, varieties and hybrids,” he says.The crop is especially of interestbecause it can be used for food, animalfeed and ethanol. “Farmers can harvestthe grain for their food and then sellthe surplus in the market,” he says.“The stalks of the sweet sorghumplants have sugar-rich juice in them.

to develop improved sorghum hybrid parents, varieties and hy-brids,” he says. The crop is especially of interest because it can be used for food, animal feed and ethanol. “Farmers can harvest the grain for their food and then sell the surplus in the market,” he says. “The stalks of the sweet sorghum plants have sugar-rich juice in them. They can be crushed and used by a distillery to pro-duce ethanol. The crushed stalk, after the juice is extracted [and the stripped leaves], can also be used as animal feed.” At a distillery not far from ICRISAT, sweet sorghum juice is being converted into ethanol at a rate of 10,000 gallons per day, Reddy says. “Ethanol can also be produced from grain sorghum,” he says, although ICRISAT encourages farmers to sell sorghum grain for ethanol only after all their food needs are met. With testing underway on several continents, sweet sorghum production is being observed in a variety of climactic conditions. With 750 acres of testing grounds on the coast of Peru, Cukier-man says his company is rapidly discovering methods that will lead to sweet sorghum’s production as an ethanol feedstock on a worldwide basis. One issue producer’s face is finding seed, but research into corn hybrids is being used to remedy that situation. “In their na-tive countries, seed is saved from sorghum plants by farmers to plant the next generation crop,” Cukierman says. Over time plant breeders discovered and applied hybrid vigor to corn that ren-dered a higher yield than either parent, and the concept eventually reached sorghum. “It involves producing and maintaining a male and a female line,” he says. Ethano Peru’s experimentation with hybrid seeds for sweet sorghum has shown promising results. “Hybrids of sweet sor-ghum for Peru are very fast growers,” Cukierman explained. Thecycle for one crop is 90 days to harvest. With that short of a grow-ing cycle, four crops per year could be produced. Although the cost involved in breeding, producing, storing and marketing hybrid seed makes the cost of production relative-ly high, that cost is not prohibitive because the performance of the seeds is so high and more gallons of ethanol are produced with sweet sorghum, Cukierman says. Dweikat points to Brazil and its research advances over the past 30 years using sugarcane to prove that energy independence can be obtained. “[Brazil] announced last year that they soon ex-pect to be oil free,” he says.


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SORGHUM

and perennial bioenergy crops. He says the country can pro-duce at that level “and continue to meet food, feed, and exportdemands.”

Is sweet sorghum a solution to the food-versus-fuelissue? Dweikat, Cukierman, Reddy, and Blumenthal believe itis because it’s not raised for human consumption. Sweetsorghum experiences a short vegetative period at a very highphotosynthesis rate, which is why it can produce more sugar

than any other crop. It has low water requirements, grows onmarginal land, experiences little disease or pest attacks, andproduces good cash flow at a low investment per acre. “[It hasa] high conversion to alcohol, and therefore to ethanol,”Cukierman says. EP

Timothy Charles Holmseth is an Ethanol Producer Magazine staffwriter. Reach him at [email protected] or (701) 738-4962.

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A Viable Biomass Alternative How does sweet sorghum fare in the viability arena? Dweikat says the plant meets or exceeds expectations. The criteria for determining the viability of biomass use for bio-fuels centers on the four general areas: energy balance, ma-teriality, sustainability and economics, he observes. “Does it yield more energy than is required to produce it?” he asks rhetorically, pointing out that sweet sorghum does. “Can it be produced at a large enough scale to be meaningful in terms of fuel supply?” he continues, stating that sweet sor-ghum certainly can. “The U.S. is capable of producing 1 billion dry tons of biomass annually—enough for 60 billion gallons of ethanol per year, [which is] 30 percent of to-day’s transportation fuel usage,” Dweikat explains, noting the numbers includeagricultural and forestry wastes, grains


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Sweet sorghum plants reaches 17 feet in Sep. 2007 at Lincoln, NE. The plants were rainfed and were grown in rotation with soybean.

A sweet sorghum harvester and crusher (designed and built by Mr. Harold Witulski, Beatrice, NE).. The plants were harvested and directed via belts to the crusher. The squeezed juice is then deposited into a mounted tank that contains yeast for fermentation.

sweet - cropwatch sorghum... · dweikat says.“on a one crop basis,sweet sorghum out-pro-duces...

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