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Developing a Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Value Chain

OAR@ICRISAT

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/6769/
CPE 172.
 
Title Developing a Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Value Chain
 
Creator Reddy, B V S
Ashok Kumar, A
Ravinder Reddy, Ch
Rao, P P
Patil , J.V
 
Subject Sorghum
 
Description Sweet sorghum is a fascinating crop by virtue of its rapid growth, high biomass
production potential, and adaptability to a range of conditions, high water use
efficiency and its multipurpose use. Although scientists have been working on
sweet sorghum for many years, the focus was mainly on its fodder value and
use. Recognition of its utility as biofuel feedstock is a recent development.
Considering the energy requirements, particularly of a rapidly growing economy
like India and its ethanol blending commitments, attention to sweet sorghum as
an alternative feedstock for bioethanol production is a perfect choice. Keeping
this in view, a sub-project on ‘Sweet sorghum ethanol value chain development’
was developed with the help of consortium partners that included the Directorate
of Sorghum Research (DSR), Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture
(CRIDA), Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), International Livestock
Research Institute (ILRI), Sri Venkateshwara Veterinary University (SVVU) and
Rusni Distilleries, which was eventually approved for funding by the National
Agricultural Innovation Project under the Indian Council for Agricultural Research
(NAIP (ICAR)).
Taking a cue from the on-going genetic and crop management research on
sweet sorghum, the sub-project was built on developing a sustainable sweet
sorghum ethanol value chain by exploring the various options to increase onfarm
productivity, enhance the harvest window, plug loopholes in the supply
chain, increase the juice extraction efficiency and its storage, mechanize sweet
sorghum production and processing, and efficiently utilize the by-products. These
major activities were shared among the partners based on their competencies,
and were implemented in letter and spirit to build a successful sweet sorghum
ethanol value chain.
The economic competitiveness of sweet sorghum vis-à-vis other feedstocks;
economics of sweet sorghum for ethanol production, and the biofuel policy of
India are also discussed in detail. The progress made in this endeavor, the
experiences gained and lessons learned are thoroughly documented and
presented in this book. A few critical issues include favorable policy intervention
in terms of stalk pricing (subsidizing raw material cost to the industry) and
ethanol pricing (subsidizing current ethanol production cost at an optimum level
until the initial teething problems are overcome) and institutional support to
help the industry to scale up the processing of sweet sorghum for bioethanol
production more rapidly.
xi
This is a joint work of all the partners in the consortium and we have cherished
working together. We thank the NAIP (ICAR) for funding this work and providing
us an opportunity to work together to provide a road map for promotion of
sweet sorghum towards ethanol production. We are confident that this report
gives a realistic depiction of state-of-the-art technologies, the progress made
in developing sweet sorghum, the opportunities and issues involved and the
way forward to make the sweet sorghum ethanol value chain successful and
sustainable.
 
Publisher International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
 
Date 2013
 
Type Monograph
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/6769/1/DevelopingASweetSorghum_2013.pdf
Reddy, B V S and Ashok Kumar, A and Ravinder Reddy, Ch and Rao, P P and Patil , J.V (2013) Developing a Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Value Chain. Documentation. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India.