ARS | Publication request: Evaluation of Waxy Grain Sorghum for Ethanol Production

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 13, 2009
Publication Date: September 13, 2009
Citation: Yan, S., Wu, X., Bean, S., Tesso, T., Chen, Y.R., Wang, D. 2009. Evaluation of Waxy Grain Sorghum for Ethanol Production [abstract]. Cereal Foods World. 54:A31.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this research was to investigate the fermentation performance of waxy grain sorghum for ethanol production. Waxy grain sorghum varieties were evaluated using a laboratory dry grind procedure. Total starch and amylose contents were measured using Megazyme assay procedures. The range of total starch and amylose contents were 65.4-76.3% and 5.5-7.3%, respectively. Fermentation efficiencies were 89-95%, corresponding to ethanol yields from 2.61-3.03 gallon/bushel. The major advantages of using waxy sorghums for ethanol production are low energy input for cooking process, high starch and protein digestibility, high free amino nitrogen content, and short fermentation time. The results showed there was strong linear relationship between free amino nitrogen and fermentation rate. Fermentation rate increased as free amino nitrogen content increased, especially during the first 30 hours of fermentation (R2 = 0.91). Total starch content in distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) was less than 1% for all the waxy varieties.