Sorghum Produces More Ethanol, Say Research Findings

According to a recent research at the Iowa State University, sorghum grass grown in a single cropping system produces more ethanol than the one that is grown in double cropping system. Deriving ethanol from sorghum grass has created lot of interest among the alternative energy fuel producers and more research is taking place to improve the production.

Recent findings by Ben Goff, a researcher from the Iowa State University, indicate that sorghum grown as a single crop produces more ethanol. The university studied 12 different varieties of sorghum grass grown both in single and double cropping methods. The research also wanted to probe into the long-term ecological benefits such as reduced soil erosion in following the double cropping method. The research was aimed at finding  ethanol production efficiency of the sorghum grass produced under double cropping system to improve  biofuel production yield. The report indicates that ethanol production from corn or other starch-based varieties will meet only 15 to 25% of the clean energy requirements and the report indicates that the ethanol produced from cellulose-based materials remain more effective than the starch-based biofuels.

According to the findings, though certain types of sorghum developed in double cropping method produced the same amount of ethanol like that of a single cropped yield, only sorghum product that is developed in single crop yield constantly produced higher levels of ethanol. The research suggests further trials in double-cropping system by incorporating methods such as in the growing of crops during various seasons and planting the crop very close to its optimal date to improve the quality of biomass during the major portion of its growing season and others.