Energy Cane: A Sound Alternative of a Bioenergy Crop for Tropics and Subtropics

Biofuels are gaining increased scientific as well as public attention to fulfill future energy demands and can be the only potential candidates to safeguard and strengthen energy security by reducing the world’s reliance on exhausting fossil energy sources. Sugarcane is an important C4 crop with great potential to contribute to global biofuel production as sugarcane juice can be easily fermented to produce ethanol. The success of bioethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil has widened the scope of the technology and has led to increased demand of purpose-grown sugarcane for biofuel production. Scientific interventions have not only helped to improve the cane crop but industrial procedures have also been upgraded resulting in improved production of bioethanol. Likewise, advancements in omics have led to high hopes for the development of energy cane. This chapter highlights the advancements as well as potential and challenges in the production of sugarcane biofuel, focusing on genetic and genomic interventions improving the crop as energy-cane. Further, controversies in the production and usage of biofuel derived from sugarcane have also been discussed.

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Prebiotics from energy cane bagasse

Sugar Industry ◽

10.36961/si24679 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 488-494

Author(s):

Giovanna M. Aita ◽

Young Hwan Moon

Keyword(s):

Biological Effects ◽

Caloric Content ◽

Gut Health ◽

Activated Carbon Adsorption ◽

Bifidobacterium Adolescentis ◽

Great Opportunity ◽

Energy Cane ◽

Carbon Adsorption ◽

Combined Use ◽

Crude Sample

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) is a group of emerging prebiotics that selectively stimulate the growth of advantageous gastrointestinal bacteria benefitting the host’s gut health and functionality. XOS can achieve positive biological effects at low daily doses and low caloric content, properties that are the same or more desirable than the already established prebiotics. XOS are present in plants in very low amounts so there is a great opportunity to isolate XOS with varying degrees of polymerization from the hemicellulose (xylan) fraction of lignocellulosic materials (e.g., bagasse), a source that offers both economic and environmental advantages. In this study, the recovery of XOS by the combined use of activated carbon adsorption, water washing and ethanol desorption from diluted acid pretreated energy cane bagasse hydrolysates was evaluated. The recovered XOS was tested for its prebiotic activity on Bifidobacterium adolescentis ATCC 15703. The final product of extracted XOS from energy cane bagasse (XOS EC Bagasse crude sample) had a purity of 93%, which was comparable to the purities observed with two commercially available XOS prebiotics, CPA (89%) and CPB (93%). XOS EC Bagasse crude sample exhibited prebiotic properties by stimulating the growth of B. adolescentis ATCC 15703 and by producing lactic acid, which were comparable to those observed with the commercial prebiotics.

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Farmer characteristics and decision-making: A model for bioenergy crop adoption

Energy ◽

10.1016/j.energy.2021.121235 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 121235

Author(s):

Pralhad H. Burli ◽

Ruby T. Nguyen ◽

Damon S. Hartley ◽

L. Michael Griffel ◽

Veronika Vazhnik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Bioenergy Crop

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Evaluating the Potential of Culms from Sugarcane and Energy Cane Varieties Grown in Argentina for Second-Generation Ethanol Production

Waste and Biomass Valorization ◽

10.1007/s12649-021-01528-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Aissata Ousmane Kane ◽

Vanessa O. Arnoldi Pellergini ◽

Melissa C. Espirito Santo ◽

Balla Diop Ngom ◽

José M. García ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ethanol Production ◽

Second Generation ◽

Energy Cane ◽

Second Generation Ethanol

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Perception of lipo-chitooligosaccharides by the bioenergy crop Populus

Plant Signaling & Behavior ◽

10.1080/15592324.2021.1903758 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1903758

Author(s):

Kevin R. Cope ◽

Thomas B. Irving ◽

Sanhita Chakraborty ◽

Jean-Michel Ané

Keyword(s):

Bioenergy Crop

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Enhancing Biomass Utilization for Bioenergy — Crop Rotation Systems and Alternative Conversion Processes

Biofuels - Status and Perspective ◽

10.5772/59883 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Ronald Hatfield

Keyword(s):

Crop Rotation ◽

Bioenergy Crop ◽

Biomass Utilization

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Selection in energy cane families

Cropp Breeding and Applied Biotechnology ◽

10.1590/1984-70332016v16n4a45 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 298-306 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Luís Cláudio Inácio da Silveira ◽

Bruno Portela Brasileiro ◽

Volmir Kist ◽

Heroldo Weber ◽

Edelclaiton Daros ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Cane

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Effects of Energy Cane (Saccharum spp.) Juice on Corn Ethanol (Zea mays) Fermentation Efficiency: Integration towards a More Sustainable Production

Fermentation ◽

10.3390/fermentation7010030 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 30

Author(s):

Pietro Sica ◽

Laysa Maciel Lewandowski Meira Prado ◽

Pedro Granja ◽

Elias Miguel de Carvalho ◽

Eduardo de Castro Mattos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Zea Mays ◽

Production Process ◽

Ethanol Production ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Sugar Content ◽

Corn Ethanol ◽

Saccharum Spp ◽

Energy Cane ◽

Fermentation Efficiency ◽

Cane Juice

Despite being considered renewable, corn (Zea mays) ethanol still generates much debate over the use of fossil fuels in its production and is considered less sustainable than sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) ethanol. In Brazil, corn ethanol is starting to be produced in the Center-West and is expected to increase with the RenovaBio, a promising policy for biofuels adoption. In this context, energy cane (Saccharum spp.) is a biomass crop with high yields that can provide bagasse to supply the energy demand of the corn ethanol industry and provide juice with about 10% sugar content. However, the effects of introducing its juice in the production process are unknown. For these reasons, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of adding energy cane juice in corn ethanol production. Energy cane juice brings several advantages: (i) It provides sugars that can reduce by almost 50% the amount of corn and enzymes used, (ii) reduces the amount of water needed for ethanol production, and (iii) increases significantly the fermentation efficiency from 86.4% to 90.8% by providing minerals that support yeast growth. Therefore, energy cane can be integrated into the corn ethanol production process, making the fermentation more efficient and the production systems more sustainable.

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