The increasing worldwide concern regarding environmental issues, in particular after the consistent reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – IPCC, has significantly stimulated the production of biofuels. Among these biofuels, the ethanol produced from sugar cane is considered to be of particular importance. Currently, Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugar c...

Results of a collaborative study are reported for the detection of added beet or cane sugar in maple syrup by the site-specific natural isotope fractionation-nuclear magnetic resonance (SNIF-NMR) method. The method is based on the fact that the deuterium content at specific positions of the sugar molecules is different in maple syrup from that in beet or cane sugar. The syrup is diluted with pu...

We evaluated genetic variations in the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) and the cell-wall components of stem in rice, sorghum, and sugar cane to assess the potential suitability of these gramineous crops for bioethanol production. For NSC, the maximum soluble sugar concentration was highest in sugar cane, followed by sorghum with sucrose. The major NSC in rice was starch, but there were wide v...

Alcohol production at the laboratory scale from sugar cane pieces by the EX-FERM technique was studied with 37 strains of Saccharomyces spp. The EX-FERM process is novel in that it employs the simultaneous extraction and fermentation of the sucrose in a cane-water suspension. Two types of cane treatments were used: chips and shredded pith, either fresh or dried. A mother culture of the yeast wa...

The sugar cane industry produces significant amounts of cane trash and bagasse. Inappropriate disposal of agro-wastes can lead to environmental problems. Converting wastes such as cane trash and bagasse (Bg) to a fertilizer and conditioner is the aim of sustainable waste management in sugar cane industry. Cow dung (CD), kitchen waste (KW), and sewage sludge (SS) were mixed with bagasse as amend...

Bioethanol has been introduced in large scale in Brazil, the US and some European countries and is projected to be one of the dominating renewable biofuels in the transportation sector within the coming 20 years. At present bioethanol is produced almost solely from either sugar – or starch-based raw materials (e.g, cane sugar, corn, wheat etc) often called first generation (1G) bioethanol. Howe...

Sugarcane bagasse contains cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose, 39-42%, 20-25% and 25-27% respectively. So it is can be used as a sugar source in many processes. Lignin and hemicellulose must be removed before hydrolysis of cellulose. Several different pretreatment approaches have been studied. The purpose of this research is comparison of acid, ozone and combination of ozone-acid as pretreatme...

An increasing demand for food together with a growing demand for energy crops result in an increasing demand for and competition over water. Sugar cane, sugar beet and maize are not only essential food crops, but also important feedstock for bio-ethanol. Crop growth requires water, a scarce resource. This study aims to assess the green, blue and grey water footprint (WF) of sweeteners and bio-e...

BACKGROUND This study aims to chemically characterize thin stillage derived from lignocellulosic biomass distillation residues in terms of organic strength, nutrient, and mineral content. The feasibility of performing anaerobic digestion on these stillages at mesophilic (40 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) temperatures to produce methane was demonstrated. The microbial communities involved were fur...