FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

FinalReportJuly2009
StateIDNo.:PO28550700011360

Montross1,M.D.,T.W.Pfeiffer2,C.L.Crofcheck1,S.A.Shearer1,andC.R.Dillon3
1

BiosystemsandAgriculturalEngineeringUniversityofKentucky
2

PlantandSoilSciences,UniversityofKentucky

AgriculturalEconomics,UniversityofKentucky

Summary
Samplesofsweetsorghumwerecollectedduring2007and2008toevaluatetheirpotential
ethanolproduction.Juiceyieldandsugarconcentration,biomassyield,andstarchyieldwere
measuredfromplantmaturitytothekillingfrost.During2007,sampleswerecollectedfrom
SpindletopFarminLexingtonwhereasignificantdroughtoccurredthatreducedthejuiceyield
butsignificantlyincreasedthesugarconcentrationwithinthejuice.Asinglerolljuicerwasused
thatonlyextractedtwothirdsofthesolublesugar.Assumingamoreefficientsystemsimilarto
whatisemployedbythesugarcaneindustrywasused,between5,000and6,500l/ha(530and
700gal/ac)ofethanolcouldbeproducedusingthejuicealone.Themaximumpotentialethanol
yieldfromcornwouldbenohigherthan4,000l/ha(420gal/ac).In2008,sampleswere
collectedfromtheTownsendfarmnearMt.Sterling,KY.Thepotentialethanolyieldfromthe
juicevariedbetween4,000and6,500l/ha(420to700gal/ac).Thelargerfieldsizelikelyresulted
inlargervariabilitybetweensamplingdates.However,thejuiceyieldwasstillhigherthan
possiblefromcornstarchethanol.Ifstarchandcellulosicethanolareconsidered,sweet
sorghumwouldlikelyproducebetween50and100%moreethanolperacrethancorngrainand
stover.

Thereareafewdisadvantageswithsweetsorghum.Theprimarydisadvantageistheshortshelf
lifeofthejuice.Duetothehighsugarcontent,thejuicecannotbestored.However,the
additionofyeastundernonsterileconditionsallowedfor95%ofthesugartobeconvertedto
ethanol.Fermentingthejuiceintoethanolonfarmwouldappeartobefeasible;however
methodstoconcentratetheethanolintoamoreconcentratedformwouldberequiredto
reducestorageandtransportationcosts.Inaddition,thedevelopmentofequipmentforlarge
scaleharvestofsweetsorghumisrequired.Overallsweetsorghumwouldappeartobeavery
feasiblecropforethanolproductioninKentucky.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

Introduction
CurrentlythemajorityofUSethanolisproducedfromcornstarch.Alternativecropsand
systemsareavailablethatcouldincreasetheproductionoffeedstocksrequiredforthe
manufactureofliquidtransportationfuels.Ethanolfromstarchrequiresenzymesandheatto
convertthestarchtosugarsthatcanbefermented.Thisisrelativelyeasybutrequiresalarge
quantityofenergytodrythedistillersgraintobeusedasanimalfeed.Increasedethanol
productionfromstarchsourcesisprobablynotfeasibleforEasternKentucky.Sugarcaneisan
idealcropforethanolproductionsincethejuicefromthestalkishighinsugarthatitdirectly
fermentabletoethanol.TheclosestcropthatcanbegrowninKentuckyissweetsorghum
(Figure1)thathasbeentraditionallygrowninsmallquantitiesinCentralandEasternKentucky.
Sweetsorghumissimilartosugarcanesincethejuiceinthestalkishighinsugarandisreadily
fermentable.

Figure1.Sweetsorghumfield(UKAgriculturalCommunications).

Thesorghumfamily,sweetsorghumandgrainsorghum(milo),havenumerousadvantages
relativetocorn.Sorghumrequireslessnitrogen60to90lb/accomparedto120to150lb/acfor
corn.OnepoundofNrequires18,000Btuofenergytoproduce.Usingthemidpointnitrogen
applicationrate,sorghumandcornproductionrequires1.35and2.43millionBtu/acfor
nitrogenfertilizer.Ethanolhasanenergycontentofapproximately76,000Btupergallon.
Assuminganethanolyieldof400gal/acforcornandsweetsorghum,30.40millionBtu/acof
liquidtransportationfuelscouldbeproduced.
Inaddition,optimalcornyieldsrequirebetween20and31inchesofwatercomparedto
sorghumthatrequirebetween18and26inchesofwater.AlthoughmostofKentuckyaverages
over40inchesofrainfallperyear,oursoilsaretypicallyshallowandrequiremoreconsistent
rainfallthanthedeepsoilslocatedintheCornBelt.Thelowerwaterrequirementofsweet
sorghumisasignificantadvantagerelativetocorn.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

Thelowernitrogenandwaterrequirementsofsweetsorghumwouldsignificantlyimprovethe
energybalanceofethanolproductionrelativetocorn.WorkbyUSDAhasshowncornethanol
willproduce1.3to1.8BtuofenergyforeveryBtuoffossilenergy.However,sweetsorghumis
estimatedtoproduce12to16BtuofethanolforeachBtuoffossilenergy.
Managementpracticeshavebeenoptimizedfortheproductionofsorghumsyrup.Forexample,
deheadingsorghumearlyintheseasoneliminatesgrainproductionthatcannegativelyaffect
syrupquality.However,thegraincouldbeadvantageousifthegoalisethanolproductionoras
livestockfeed.Sweetsorghumgrainhassimilarstarchcontentasgrainsorghumandethanol
yieldswouldbesimilar.Inaddition,thesweetsorghumstalksafterjuicingcouldbeavaluable
animalfeedorfeedstockforcellulosicethanolconversion.
Objectives
Theprojectobjectiveswere:
1. Measurethesugarcontent,juiceyield,andfermentationefficiencyfromsweet
sorghumvarietiesinKentucky;
2. Investigatetheinfluenceofharvestdate(frombloomtothekillingfrost)onthe
potentialofproducingsugarfromsweetsorghumforethanolproductionrelativeto
corn;and
3. Characterizethebagasseresidueafterjuicingforalternativevalueaddeduses:
feedingvaluetocattle,heatingvalueforpower,andasafeedstockforcellulosic
conversiontoethanol.
Fall2007
SampleswerecollectedfromUKsSpindletopfarminayearcharacterizedbyaseveredrought.
Threevarietiesweretracked(Dale,SugarDrip,andSimon)attwoplantingdates(May10and
May28).Sampleswerecollectedeighttimes(betweenSeptember25andNovember15).The
plantswerecounted,grainheadremoved,juicedwithasinglerolljuicer(Figure2),volumeof
juice,andsugarcontentmeasured.Afterjuicingthebagassewassplitwithaportionovendried
andasubsampleensiledinsmallPVCcylindersforsixmonths(Figure3).Bagassecomposition
wasquantifiedusingassaysemployedwithotherbiomasscrops.Theonlymodificationwasthe
bagassewassoakedinhotwater(45Cfor20minutes)todeterminethesolublesugarcontent.
Figure4showsthechangeinsugarcontentofthejuicewiththethreevarietiesandthetwo
plantingdates.Thesugarcontentofthejuicewassimilarthroughouttheharvestseasonuntil
thekillingfrostthatoccurredonNovember7.Thesugarcontentofthejuicewassignificantly
loweronNovember7duetothefrostandwasnotdetectableonNovember20.Onlydatafrom
theearlyplantingsarereported.Thelateplantingshadafinalethanolyieldwithin5%ofthe
earlyplantings.Simonisnotreportedduetoitsverylowethanolproduction(approximately
twothirdslowerthanDalethroughouttheyear).

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky


Figure2.Singlerolljuicerusedforexperiments.

Figure3.MiniPVCsilosforensiledstorage.

Thetotalglucosecontentofthebagassesamplesvariedbetween0.56and0.59gglucose/gdry
matter.Between0.24and0.30gglucose/gdrymatterweresolublesugarsthatremainedinthe
bagasseduetoinefficientjuiceextraction.Afterensilingthetotalglucosecontentdecreasedto
alevelbetween0.44and0.49gglucose/gdrymatter,ofthisbetween0.12and0.17gglucose/g
drymatterwerestillintheformofsolublesugars.Thesolublesugarinthebagasseisdirectly
relatedtothejuiceextractionefficiency.Sugarcaneprocessorswillfrequentlyusethreeroll
pressesandhotwatertomaximizesugarextraction.Thestalksinthisstudywerejuicedwitha
singlerollpressthatcouldbeoptimizedforincreasedsugarrecoveryinfuturedesigns.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

400

JuiceSugarContent(g/l)

350

300
Dale
SugarDrip
Simon
Dalelate

250

SugarDriplate

200

150
9/15/2007

9/25/2007

10/5/2007

10/15/2007

10/25/2007

11/4/2007

11/14/2007

CollectionDate

11/24/2007

Figure4.Sugarcontent(glucose,fructose,andsucrose)ofthejuicefromearlyplantingsofDale,Sugar
Drip,andSimonandlateplantingsofDaleandSugarDripduring2007.

Figure5summarizesthepotentialethanolproductionfromeachfractionofsweetsorghum
(cellulosefromthebagasse,starchfromthegrain,juice,andtheresidualsugarinthebagasse
thatcouldbeextractedwithimprovedjuicingtechniques).Twoofthesamplingdateswere
neglectedduetomissingdata.Cornwithagrainyieldof8.0t/ha(150bu/ac)andastoveryield
of8.0t/haisincludedforcomparison.Thehighestaverageannualcornyieldrecordedin
Kentuckywas152bu/acin2004.ItshouldbenotedthatattheSpindletopfarmin2007,the
averagecornyieldwaslessthan125bu/acduetothedroughtsothehypotheticalcornethanol
yieldsarehighestimates.
Figure6andFigure7showthetotalquantityofmaterialthatcouldbeproducedusingsweet
sorghum.PreviousresearchatUKshowedasimilartrendthatDalewasahigherproducing
varietycomparedtoSimonorSugarDrip.ThetotaltonnageofmaterialproducedusingDale
wasover45wett/ha(20wetton/ac)throughoutthesamplingperiod.Between35and45%of
thetotalweightwasreadilyextractablejuice.Itshouldbenotedthattheweightsareasisanda
largeportionoftheweightwaswater.
Thetotalpotentialethanolyield(juice,cellulosic,andstarchprocessedintoethanol)amaximum
yieldofover8,000l/ha(850gal/ac)whenusingDaleshouldbepossible(Figure8).Comparedto
thetotalpotentialethanolyieldfromcorn(starchandcellulosic),sweetsorghumwouldappear
toproduceatleast33%moreethanolthancorn.Further,alargeportionoftheethanol
producedusingsweetsorghumwouldbefromjuicethathasahighconcentrationof
fermentablesugars.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

12,000

Residualsugar
Juice

1200

Starch
10,000

Cellulose
1000

8,000
800

6,000
600

4,000

PotentialEthanolYield(gal/ac)

PotentialEthanolYield(l/ha)

Series5

400

2,000

200

10/2/2007

10/10/2007

10/16/2007

10/25/2007

10/30/2007

11/15/2007

Hypotheticalcorn

Figure5.Potentialethanolyieldfromjuice,grain,andensiledbagasseofearlyplantedDaleduring
2007.Hypotheticalcornisestimatedusingagrainyieldof8t/ha(150bu/ac)andastoveryieldof8
t/hawithanethanolyieldof334l/t(80gal/ton).
80

35

Dale
SugarDrip
70

Simon
30

DaleLate
SugarDripLate
60

Series6

50
20
40

15
30

TotalBiomass Yield(wetton/ac)

TotalBiomassYield(wett/ha)

25

10
20

10

10/2/2007

10/10/2007

10/16/2007

10/25/2007

10/30/2007

11/15/2007

Figure6.TotalbiomassyieldfromDale,SugarDrip,SimonandlaterplantingsofDaleandSugardripin
2007.Notethetonnageincludesthemassofmoistureinthecrop.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

40
Dale
SugarDrip
16

Simon

35

DaleLate
SugarDripLate
14

Series6

30

10
20
8

JuiceTonnage (ton/ac)

JuiceTonnage(t/ha)

12
25

15
6

10
4

0
10/2/2007

10/10/2007

10/16/2007

10/25/2007

10/30/2007

11/15/2007

Figure7.JuiceyieldfromDale,SugarDrip,SimonandlaterplantingsofDaleandSugardripin2007.
12,000
1200

10,000
1000

800

6,000
600

4,000

PotentialEthanolYield(gal/ac)

PotentialEthanolYield(l/ha)

8,000

400

Dale
SugarDrip
Simon
2,000

Dalelate

200

SugarDriplate
Hypotheticalcorn
Series7
0

9/25/2007

10/5/2007

10/15/2007

10/25/2007

11/4/2007

CollectionDate

11/14/2007

11/24/2007

Figure8.Totalpotentialethanolyieldjuice,grain,andensiledbagasseofsweetsorghumduring2007.
Hypotheticalcornisestimatedusingagrainyieldof8t/ha(150bu/ac)andastoveryieldof8t/hawith
anethanolyieldof334l/t(80gal/ton).

Fall2008Data
Similarsamplingprocedureswerefollowedduring2008.Eightplantswererandomlyselectedin
thefieldandtheplantpopulationdetermined.AllsampleswerecollectedfromafarmnearMt.
FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

Sterling,KY(TownsendFarm).Duetothelargerfieldsize,therewasadditionalvariability
betweensamplingdates.However,thefieldsizewastypicalofwhatwouldbeencountered
duringonfarmproductionofsweetsorghuminCentralandEasternKentucky.Theplant
populationwasalsomorevariedacrossthelargerfieldsthatledtogreatervariabilityinthe
estimatedethanolyield.
Figure9summarizesthesugarcontentintwofieldsofDale(northandsouth)andonefieldof
Keller.Allofthefieldswereseededwithinaoneweektimeframewithasimilarfertilityand
managementprogramapplied.Onenotableobservationistheconsiderablylowersugar
contentsofthejuiceduring2008relativeto2007.Thiswasprimarilyduetothesignificant
droughtthatoccurredin2007thatincreasedthesugarcontentofthejuice.Theresultsin2008
wouldbeconsideredmoretypical.
Figure10,Figure11,andFigure12showthepotentialethanolproductionfromthetwofieldsof
DaleandonefieldofKellerrelativetocorn.Oneinterestingobservationisthehighercellulose
contentofthesweetsorghumbagasserelativetocornstover.Someofthehighercellulose
contentscouldbeduetoresidualsugars,althoughallsampleswerewashedwithhotwaterand
thesugarcontentanalyzed.Sweetsorghumproducesasmallamountofgrainandthepotential
ethanolyieldfromstarchwereconsiderablylowerthancorn.However,thepotentialethanol
productionfromthejuiceandresidualsolublesugarswerehigherthanthepotentialethanol
productionfromcornstarch.
400

350
DaleNorth
DaleSouth

JuiceSugarContent(g/l)

Keller
300

250

200

150
8/20/2008

8/30/2008

9/9/2008

9/19/2008

9/29/2008

10/9/2008

CollectionDate

10/19/2008

10/29/2008

Figure9.Sugarcontent(glucose,fructose,andsucrose)measuredinthejuiceduring2008.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky


Figure10.Potentialethanolyieldfromjuice,grain,andensiledbagasseofDaleinsouthernfieldduring
2008.Hypotheticalcornisestimatedusingagrainyieldof8t/ha(150bu/ac)andastoveryieldof8
t/hawithanethanolyieldof334l/t(80gal/ton).

12,000
1200
Residualsugars
10,000

Juice
Starch

1000

Cellulose

PotentialEthanolYield(gal/ac)

PotentialEthanolYield(l/ha)

Series5
8,000
800

6,000

600

4,000

400

2,000

200

8/27/2008

9/3/2008

9/15/2008

9/24/2008

10/3/2008

10/13/2008

10/22/2008

Hypothetical
corn

Figure11.Potentialethanolyieldfromjuice,grain,andensiledbagasseofDaleinnorthernfieldduring
2008.Hypotheticalcornisestimatedusingagrainyieldof8t/ha(150bu/ac)andastoveryieldof8
t/hawithanethanolyieldof334l/t(80gal/ton).

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

12,000
1200
Residualsugars
Juice
10,000

Starch
1000

Cellulose

8,000

PotentialEthanolYield(gal/ac)

PotentialEthanolYield(l/ha)

Series5

800

6,000

600

4,000

400

2,000

200

8/27/2008

9/3/2008

9/15/2008

9/24/2008

10/3/2008

10/13/2008

10/22/2008

Hypothetical
corn

Figure12.Potentialethanolyieldfromjuice,grain,andensiledbagasseofKellerduring2008.
Hypotheticalcornisestimatedusingagrainyieldof8t/ha(150bu/ac)andastoveryieldof8t/hawith
anethanolyieldof334l/t(80gal/ton).

Figure13andFigure14summarizethetotalquantityofmaterialthatcouldbeharvestedfrom
sweetsorghum.Theweatherwasnearnormalduring2008andDaleandKellerproduceda
tremendousquantityofmaterial(over40wett/haor14wetton/ac).Themajorityofthemass
wasduetowaterandsolublesugars.Thetotaljuiceyieldwasfrequentlyover22wett/ha(10
wetton/ac)throughouttheharvestseason.
80

35

DaleNorth
DaleSouth
Keller

70

Series4

30

60

50
20
40

15
30

TotalBiomass Yield(wetton/ac)

TotalBiomassYield(wett/ha)

25

10
20

10

0
8/27/2008

9/3/2008

9/15/2008

9/24/2008

10/3/2008

10/13/2008

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

10/22/2008

10

Figure13.TotalbiomassyieldfromDale,SugarDrip,SimonandlaterplantingsofDaleandSugarDripin
2007.Notethetonnageincludesthemassofmoistureinthecrop.
40
DaleNorth
DaleSouth
Keller

35

Series4

15

25
10
20

15

TotalBiomass Yield(wetton/ac)

TotalBiomassYield(wett/ha)

30

5
10

0
8/27/2008

9/3/2008

9/15/2008

9/24/2008

10/3/2008

10/13/2008

10/22/2008

Figure14.JuiceyieldfromDale,SugarDrip,SimonandlaterplantingsofDaleandSugardripin2007.

PotentialImplementation
Numerousjuicesamplesduring2007and2008werefermentedtoevaluateanypotential
hurdles.Priortofermentationthejuicewasfilteredandcentrifugedtoremovesolids.Yeast
fromacommercialethanolplantwasusedtoperformthefermentationundernonsterile
conditionswithnotemperaturecontrol.Completefermentationtooksevendaysduetothe
lackoftemperaturecontrol,butnearly95%ofthesugarwasconvertedtoethanol.Fermenting
thejuiceonfarmwouldappeartobeafeasiblestoragemethodforthejuice.Duetothehigh
sugarcontentofthejuice,storageoftherawjuicewouldlikelybeunfeasible.
Theemphasisofthisprojectistodeveloprenewableenergyindustriesusingnontraditional
agriculturalareas.SoildatafromUSDAwasusedtoestimatethepotentialacreageavailablein
Floyd,Johnson,Magoffin,Menifee,Morgan,Powell,Rowan,andWolfeCounties.Thetotal
acreageintheeightcountiesis1,438,857acres.Estimatedlandproductivitydatafromthe
USDAsoildatabase(cornyield)wasavailablefor196,272acresandthiswasconsideredtheonly
landcapableofsupportingsweetsorghum.AccordingtotheUSDAsoildatabase,therelative
cornyieldinthefieldusedonSpindletopFarmwas122bu/ac.Theethanolyieldfromsweet
sorghumjuiceonthesamefieldwasaminimumof400gallonsperacreandthisisconsidereda
conservativeestimate.Theestimatedcornyieldintheeightcountieswasmultipliedby400
gal/acanddividedbythe122bu/acforthesoilatSpindletop.Forexample,Alleghenyloamsoils
withaslopebetween6and15percentinMorganandMagofiincountieshaveabasecornyield
of93.5bu/ac.Potentialethanolproductionfromthatsoilwouldbe307gal/ac(400*93.5/122).
Theestimatedcornyield,landavailableandestimatedethanolproductionissummarizedin
Table1.Obviouslyallofthelandwouldnotbeusedforsweetsorghumproduction.However,if
20%ofthelandwasused10milliongallonsperyearofethanolcouldbeproduced.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

11

Toputthesenumbersinperspective,Kentuckysresidentsconsumed53,898,000barrelsof
gasolineduring2004,or538gallonsperperson.Kentuckyhadapopulationof4,206,024and
theeightcounties(Floyd,Johnson,Magoffin,Menifee,Morgan,Powell,Rowan,andWolfe
Counties)hadapopulationof144,167during2006,or3.4%ofthetotalpopulation.Assuming
fuelconsumptionisevenlydistributedthroughouttheCommonwealth,a10milliongallonsweet
sorghumtoethanolplantwouldprovide10%oftheliquidfuelneedsfortheregion(adjustedfor
thelowerenergycontentofethanol).
Table1.Estimatedcornyield,acresavailable,andestimatedethanolyieldfromsweetsorghumjuice
forFloyd,Johnson,Magoffin,Menifee,Morgan,Powell,Rowan,andWolfeCounties.

CornYield(bu)

LandAvailable(acres)

EstimatedEthanolYield(gal)

>110.1

2,884

1,068,531

100.1to110

11,052

3,667,655

90.1to100

48,212

14,803,699

80.1to90

50,676

14,019,388

70.1to80

25,416

6,132,721

60.1to70

30,698

6,685,607

50.1to60

27,334

5,184,875

Total

196,272

51,562,477

ProcessingOptions
Thereareanumberofpotentialprocessingoptionsforsweetsorghum(Figure15).Thestalks
canbejuicedinthefieldandonlyjuicetransportedtothefarm.Analternativeoptionwouldbe
tochopthesweetsorghumintobillets(similartosugarcane)andtransportthewholeplantto
thefarm.Atthefarm,thegraincouldbeseparatedandthestalksjuiced.Thejuicedstalks
(bagasse)couldbeensiledwiththegrainforanimalfeedorusedforheattoconcentratethe
juice.Ifcellulosicethanolbecomesfeasible,thebagassecouldalsobeusedasafeedstockata
lignocelluloseethanolplant.Graincouldbeseparatedfromthesolidmaterialandsoldfor
ethanolproductionoranimalfeed.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

12

Energy
In-Field Juicing

Fermentation

Whole Plant
Harvesting

Concentration

On-Farm Juicing

>80% Ethanol
Concentration

Storage

Stalks for Energy

Transport to
Refiner

Solid Residue
Cellulose to
Ethanol

Separated Grain
Ensiled for
Animal Feed

Figure15.Processingoptionstoconvertsweetsorghumjuicetoethanol.

Themainchallengeistoremovethemajorityofthewatertodecreasetheamountofstorage
requiredandminimizetransportationcosts.Thiscouldbedoneusingadistillationor
membranesystem.Energyforthedistillationsystemcouldbeprovidedbycombustionofwood
products,juicedstalksorfossilsources.Fermentingthejuicetoethanolorstoringanethanol
solutiondoesnotposemajorchallenges.
Producingfuelgradeethanolonindividualfarmswouldrequiresomeworktoinsuretheproper
taxes,permits,andsafetyconsiderationswereproperlyhandled.Althoughobtainingalicense
fromtheBureauofAlcohol,Tobacco,andFirearmstoproducealcoholisrelativelyeasy(Form
5110.74).Therearestillanumberofhurdles.Themostfeasiblealternativewouldprobably
involvefarmersproducinganethanolsolutionwithaconcentrationbetween70to90%thatis
transportedtoacentralizedfacility.Centralizedfacilitieswouldberesponsibleforproducing
anhydrousethanol,denaturingtheethanol,andmarketingissues.
ExampleFarmOperation
Assumingafarmwasproducing200ac/yr,withaharvestwindowof80days,andafield
efficiencyof80%,3.1ac/dayofsweetsorghumcouldbeharvested.Ifthejuiceyieldwas4,000
gal/ac,12,500galofjuiceperdaywouldbehandled,ortheequivalentof1,343bu/day.Ajuice
yieldof4,000gal/acwouldrequire95%ofthejuicetobeextractedusingthepress.Thisis
roughlythesugarrecoveryfoundwithsugarcane.assumeAfterfermentationtheethanol
concentrationisapproximately10%,afterconcentratingto80%thetotalquantitystoredwould
be100,000gallons(approximatelythesizeofasmallgrainbin10,700bu).Alowcostmethod
ofstoringandfermentingthejuicecouldbeausedshippingcontainerwitharubberbladderfor
storingliquids.Thesebladdersarefrequentlyusedinshippingcontainerstostoredrinking
waterordieselfuelforthemilitary.Ausedshippingcontainerwiththebladderwouldcost
approximately$0.30pergallon.Numerousoptionswouldbeavailablefordevelopinglowcost
systemsinruralareas.
FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

13

Currentethanolpricesare$2.30/gal,producing10milliongallonsperyearcouldresultinthe
residentsoftheeightcountiesretaining23milliondollarsayearintheirlocalcommunities.

FeasibilityofEthanolProductionfromSweetSorghuminKentucky

14