Received: 20 July 2020 | Revised: 8 September 2020 | Accepted: 16 September 2020

DOI: 10.1111/grs.12311

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Chemical composition and calorific value of elephant grass

varieties and other feedstocks intended for direct combustion

Anderson Carlos Marafon1 | André Felipe Câmara Amaral1 |

Juarez Campolina Machado2 | Jailton da Costa Carneiro2 |
Adriana Neutzling Bierhals3 | Victor dos Santos Guimarães3

1
Unit of Research and Development,
Embrapa Coastal Tablelands, Rio Largo, Abstract
Brazil Perennial grasses display several positive attributes as suitable energy crops for use
2
Embrapa Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
as a solid fuel for direct combustion, such as high annual production of dry matter
3
Agricultural Sciences Center, Federal
University of Alagoas, Rio Largo, Brazil
per unit area, perennity and high harvest flexibility. This study aimed to character-
ize the chemical composition and calorific value of 18 elephant grass (EG) varieties
Correspondence
Anderson Carlos Marafon, Unit of Research
(Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) and 10 other potential bioenergy feedstocks in-
and Development, Embrapa Coastal tended for direct combustion. Samples were obtained from 6-­month-­old EG and
Tablelands, Highway BR 104, Km 85, Rio
Largo, AL 57100-­0 00, Brazil.
sorghum and 3-­year-­old eucalyptus, Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia, and bamboo plants.
Email: anderson.marafon@embrapa.br Sugarcane bagasse and straw, rice husk, corn stover, coconut husk, and fiber samples

Funding information
were also evaluated. The elemental composition, lower heating value (LHV), and cel-
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa lulose (CEL), hemicellulose (HCEL), lignin (LIG) and ash contents (% dry matter) were
Agropecuária, Grant/Award Number:
20.18.01.016.00.00
analyzed. The results indicated that the EG genotypes showed significant differences
when compared with other evaluated biomasses, but showed no differences among
themselves. The EG varieties showed a mean LHV (16.7 MJ/kg) superior to that of
rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, and sorghum and similar to that of sugarcane straw,
coconut fiber, and corn stover. The EG varieties showed a mean ash content (4.74%)
inferior to that of rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, coconut fiber, and sorghum; a mean
CEL content (36.0%) similar to that of sugarcane straw, coconut fiber, corn stover,
sorghum, and Mimosa caesalpinifolia; HCEL; a mean HCEL content (30.3%) superior
to that of rice husk, bamboo, eucalyptus, M. caesalpinifolia, coconut husk, and fiber;
and a mean LIG content (8.80%) superior to that of corn stover and similar to that
of sorghum, sugarcane bagasse, and straw biomass. The significant capacity of EG
to accumulate dry matter was associated with the biomass quality attributes (LHV
and CEL, HCEL, LIG, and ash contents), thereby making it an excellent alternative to
lignocellulosic feedstock for direct combustion.

KEYWORDS

bioenergy, biomass attributes, Pennisetum purpureum Schum., thermal energy

Grassland Science. 2021;00:1–9. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/grs

© 2021 Japanese Society of Grassland Science | 1
2 |
1 | I NTRO D U C TI O N
Energy production from plant biomass is an important strategy for re-
ducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially for countries that
have favorable conditions to grow cellulosic biomass, such as high solar
radiation, diversity of climatic zones and biodiversity, large available
areas for agriculture and satisfactory rainfall distribution to achieve
significant production, such as Brazil (Goldemberg, 2009). Renewable
energy production is one of the greatest challenges for reducing de-
pendence on fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, which are finite sources,
and contributing to the mitigation of GHG emissions on the planet.
Currently, there is a renewed interest in power generation based on
energy crops mainly because of the high costs of fossil fuels and the
need to mitigate climate change through carbon dioxide (CO2) capture.
Energy crops are more environmentally sustainable alternatives to the
intensive use of fossil fuels because biomass can be used in biofuel,
electric and/or thermal energy segments (Fontoura et al., 2015).
Biomass presents a long-­term opportunity for green energy
production. It is considered a clean and renewable energy source
because during the combustion process, it releases an equivalent
amount of CO2 to the atmosphere that is consumed during its growth.
Among the renewable energy resources, biomass has the advantage
of being stored and utilized on-­demand, which is contrary to dis-
continuous solar and wind energy resources (Vávrová et al., 2017).
The use of biomass as feedstock for energy purposes can be realized
according to four basic platforms, namely (a) direct combustion for
thermal energy production (steam) and electricity co-­generation; (b)
chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain fermentable sugars and
produce liquid fuels; (c) gasification for the synthesis of gas (carbon
monoxide and H) or biogas generation (methane [CH4]); and (d) py-
rolysis to obtain bio-­oil or charcoal (Demirbas, 2004).
Direct combustion is the main technology applied for heat and
mechanical energy production from biomass (Samson et al., 2005).
The energy contained in a fuel is directly proportional to its calorific
power; thus, it is important to know this property for the evaluation
of biomass as an energy input. Biomass used as a source of thermal
energy in combustion processes should have high lignin (LIG) and
cellulose (CEL) concentrations (Gani & Naruse, 2007), a high calorific
value, high carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio, and low levels of moisture,
ash, and N (McKendry, 2002). The process of thermal utilization of
solid biofuels is influenced by the kind of solid biofuel used, its phys-
ical characteristics (e.g., particle size, bulk density, moisture content)
and its chemical composition (Obernberger et al., 2006).
Conventionally, most solid biomass heating fuels originate from
agroindustrial waste, forests and forest product industries (wood-
chips). However, there are other potential feedstocks for bioenergy
production, including agricultural wastes, wood, short-­rotation woody
crops, short-­rotation herbaceous species, wood wastes and industrial
residues, among others. Herbaceous crops, specifically for energy,
have gained widespread appeal, and perennial grasses present new
renewable energy options. In recent years, the establishment of pe-
rennial grasses as energy crops has emerged as a viable option mainly
because of their comparative ecological advantages over annual en-
ergy crops. In addition to generating thermoelectric power, perennial
MARAFON et al.
grasses can also be pressed into pellets, briquettes and cubes, which
can be used as heating fuels to replace or complement fuels made
from wood fibers (Fedenko et al., 2013).
Perennial rhizomatous grasses that utilize the C4 photosynthetic
pathway have great potential to provide large quantities of cellulosic
biomass and display several positive attributes as suitable energy
crops for use as a solid fuel in co-­fired coal power plants and as a
choice feedstock for advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol.
Compared with other biomass sources, such as woody crops and other
C3 crops, C4 grasses may be able to provide more than two times the
annual biomass yield in warm and temperate regions because of their
more efficient photosynthetic pathway (Sanderson & Adler, 2008).
The main desirable characteristics that make perennial grasses at-
tractive for use as solid biofuels are their high-­yield potential associ-
ated with their high LIG and CEL contents, which are associated with
the advantage of strongly lignified crops that remain upright with a
low water content (Chandrasekaran et al., 2013). Among the tropi-
cal grass species, elephant grass (EG) (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.,
synonymy of Cenchrus purpureus (Schum.) Morrone) has significant
potential as a renewable biofuel feedstock in tropical and subtropical
areas because it is a fast-­growing energy plant with a high photosyn-
thetic efficiency, which results in a significant capacity to accumu-
late dry matter that often exceeds 40 Mg ha−1 year–­1 in tropical areas
(Flores et al., 2012; Morais et al., 2009; Woodard & Prine, 1993). Aside
EG, other dedicated energy crops also showed elevated biomass
yields. The dry matter production of bamboo species ranged from
2.3 Mg ha−1 year−1 in a 1-­year-­old plantation to 49.6 Mg ha−1  year−1 in
a 6-­year-­old plantation (Shanmughavel et al., 2001). Eucalyptus har-
vested with 3-­year-­old showed a dry matter yields varied from 13.3
to 19.9 Mg ha−1 ha−1 year−1 (Guerra et al., 2016). Sorghum biomass va-
riety showed a dry matter yield average of 53.1 Mg ha−1 ha−1 year−1
(Almeida et al., 2019). Moura et al. (2006) estimated a dry biomass
production of 10.1 Mg ha−1 ha−1 year−1 in an 8-­year-­old Mimosa cae-
salpiniaefolia Benth plantation. The biomass yields of residual feed-
stocks used to bioenergy production are directly related to the crop
yields, which varies depending on the cultivar, environment and man-
agement system adopted.
EG is a tropical warm-­season grass native to tropical Africa that
produces robust, creeping rhizomatous plants that have a perennial
growth habit and form bamboo-­like clumps that can grow up to 7 m
in height. This species grows best in regions with hot temperatures
(30–­35°C) and has an annual precipitation demand of over 1,000 mm
(Anderson et al., 2008).In the wet tropics, EG is a major forage crop.
Traditionally, this crop has been managed for forage production for
dairy cattle because of its high yield and protein content. However,
for bioenergy purposes, apart from its high dry matter production, the
plant material should be suitable for achieving an optimal energetic effi-
ciency, which means high levels of fibers and LIG and low N and ash lev-
els (McKendry, 2002). Laurent et al. (2015) evaluated 36 lignocellulosic
crops and concluded that the most productive crops for power plants
are Miscanthus × giganteus, giant cane, and EG. Ra et al. (2012) com-
pared the annual biomass yield of seven grass species, namely Erianthus,
Johnson grass, switchgrass, sugarcane, maize, sorghum and EG, and
found EG to out-­yield the others by a significant margin.
MARAFON et al.
Aside from morphoagronomic traits, the chemical composition
and calorific value are fundamental to define the quality of biomass
for heat generation because they can influence the entire conver-
sion process and thermal utilization. EG biomass has the potential
to be used as a solid biofuel for direct combustion, but also as char-
coal, alcohol or even for CH4 production owing to its extremely high
positive energy balance (Strezov et al., 2008). In this context, the
objective of this study was to characterize the biomass chemical
composition and calorific value of EG varieties and other potential
bioenergy feedstocks intended for direct combustion.
2 | M ATE R I A L S A N D M E TH O DS
2.1 | Feedstock sampling
Twenty-­eight potential bioenergy feedstocks intended for direct
combustion were evaluated, including eighteen EG (P. purpureum)
varieties, two other grasses, two woody species and six agroindus-
trial residues (sugarcane bagasse, sugarcane straw, rice husk, corn
stover, coconut husk and coconut fiber).
The samples of EG varieties, namely sorghum (Sorghum bicolor
(L) Moench), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake), M. cae-
salpiniaefolia Benth. and bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris Schrad.), were
collected from experimental areas at the Engineering and Agrarian
Sciences Campus of the Federal University of Alagoas, Rio Largo,
AL (9°27′59″S, 35°49′37″W; 417 m a.s.l.). This study was properly
registered in official database of Brazilian Genetic Heritage and
Associated Traditional Knowledge (SISGEN) under access num-
ber A2D24A1. The evaluated EG varieties (BAGCE 2, BRS Canará,
BRS Capiaçu, Local, Local 2, Piracicaba, Cuba 116, Pinda, Guaçu,
King Grass, Madeira, Napier, Panamá, Porto Rico, T241, Taiwan A-­
144, Taiwan A-­25 and Vrukwona) were obtained from the National
Center for Dairy Cattle Research (Embrapa Dairy Cattle).
The EG varieties and sorghum samples were obtained by harvest-
ing integral biomass of 6-­month-­old plants from 1 m2 of cultivated area
in three randomized points. Eucalyptus, M. caesalpiniaefolia and bam-
boo samples were obtained by harvesting whole stems of 3-­year-­old
plants. Three samples were collected from each species, and one sam-
ple was composed of ground and homogenized stem radial disks from
the stem apical, middle and basal portions. Residual feedstocks were
collected from sugarcane (bagasse, rice husk, coconut husk and fiber)
and cultivation areas (sugarcane straw and corn stover).
For the analytical procedures, all the raw materials were oven-­
dried (105°C for 24 hr) and triturated in a Wiley mill coupled with a
35 mesh (500 μm) sieve.
2.2 | Analytical procedures
Chemical composition and lower heating value (LHV) analyses were
conducted at the Multifunctional Laboratory of the National Center
for Coastal Tablelands Research (Embrapa Coastal Tablelands) Unit
| 3
of Research and Development located in the municipality of Rio
Largo, AL, Brazil.
Elemental analyses to determine the C, H, and N contents (%)
were conducted using approximately 3 mg of moisture-­free sam-
ple in a CHNS Flash 2000 analyzer (Thermo Scientific). The ox-
ygen (O) content was determined by the following equation: O
(%) = 100 − (C + N + H + ash). The ash content (%) was determined ac-
cording to the NBR 8112 (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas
[ABNT], 1986) using 1 g of moisture-­free sample, which was placed
in a porcelain crucible without a cap, dried and preheated in a muf-
fle previously heated to 600 ± 10°C. After the samples were com-
pletely burned, they were cooled in a desiccator and then weighed in
a precision analytical balance.
The higher heating value (HHV), expressed as mega joules per ki-
logram (MJ/kg) of oven-­dried sample, was determined using a static
jacket bomb calorimeter (IKA C2000) according to the MB-­2850
method (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas [ABNT], 1990).
According to the HHV and H content (%), the LHV was calcu-
lated following the equation (Schmatz et al., 2016): LHV (MJ/
kg) = HHV − (54 × H).
The CEL, hemicellulose (HCEL) and LIG contents in percent-
age of dry matter (% DM) were analyzed according to Van Soest
et al. (1991). The HCEL content was calculated as the difference
between the neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber (ADF)
contents, and the CEL content was determined by subtracting the
acid detergent LIG content from the ADF content. The LIG content
was obtained by subtracting the ADF content from the ash content.
2.3 | Statistical analysis
The experimental design was a completely randomized scheme with
28 treatments (feedstocks) and three replications. The data were
subjected to variance analysis with a treatment means comparison
by the Scott–­Knott test at a 5% level of significance (p ≤ .05) with the
R statistical program (Fox, 2005).
3 | R E S U LT S A N D D I S CU S S I O N
There were significant differences in the LHVs and C, H, N, CEL,
HCEL and LIG contents between feedstocks. However, the EG varie-
ties showed no significant differences among themselves with re-
spect to these attributes.
3.1 | Elemental analysis and ash contents
The C, H, N and ash contents showed significant differences between
feedstocks. The mean C content of EG varieties (43.8%) was higher
than that of rice husk but lower than that of M. caesalpiniaefolia, eu-
calyptus, bamboo and coconut husks. The C contents of M. caesal-
piniaefolia, eucalyptus, bamboo and coconut husks were higher than
4 | MARAFON et al.

those of all the other materials. Rice husks showed the lowest C con- TA B L E 1 Elemental composition and ash contents of elephant
tent. The H contents in the rice husks, coconut fibers and coconut grass (EG) varieties and other energetic feedstocks

husks were significantly lower than those in all the other feedstocks. % dry matter
The M. caesalpiniaefolia, coconut husk and eucalyptus N contents
Feedstock C H O N Ash
were significantly lower than those of all the other feedstocks. The
b a a b
sorghum samples showed the highest N contents. The EG ash con- EG BAGCE 2 44.2 5.90 45.8 0.63 3.40 c

tents showed no differences among themselves, with values rang- EG BRS Canará 43.7b 5.83a 45.5a 0.57b 4.41c
b a a b
ing from 3.21% (EG Madeira) to 6.14% (EG Panamá). The mean ash EG BRS Capiaçu 43.4 6.07 46.3 0.46 3.81c
content of the EG varieties was similar to that of corn stover, bam- EG Local 44.6b 5.90a 45.1a 0.49b 3.90 c
boo and sugarcane straw. The rice husk samples showed the highest EG Local 2 44.8 b
5.90 a
44.2 a
0.53 b
4.50 c
ash contents, followed by those of sorghum, sugarcane bagasse and EG Piracicaba 41.9b 5.91a 46.6a 0.57b 5.10 c
coconut fiber, which were significantly higher than those of all the EG Cuba 116 44.3 b
5.94 a
44.5 a
0.49 b
4.80 c
other feedstocks. The coconut husk and M. caesalpiniaefolia ash con-
EG Pinda 43.2b 5.90a 46.8a 0.52b 3.60 c
tents were lower than those of all the other feedstocks, except for b a a b
EG Guaçu 44.0 5.92 44.4 0.59 5.10 c
eucalyptus, which showed the lowest ash content (Table 1).
EG King Grass 43.7b 5.85a 44.0a 0.84b 5.67c
Considering the great potential of EG to produce 40.0 Mg dry
b a a b
EG Madeira 43.9 5.77 47.4 0.66 3.21c
biomass ha–­1 year−1 in tropical regions (e.g., Flores et al., 2012;
EG Napier 43.6b 5.87a 44.3a 0.65b 5.50 c
Morais et al., 2009; Woodard & Prine, 1993) and the high C content
b a a b
of EG varieties (43.8%) verified in our study, it is possible to calculate EG Panamá 43.8 5.85 43.4 0.76 6.14c

an accumulation of 17.5 Mg C ha−1 year–­1. Compared with the C con- EG Porto Rico 44.4b 5.84a 44.3a 0.53b 4.90 c
b a a b
tent of fossil fuels (over 87.0% on a dry basis), biomass showed less EG T241 43.7 5.89 45.6 0.51 4.30 c
C (from 36.9% to 50.1%) and more O (from 43.5% to 57.4%). For this EG Taiwan A-­144 42.4b 5.90a 44.3a 0.71b 6.11c
reason, biomass shows high volatility and reactivity during the com- EG Taiwan A-­25 43.7 b
5.94 a
44.4 a
0.52 b
5.40 c
bustion process, thereby resulting in a LHV than that of fossil fuels EG Vrukwona 44.6b 5.93a 43.6a 0.44b 5.50 c
(Demirbas, 2004). Manouchehrinejad et al. (2020) verified that the Rice Husk 36.9c
5.18 b
42.1 a
0.45 b
15.34a
total GHG emissions for the combined heat and power (CHP) gener-
Coconut Husk 48.7a 5.56b 44.1a 0.34c 1.31d
ation plants based on EG biomass were approximately 8% and 18% b b a b
Coconut Fiber 44.3 5.35 42.2 0.46 7.70 b
of those of natural gas-­fired and coal-­fired CHP plants, respectively.
Sugarcane Bagasse 44.1b 6.07a 41.3a 0.46b 8.06b
The mean ash content (4.74%) of the EG varieties was within a b a a b
Corn Stover 44.0 5.96 47.4 0.62 2.90 c
desirable range for use in direct combustion. High levels of ash in
Sugarcane straw 45.4b 6.24a 44.6a 0.59b 3.20 c
biomass (>5%) are undesirable in the combustion process given that
b a a a
Sorghum 44.4 5.97 40.5 1.10 8.13b
the calorific value of fuels is inversely proportional to the ash con-
tent and directly proportional to C content, which is the main con- Bamboo 47.0a 5.78a 43.6a 0.49b 3.13c
a a a c
stituent of LIG (Llorente & Garcia, 2008). Mohammed et al. (2015) Eucalyptus 47.4 5.80 46.2 0.20 0.47e
also stated that EG biomass shows, among other desirable attributes M. caesalpiniaefolia 50.1a 5.99a 42.2a 0.36c 1.26d
for thermochemical conversion, a low ash level. Morais et al. (2018) Distinct letters in the same column differ from each other by the Scott–­
found ash contents from 1.76% to 3.79% in leaves and from 3.95% Knott test (p ≤ .05).
to 5.00% in stems of EG varieties. Although ash is undesirable in
the combustion process, it may be used for soil fertilization of grass
fields, thereby diminishing external fertilizer inputs. markedly reduce their performance. Moreover, a high ash content in
Depending on its magnitude, the ash level reduces the energy the raw material also causes high abrasion during grinding and den-
available in the material and thus reduces the conversion efficiency. sification (Chandrasekaran et al., 2013).
Rocha et al. (2017) presented negative correlations between the Compared to stem wood, grasses are usually characterized by
ash content (–­0.89) and CEL/LIG rate (–­0.70) and the LHV. These a higher ash content and a large variation in the composition of
results indicate that the selection of genetic materials with a high ash-­forming elements. Therefore, its use as fuel generally requires
LHV should be mainly aimed at materials with lower CEL/LIG rates greater maintenance of the boiler owing to the particular charac-
(more lignified) and ash contents. Vassiliev et al. (2010) stated that teristics of this type of biomass. Reduction in ash levels and rela-
the ash and residues from biomass combustion are composed of in- tive amounts of critical elements can also be achieved by blending
organic and metal substances, or slag, which may clog the furnace with less problematic biomass fuels such as wood (Zeng et al., 2016).
grates. During the combustion process, higher Cl and K levels, which Moreover, Dayton et al. (1999) verified that pressed, rinsed and re-­
are very undesirable in power plant fuels, vaporize and form salts on pressed processes combined with EG biomass enables the removal
boiler walls, which can form incombustible residues in systems and of approximately 32% of ash and more than 80% of chloride.
MARAFON et al.
3.2 | Lower heating value
The LHV showed significant differences among the evaluated feed-
stocks; however, there were no differences among the EG varieties,
with values ranging from 16.29 MJ/kg (Piracicaba) to 17.28 MJ/kg
(Madeira). The mean LHV of EG (16.7 MJ/kg) was similar to that
of sugarcane straw (17.26 MJ/kg) and bagasse (16.0 MJ/kg), coco-
nut fiber (17.0 MJ/kg) and corn stover (16.9 MJ/kg) samples. The
LHV values of M. caesalpiniaefolia (18.8 MJ/kg) and coconut husk
(18.8 MJ/kg) samples were significantly higher than those of all the
other biomasses, followed by eucalyptus (18.0 MJ/kg) and bamboo
(17.6 MJ/kg). The LHVs were significantly higher than those of all
the other feedstocks. Rice husk (15.3 MJ/kg) and sorghum (15.9 MJ/
kg) samples showed the lowest LHVs among all the feedstocks
(Figure 1).
The LHV corresponds to the effectively available energy per
unit mass of moisture-­free sample and is directly influenced by the
moisture content of the fuel because in the burning process, part of
the energy released from combustion is spent on evaporating water
(Schmatz et al., 2016). In general, the LHV of lignocellulosic fuels in-
creases with the increase in their LIG content. For this reason, the
presence of high fiber and LIG contents in biomass is desirable for its
use as a solid fuel in the combustion process because of the high C
content in LIG (approximately 64%) and the fact that lignified crops
remain viable even with a low water composition and can be har-
vested late, thereby increasing the quality of the biomass (Jenkins
et al., 1998).
In our study, the mean LHV of EG varieties (16.7 MJ/kg) was
similar to the value found by Rengsirikul et al. (2011), who eval-
uated three EG cultivars harvested at 6 months of age. They also
did not observe differences among them, which meant that the
LHV was 15.8 MJ/kg. In Brazil, the participation of thermal power
F I G U R E 1 Lower heating value of elephant grass (EG) varieties and other bioenergy feedstocks. Distinct letters between columns differ
from each other by the Scott–­Knott test (p ≤ .05)
| 5
generation from biomass sources has become increasingly sig-
nificant in the national panorama, supplying approximately 8.5%
of the electricity matrix in 2018. Sugarcane bagasse is the most
commonly used feedstock because of the large number of sugar-
cane mills. However, there was a considerable increase in other
biomasses in energy grid generation and exports, including black
liquor, biogas, forest residues, firewood, rice husk and EG (Empresa
de Pesquisa Energética, 2019).
3.3 | Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents
The mean CEL content of EG varieties (36.0%) was lower than that
of eucalyptus (59.2%), rice husk (49.0%), bamboo (45.3%) and sug-
arcane bagasse (43.8%), while it matched that of all the other bio-
masses (Figure 2).
The mean HCEL content of EG varieties (30.3%) exceeded that
of coconut husk (24.0%), bamboo (22.7%), coconut fiber (20.4%), rice
husk (19.9%), eucalyptus (17.6%) and M. caesalpiniaefolia (13.9%), but
was lower than that of corn stover samples (44.0%) and matched
that of all the other biomasses (Figure 3).
The EG varieties showed higher HCEL contents than rice husk,
bamboo, eucalyptus, M. caesalpinifolia, coconut husk and fiber. For
direct combustion, HCEL is less important than the other fibrous
fractions of biomass because of its low thermal stability and lower
activation energy (Chen et al., 2015). This fraction is more import-
ant, along with CEL, in the production of alcohol in the second-­
generation process, in addition to co-­products produced by the
biorefinery (Fontoura et al., 2015).
The mean LIG content of EG varieties (8.8%) exceeded that of
corn stover (4.7%), was lower than that of coconut husk (29.5%), co-
conut fiber (27.0%), M. caesalpiniaefolia (25.9%), eucalyptus (20.2%),
6 | MARAFON et al.

F I G U R E 2 Cellulose contents of elephant grass (EG) varieties and other bioenergy feedstocks. Distinct letters between columns differ
from each other by the Scott–­Knott test (p ≤ .05)

F I G U R E 3 Hemicellulose contents of elephant grass (EG) varieties and other bioenergy feedstocks. Distinct letters between columns
differ from each other by the Scott–­Knott test (p ≤ .05)

bamboo (19.4%) and rice husk (19.1%) and matched that of sorghum
(6.9%), sugarcane bagasse (6.4%) and straw (6.3%) (Figure 4).
The LIG content of woody biomass ranges from 25% to 30%,
whereas in herbaceous biomass, this value ranges from 6% to 10%
(Morais et al., 2009). Despite the fact that the EG varieties showed
inferior LIG contents to those of woody feedstocks, our results re-
vealed similar EG LIG contents to those of traditional feedstocks
such as sugarcane bagasse, which is mainly used as a raw material
in thermal power plants in Brazil. Biomass LIG/CEL ratios affect the
efficiency of thermal conversion processes. Lower CEL/LIG ratios
in biomass are important to the combustion process because the
presence of a low LIG content and high CEL content influences the
degradation pathway of CEL and leads to charring and incomplete
combustion of these fibers, thereby limiting their contribution to the
heat created during burning (Dorez et al., 2014).
The 18 evaluated EG varieties showed average contents of
36.0% CEL, 29.3% HCEL, 8.20% LIG and 4.69% ash. These data cor-
roborate those of other authors who found similar CEL, HCEL, LIG
and ash contents in EG varieties. Our results corroborate those of
other studies. Morais et al. (2018) evaluated five EG varieties and
found CEL and LIG contents ranging from 22.9% to 33.9% and from
9.7% to 13.5%, respectively. Sousa et al. (2016) evaluated eight EG
varieties and found average contents of 40.3% CEL, 28.5% HCEL,
8.8% LIG and 4.4% ash. Rocha et al. (2017) evaluated 62 variet-
ies with mean contents of 40.7%, 27.1%, 10.2% and 6.7% for CEL,
HCEL, LIG and ash, respectively. Ansah et al. (2010) found that the
MARAFON et al.
F I G U R E 4 Lignin contents of elephant grass (EG) varieties and other bioenergy feedstocks. Distinct letters between columns differ from
each other by the Scott–­Knott test (p ≤ .05)
HCEL, CEL, LIG and ash contents of four varieties ranged between
19.5%–­25.2%, 36.0%–­42.0%, 8.9%–­13.8% and 6.0%–­6.9% of dry
matter, respectively. Rengsirikul et al. (2011) evaluated three EG cul-
tivars harvested at 6 months of age and obtained average contents
of 44.7% CEL, 23.6% HCEL, 12.5% LIG and 7.3% ash.
4 | FI N A L CO N S I D E R ATI O N S
EG biomass has practical feasibility as a source of raw material for
the generation of thermal energy because of its desirable qualitative
characteristics similar to those of sugarcane bagasse, which is the
main feedstock used in Brazil. EG combustion is possible as stand-­
alone biomass-­firing or co-­firing with other fuels such as coal, natural
gas or wood. EG biomass can supply biomass to generate energy and
steam in thermal plants and can also be transformed into briquettes
or pellets through compression or even serve as a raw material for
cellulosic ethanol.
Fast-­growing EG varieties offer the advantage of greater flexibil-
ity over short-­rotation woody crops because it is much easier to plow
up a field or change to annual crops than to remove tree stumps.
Moreover, the return on investment for fast-­growing grasses begins
in the first year of planting. Furthermore, EG can be cultivated on
marginal lands unsuitable for continuous crop production, on open
rural lands that are underutilized, or to recover degraded areas. The
insertion of EG in the National Energy Matrix can be a strategic tool
for decentralizing energy production, thereby enabling the gener-
ation of electricity and the production of biofuels in places where
the construction of hydroelectric plants and/or the cultivation of
traditional biomass is not possible. The main challenges to consoli-
dating the commercial production and use of EG biomass for bioen-
ergy purposes are as follows: (a) the definition of land use through
agroecological zoning, (b) the development of new highly productive
| 7
varieties adapted to restrictive environments and (c) the develop-
ment of highly efficient thermochemical technologies for biomass
pretreatment and conversion. Among the characteristics that hin-
der efficient biomass handling, storage and transport, the two main
characteristics are (a) a high water content (70%–­8 0% w/w) and (b)
a low bulk density (120–­130 kg/m3). Possible alternatives to densifi-
cation of EG biomass are briquetting, pelletizing or baling processes
(Manouchehrinejad et al., 2018). Water content reduction can be
obtained in two ways, namely (a) drying (induced by dryers and/or
by natural sun exposure) to remove the moisture as vapor or (b) de-
watering (crushing in mills) to remove all or part of the contained
moisture from biomass as a liquid. In this study, EG biomass presents
an opportunity for fractionation into solid and liquid streams where
extruded cellulosic fibers can be used for the production of biofuels
and the nutrient-­rich juice can serve as a substrate for co-­product
generation (e.g., biofertilizers).
5 | CO N C LU S I O N S
The EG varieties differed from the other feedstocks in at least one
of the evaluated bioenergy quality attributes (elemental composi-
tion, LHV and CEL, HCEL, LIG and ash contents); however, they were
similar among themselves.
The LHVs of EG varieties were superior to those of rice husk,
sugarcane bagasse and sorghum and similar to those of sugarcane
straw, coconut fiber and corn stover. The ash content of EG vari-
eties was inferior to that of rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, coconut
fiber and sorghum. The HCEL contents of EG varieties were superior
to those of rice husk, bamboo, eucalyptus, M. caesalpinifolia, coco-
nut husk and fiber. The CEL contents of EG varieties were similar to
those of sugarcane straw, coconut fiber, corn stover, sorghum and
M. caesalpinifolia samples. The LIG contents of EG varieties were
8 |
superior to those of corn stover and similar to those of sorghum,
sugarcane bagasse and straw biomass.
AC K N OW L E D G M E N T S
We are grateful to Embrapa Dairy Cattle for providing the EG varie-
ties and Federal University of Alagoas for cooperation during the
study.
ORCID
Anderson Carlos Marafon https://orcid.
org/0000-0002-8872-7882
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How to cite this article: Marafon AC, Amaral AFC, Machado
JC, Carneiro JDC, Bierhals AN, Guimarães VDS. Chemical
composition and calorific value of elephant grass varieties
and other feedstocks intended for direct combustion. Grassl
Sci. 2020;00:1–­9. https://doi.org/10.1111/grs.12311