Analysis of the biomass content of various Miscanthus genotypes for biofuel production in Korea

Miscanthus species have attracted considerable interest on account of their biomass, which has high productivity, low inputs, and contains large amounts of polysaccharides. In this study, we used established methods to analyze the lignin (Klason lignin and acid-soluble lignin), cellulose, and hemicellulose contents of 12 Miscanthus genotypes (8 lines of Miscanthus sinensis, 1 line of Miscanthus x giganteus, and 3 lines of Miscanthus sacchariflorus) cultivated in Korea to assess their suitability for biofuel production. Two M. sacchariflorus genotypes revealed high polysaccharide content (close to 65%) and low lignin content (<20%) compared with the others genotypes. We were able to select 2 genotypes (M. sacchariflorus) that are potentially suitable for bioenergy production.

► Miscanthus plants has high potential as an alternative biofuel material.
► The chemical composition of stalks and leaves from ten Korea native and two USA native Miscanthus was determined, made comparison with lignin and polysaccharides content in order to obtain preliminary data for appropriate resource selection and suitability for biofuel production.
► Two Miscanthus sacchariflorus genotypes revealed high polysaccharide content (close to 65%) and low lignin content (<20%) compared with the others genotypes (eight M. sinensis, one Miscanthus giganteus and one M. sacchariflorus.
► We selected relatively dominant two lines for biofuel production resources.