Evaluation of ethanol production from sugar and lignocellulosic part of energy cane

Energy cane is considered an ideal energy crop because it produces readily fermentable sugars and high yields of lignocellulosic biomass. Four improved clones of the energy cane series “TByEFC” (Tiphuyae and Banyang Energy and Forage-cane Clone), which was developed at the Kasetsart University Kamphaeng Saen campus in Thailand, were evaluated in terms of their potential ethanol yields from both sugar juice and bagasse. Juice from TByEFC05-1558 and TByEFC04-1208 displayed the highest total sugar production, ranging from 171.03-179.72 g/L, and reached the maximum ethanol production, ranging from 78.02-82.56 g/L, without any nutrient supplementation at 37 °C using Saccharomyces cerevisiae ND48. All four energy cane clones showed a maximum ethanol concentration from bagasse in the range of 9.11-10.68 g/L. The combination of agronomic productivity and ethanol production yield indicated that the highest ethanol yield from juice was reached with TByEFC04-1155 (2697.00 kg/ha), while the highest ethanol yield from bagasse was reached with TByEFC09-0098 (1695.45 kg/ha). Among the tested clones, TByEFC04-1155 was shown to be useful for combined ethanol production from both juice and bagasse, yielding 3923.48 kg/ha. This energy cane clone combines good agronomic features for ethanol production from sugar substances and lignocellulosic biomass, making it an attractive energy crop for the ethanol industry.