This would greatly benefit biofuel production, researchers say

Feb 25, 2014 23:51 GMT  ·  By
Researchers say sugarcane and sorghum can be made to serve biofuel production
   Researchers say sugarcane and sorghum can be made to serve biofuel production

Researchers now claim that, after carrying out a series of laboratory experiments, they reached the conclusion that turning sugarcane into a cold-tolerant, oil-producing crop is doable.

Besides, they argue that, according to the findings of their investigation into the matter at hand, the same can be achieved with sorghum.

The specialists who worked on this research project say that, in order to obtain sugarcane and sorghum crops that can support the biodiesel industry, one must toy with their geographic range and their natural ability to produce oil.

This means that, first off, one must get them to thrive in areas that they would otherwise have trouble growing.

Besides, the genetic makeup of these plants must be altered in such ways that they produce more oil instead of sugar.

“Sugarcane and sorghum are exceptionally productive plants, and if you could make them accumulate oil in their stems instead of sugar, this would give you much more oil per acre,” specialist Stephen P. Long explains.

As detailed on the official website for the University of Illinois, the researchers have until now managed to use genetic engineering to up oil production in sugarcane stems by about 1.5%.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot, but at 1.5 percent, a sugarcane field in Florida would produce about 50 percent more oil per acre than a soybean field. There’s enough oil to make it worth harvesting,” Stephen P. Long stresses.

What's more, they have managed to increase the photosynthetic rate in both sugarcane and sorghum by as much as 30%, and are now busy crossing sugarcane with a perennial grass known to the scientific community as Miscanthus.

The goals is to roll out a hybrid that endures low temperatures, has a photosynthetic rate 30% higher than that of the original plant, and whose stem oil content is one of 20%.

“Our goal is to make sugarcane produce more oil, be more productive with more photosynthesis and be more cold-tolerant,” Stephen P. Long says.

When asked to comment on how and why turning sugarcane and sorghum into oil-producing crops can benefit biodiesel production, the researchers explained that their chief drive was the fact that crops that could properly provide for this industry were still lacking, at least in the United States.

This is despite the country's ever-increasing interest in renewable diesel fuels, they added.

As Stephen P. Long put it, “Biodiesel is attractive because, for example, with soybean, once you’ve pressed the oil out it’s fairly easy to convert it to diesel. You could do it in your kitchen. But soybean isn’t productive enough to meet the nation’s need for renewable diesel fuels.”