Table 1 Summary of LCA studies of sweet sorghum biofuels
From: Life cycle impact assessment of biofuels derived from sweet sorghum in the U.S.
| LCA study | Sorghum feedstock | Biofuel conversion pathway | Co-products | Bagasse handling | Functional unit | Reported reduction in GHG emissionsd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [39] | Grain, stalk juicea,b | Fermentation | Bagasse | Returned to field | 1 L of bioethanol produced | 52 to 69% |
| [10] | Grain, stalk juice, bagassea−c | Fermentation | Distillers grains, grain, vinasse | Feedstock for CHP, cellulosic ethanol | 1 MJ of bioethanol | 35 to 72% |
| [9] | Stalk juiceb | Fermentation | Bagasse | Heat source, electricity, animal feed, cellulosic ethanol | 1 L of bioethanol produced | – |
| [37] | Sorghum stemb | Continuous solid-state fermentation | Grain, vinasse | - | 1000 L of bioethanol produced | – |
| [17] | Sorghum stemb | Advanced solid-state fermentation | Grain, bagasse | Steam generation, forage | 1 MJ of bioethanol | 36.7 to 48% |
| Aguilar-Sánchez et al. 2018 | Sorghum stemb | Fermentation | Bagasse | Waste, CHP |
Tons sorghum biomass harvested and harnessed from 1 ha of land in 1 year | − 20 to 200% |
| [27] | Sorghum stemb | Advanced solid-state fermentation | Distillers grains, grain | Steam generation, fertilizer | 1 MJ of bioethanol | 20 to 66% |