초록
<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Sweet sorghum, a C<SUB>4</SUB> plant, is known to be a unique, versatile, and potential energy crop that can be separated into starchy grains, soluble sugar juice, and lignocellulosic biomass. The fermentable sugars in the juice (53–85% sucrose, 9–33% glucose, and 6–21% fructose) can be directly fermented into ethanol. The grain is primarily starch (62–75%), which can be hydrolyzed and fermented into ethanol. The bagasse, a fibrous lignocellulosic material, can be used to produce cellulosic ethanol, heat and/or power co-generation. In this review, the potential of sweet sorghum for bioenergy production (of various forms) using recently developed cultivars with improved agronomic performance was discussed. In addition, sweet sorghum was compared with other starch, sugar, and lignocellulosic feedstocks. Studies have been conducted on alternative pathways to convert whole sweet sorghum stalks and bagasse into bioenergy. However, very little review of the techno-economic analysis of bioenergy production and co-products from sweet sorghum has been published. The aim of this research was to review the current knowledge of agronomic requirement for cultivating sweet sorghum, the productivity of recently developed cultivars for bioenergy production, and pathways of converting sweet sorghum crop into bioenergy as well as the techno-economic feasibility of using sweet sorghum for bioenergy.</P> <P> <UL> <LI> Grains, juice and biomass from sweet sorghum (SS) all can be converted into biofuel. </LI> <LI> SS requires less water, fertilizer and time for growth than other energy crops. </LI> <LI> Economic feasibility of SS into biofuel is assessed using several economic indicators. </LI> <LI> Economics of SS-to-biofuel is affected by cultivar, crop yield and process efficiency. </LI> <LI> On-farm processing of sweet sorghum into bioenergy is cost-effective. </LI> </UL> </P>