The Potential of Wild Sorghum Stems as Biofuel Feedstock

Scientists from the University of Adelaide have discovered that a variety of wild sorghum growing in Australia, Arun, has the potential to yield over 10,000 litres of bioethanol per hectare per year.

Researchers evaluated the stems of 12 varieties of sorghum for sugar content and relative ease of conversion to bioethanol. These included cultivated varieties and wild relatives, including Arun, which yielded significantly more bioethanol than other varieties.

One of the advantages of using stems to make biofuels is that the part is not edible, avoiding the food versus fuel debate. While Arun stem contains high levels of a component thought to inhibit bioethanol production, it appears to be negated by a high level of easily fermentable sugars.

The researchers say that a large pool of untapped diversity exists in other species of sorghum which opens new opportunities for research in biofuel production.