Mass Balance analysis of Bioethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)

Abstract

Abstract Current fossil fuel reserves cannot keep up with the world’s need for fuel, leading to a global energy crisis. The issue raises attention to renewable energy sources. Indonesia has committed to using 15% bioethanol in gasoline mixture by 2025, as outlined in Presidential Decree No. 5 of 2006. This article discusses past studies on sweet sorghum plants in their use as a raw material for bioethanol production from various aspects. The study shows that sweet sorghum juice has a high potential to be converted into bioethanol due to its high sugar content. Pretreated sweet sorghum seeds and bagasse also have great potential to be converted into bioethanol due to their rich oligomer and polymer sugar content. The main challenge of producing bioethanol from sweet sorghum is the low economic competitiveness of utilizing sweet sorghum as an energy crop compared to using sweet sorghum as a food crop. The present study focuses on the mass balance analysis of bioethanol production from sweet sorghum. It is expected that the results of the present study may give a preliminary overview of the bioethanol production potential from sweet sorghum.