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Title: Sorghums for methane production. Annual report, April 1984-March 1985

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6159378

The objective of this research is to develop an integrated system for methane production utilizing high-energy sorghum as the feedstock. This report provides specifics of 2nd year research activities in the sorghums-for-methane production sponsored by Gas Research Institute and co-funded by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Researchers in the program include plant geneticists, sorghum physiologists, chemists, agronomists, ruminant physiologists, agricultural and systems engineers and agricultural economists. Major research emphases are genetic manipulation, physiology and production systems, harvesting, storage, processing and conversion systems, inhibitors, and economic and systems analyses. During the 2nd year, increased emphasis was placed on the storage, processing, and conversion aspects of the program. Because of the criticality of high efficiency conversion to the economic implementation of the system, considerable progress has been made in evaluating necessary parameters for harvesting, storage, and conversion. Emphasis has been placed on obtaining definitive data for a 2-stage leaching-bed, packed-bed digestion system. In the breeding and production program, much progress has been made in identifying and characterizing sorghums that will produce maximum biomass yields; for the high energy sorghums (designed for producing both food and energy) selections have been made for improved lodging resistance and height uniformity.

Research Organization:
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station (USA)
OSTI ID:
6159378
Report Number(s):
PB-86-132305/XAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English