Ethyl-Alcohol-Fuel Production from the Jerusalem Artichoke. Alcohol-Fuels Grant Program.

摘要

The project objective is to evaluate the commercial feasibility for production of fuel alcohol by fermentation of the carbohydrates in the tops of the Jerusalem artichoke. The maximum top biomass yields of the mammoth French white variety of Jerusalem artichoke was obtained at 119 days after plant emergence and maximum fresh weight of the tops was 31.6 tons per acre. During rapid growth the fresh stalks had 2% to 4% carbohydrate. After the plant reached a maximum height of 168 inches, and started to bud the stalk had a maximum of 4% carbohydrate. During blossoming the stalk carbohydrates rapidly translocated to the tuber. Single versus multiple cuttings demonstrated the maximum carbohydrate was obtained with a single harvest of the mature plants immediately following bud formation. The total carbohydrate yield from the top biomass was 1.26 tons per acre. The equivalent yield of fermentation alcohol is 180.6 gallons of anhydrous ethanol per acre. The tuber yield at both Mesa and Toppenish, WA, was 14 to 15 tons of fresh tubers with 18% total carbohydrates. The carbohydrate yield was 2.52 tons per acre. This is equivalent to a yield of 360 gallons of anhydrous ethanol per acre. Commercial scale fuel alcohol equipment was used to hammer mill and batch ferment tops and tubers. The steps for commercial processing of the biomass tops and tubers was discussed including extracting and fermentation of the carbohydrates to ethanol and their concentration by distillation and dehydration by molecular sieves to anhydrous fuel alcohol. The use of molecular sieves reduced the energy for dehydration of 95% ethanol to 5000 Btu per gallon. The economic feasibility and energy requirement for commercial processing was discussed. (ERA citation 08:038594)