Sulla ( Hedysarum coronarium L.) as Potential Feedstock for Biofuel and Protein
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Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) as Potential Feedstock for Biofuel and Protein Gaetano Amato 1 & Dario Giambalvo 1 & Alfonso Salvatore Frenda 1 & Francesca Mazza 1 & Paolo Ruisi 1 & Sergio Saia 1 & Giuseppe Di Miceli 1
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract Although sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) has many interesting features that could support the production of biofuels (e.g., a high yield and soluble sugar content, Nfixation capacity, low input requirements for its cultivation), no study has assessed the possibility of its use for that purpose. Our objective was to evaluate the potential value for energy production of sulla cut at various stages of growth. Furthermore, the potential of sulla as a dual purpose crop (energy and feed) was investigated. The crop was grown in rainfed conditions in a typical Mediterranean environment (over two complete 2-year crop cycles) and was cut at four different phenological stages. The biomass was divided into two fractions (stems and leaves), weighed, and analyzed to estimate the theoretical production of bioethanol and biomethane and the feed value of the whole biomass and of the two fractions. The total dry matter yield in the 2-year crop cycle was about 18 Mg ha−1; this level of production is similar to or higher than that of most other crops grown in the same environment in rainfed conditions. The stems had a high content of total soluble sugars (even higher than 200 g kg−1) and cell wall polysaccharides, markedly higher than the leaves. The leaves contained most of the protein of the plant, representing an actual protein concentrate. Thus, the crop seems particularly suitable for dual purpose use if stems are allocated to the production of biofuels and leaves to the production of livestock feed. Moreover, the results showed that
* Paolo Ruisi [email protected]
1
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
the early seed set stage is the most appropriate cutting time for maximizing yield both for energy and for livestock use. Keywords Bioethanol . Biomethane . Legume . Dual purpose crop . Mediterranean environment
Introduction For a crop to be effectively used for energy, it must satisfy certain requirements, such as high biomass production; ease of sowing, management, and harvest; ease of storing or ensiling; minimum use of auxiliary energy (adaptability to simplified techniques of soil management, minimal need for chemicals for plant nutrition and pest control); high energy yield per unit of biomass; and adaptability to the limits of the environment in which it is grown. Finally, from an ethical point of view, energy crops should not compete with food crops. In the Mediterranean, research on lignocellulosic biomass crops has focused primarily on species such as miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus), giant reed (Arundo donax), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) [1] that provide goodquality high yields for biofuel production. However, such crops require a lot of nutrient
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