Evaluating the Potential of Sedge Grass (S. tabernaemontani) for Bioethanol Production
Faris Hailu et al.
What the paper says
Sedge grass (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani), a non-edible and environmentally sustainable lignocellulosic biomass, has not previously been reported as a feedstock for bioethanol production. This study evaluated its potential by examining reducing sugar and ethanol yields under varying hydrolysis conditions. A Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was employed with three levels of hydrolysis time (40, 60, 80 min), sulfuric acid concentration (1.5%, 2.5%, 3.5%), and temperature (115°C, 125°C, 135°C). All experiments were conducted in triplicate. Biomass composition (extractives, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin) was determined using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) protocol, while reducing sugars were quantified via Benedict’s method and spectrophotometry. Ethanol yield was estimated by the potassium dichromate method. Results indicated that sedge grass contained 42% hemicellulose, 39.87% cellulose, 13.07% lignin, and 5.06% extractives. Significant two-way interactions were observed among treatments, while the highest reducing sugar yield was obtained at 125°C, 60 min, and 2.5% H₂SO₄. The lowest yield (38.29%) occurred at 135°C, 80 min, and 3.5% H₂SO₄. Fermentation with Fusarium oxysporum for seven days produced a maximum ethanol yield of 51.02% from 49.83% hydrolyzed reducing sugars. These findings suggest that sedge grass is a promising lignocellulosic feedstock for sustainable bioethanol production.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.