Abstract

VENTURA RIOS, Joel et al. Characterization of mombaza grass as raw material to produce bioethanol. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2021, vol.12, n.2, pp.235-246.  Epub Apr 25, 2022. ISSN 2007-0934.  https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v12i2.2441.

The objective of this study, made in 2017, was to characterize mombaza grass (Megathyrsus maximus) to assess its potential as a raw material for the production of liquid biofuel (bioethanol). Annual biomass production, calorific power, chemical composition and theoretical bioethanol yield were determined at four cutting frequencies (30, 60, 90 and 120 d after regrowth). The data were analyzed with the GLM (SAS) procedure and the means of the treatments were compared with the Tukey test (p( 0.05). The highest biomass production, calorific power, energy production, bioethanol production, FDN, LDA and hemicellulose were obtained at the cutting frequency of 120 d with 11 Mg ha-1 year-1; 16.1 MJ kg-1; 178.4 GJ ha-1 year-1; 238.2 L Mg-1 MS and 68.6, 6.5, 23.3%, respectively. However, the highest cellulose and FDA content were found at the cutting frequency of 90 d, with 41.2 and 47.4%, respectively. The highest values of humidity, PC and ash were found at the cutting frequency of 30 d with values of 8.2, 10.4 and 12.1%, respectively, while the EE content was higher at the cutting frequency of 60 d (1.6%). According to the results obtained in this study mombaza grass (Megathyrsus maximus) can be considered as an attractive raw material for the production of bioethanol in tropical climates.

Keywords : biofuel; biomass; calorific value; chemical composition grass.

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