Potential alternate feedstock for bioethanol in India: Sweet sorghum, a bioenergy crop

Sweet sorghum is a special type of sorghum which accumulates sugars in its stalks. The unique high carbon assimilation capability of sorghum crop coupled with another desirable trait of accumulating high levels of extractable sugars in the stalk can be exploited for extensive use of sorghum as raw material for manufacturing ethanol, jaggery, syrup and paper.However, with the ever increasing demand for industrial and fuel-grade ethanol, the scope of using sweet sorghum in ethanol industry as a supplementary raw material to sugarcane molasses is catching up.