Fuels from Cereal Crops

Biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel originate from cereal crops such as plant oils, and sugar beets. Today the production cost of bioethanol cereal crops is still too high, which is the major reason why bioethanol has not made its breakthrough as a fuel source yet. When producing bioethanol from maize or sugar cane the raw material constitutes about 40-70% of the production cost. 

Bioethanol can be produced from a large variety of carbohydrates with a general formula of (CHjO) . Chemical reaction is composed of enzymatic hydrolysis of sucrose followed by fermentation of simple sugars. Fermentation of sucrose is performed using commercial yeast such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. First, invertase enzyme in the yeast catalyzes the hydrolysis of sucrose to convert it into glucose and fmctose. 

Second, zymase, another enzyme also present in the yeast, converts the glucose and the fractose into ethanol. 

Glnco-amylase enzyme converts the starch into D-glucose. The enzymatic hydrolysis is then followed by fermentation, distillation and dehydration to yield anhydrous bioethanol. Com (60-70% starch) is the dominant feedstock in the starch-to-bioeth-anol industry worldwide. 

Lignocellulosic perennial crops (e.g., short-rotation coppices and grasses) are a promising feedstock becanse of high yields, low costs, good snitability for low-quality land (which is more easily available for energy crops), and the low environmental impacts. 

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The area of forests in Republic is 14,400 km from the overall territory. Republic occupies the first place among Republics of the former USSR and the fourth place in the world in production of raw cotton. The population of Azerbaijan is using the waste of cultivating cotton and cereal crops as a fuel in private household equipment. 

Straw, obtained after the removal of grain and chaff from the dry stalks of cereal plants, is an agricultural by-product. Straw has various applications such as fuel, animal feed, bedding for livestock like horses, packaging and decoration material, and constraction materials. About half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye, and wheat is straw. Straws are the main agricultural waste materials and by-products of agricultural plants and are rich resources of biofibers. Its wide utilization in different fields draws the attention of researchers to make useful industrial products from such agriculture by-products [19-23]. 

Agro-based lignocellulosics suitable for composites come from two main sources. The first is agricultural residues and the second is those lignocellulosics grown specifically for their fibre. The first source includes rice husks or cereal straws, which are by-products of food or feed crops and can be used for everyday purposes such as animal bedding or fuel or alternatively are simply left on the field or burnt to reduce mass. Two examples of the second source are jute and kenaf. These plants also have residues, which are often used for bedding or fuel as well. 

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