TAF PUBLISHING

With the growing demand for biofuels, ethanol production is rising. Alternative energy crops have been investigated to get better yield from little resources. Sweet sorghum and sweet pearl millet are promising energy crops. However, the sugar is mainly located in the juice rather than in the grain. Usually, the biomass of these crops is carried to a plant where it is handled like that of sugarcane. With the rise of the transportation fees, carrying the biomass leaves less profit to the producer and causes the loss of organic matter or forage. The objective of the research study was to design, build, and test an in-field mobile juice extraction prototype press. This allows pressing on-the-run the biomass harvested with a forage harvester. The pressed material (bagasse) is dumped on the ground while the juice is collected. The prototype press was built in the summer of 2014 and preliminary tests were carried out in the field. Obtained results are promising as 57% of the total water was extracted. More tests will be carried out to optimize the prototype press.