Saccharum Spontaneum

Decades of continuous slash-and-bum cultivation and other inappropriate

agricultural practices, especially in upland hilly to slightly rolling farms, have

resulted in rapid land degradation due to soil erosion. Consequently, hundreds of

thousand hectares of formerly productive farmlands have become barren and

unproductive. These farmlands are usually abandoned or left in fallow. Talahib

tends to dominate these abandoned or fallow areas. These weed species are

considered by farmers to be indicators of poor soil fertility hence, poor farm

productivity (International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, 1992).

According to Holm et al., (1997), Saccharum spontaneum is common

along river banks, roadsides, and railroads, on waste ground and along the

banks of lakes and ponds. Roxburgh (1971), stated that it is able to grow on

fertile (to approximately 5 m tall) and poorer soils (to about 3 m tall). It is usually

most aggressive on heavy, moisture-retentive soils; however, it also grows well

on sandy soils (Sen, 1981; Balyan et al., 1997).

Artschwager (1942) explained that Saccharum spontaneum is a perennial

species capable of propagation vegetatively or from seed. Vegetative

propagation is from rhizomes and stem fragments, as each node has a root band

with one or two rows of root primordia. Seed production is very variable; in the

Philippines, recorded a mean of 12,800 seeds/plant. (Pancho, 1964).

 According to Sastri and Kavathekar (1990) as cited in BIoreSource

technology that Saccharum spontaneum, wasteland weed, is a tall perennial

grass with deep roots and rhizomes, up to 4 m height. It is accepted to be a

predecessor of the important species S. officinarum L. (cultivated sugarcane). It

has the worldwide distribution extending across three geographic zones i.e. East

Zone, Central Zone, and West Zone and other countries infesting millions of

acres, often causing abandonment of fields (Naidu and Sreenivasan, 1987).

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a perennial grass, belonging to the Poaceae

family and Andropogoneae tribe, which is grown widely in tropical and subtropical

regions. It is the highest yielding crop worldwide and accounts for approximately

75% of the world sugar production. In recent years, sugarcane has gained

increasing attention as a biofuel crop due to its high biomass yield potential

(Nayak SN, Song J, Villa A, Pathak B, Ayala-Silva T, et al.,2014).

Saccharum spontaneum for ethanol production. Such type of

lignocelluloses makes one of the most encouraging future biomass feedstock for

fuel ethanol production. This is because of the ability of saccharum spontaneum

to grow at a fast rate without aiding any economic input. Usually, the cost of

feedstock, which represents more than one-third of all processing cost is the

most important factor in the ethanol production process (Wyman, 2007; Chandel

et al., 2007a; Lynd et al., 2008). Saccharum spontaneum a wasteland weed is a

potential, renewable and low-cost biomass for the production of ethanol by

fermentation.
 Cellulase enzyme production. The production of cellulase enzyme is an

important process and affects the overall economics of ethanol production from

lignocellulose. Commonly, cellulase enzyme production accounts for 40% of the

cost of bioethanol synthesis (Gray et al., 2006; Chandel et al., 2007a). Therefore,

after pretreatment with aqueous ammonia, Saccharum spontaneum was used as

a cheap substrate for cellulase production.

Chemical Composition of Saccharum Spontaneum. The pulverized

material of Saccharum Spontaneum was found to contain 45.10 ± 0.35%

cellulose, 22.75 ± 0.28% hemicellulose, 24.38 ± 0.22 % Klason lignin and 2.82

± 0.15% ash. The presence of cellulose and hemicellulose together create a total

carbohydrate content (TCC) of a substrate (67.85%), which is also the potential

sugar concentration in the pretreated substrate (Chandel et al., 2007b).

Natural Regeneration in Saccharum spontaneum. Mixed native

species reforestation appears to be an effective means of replacing S.

spontaneum and facilitating the development of diverse understory vegetation.

Understory species richness and density were significantly higher in the

plantations than in the unplanted areas, while S. spontaneum density was

significantly lower in the plantations.

Chromosome number. In 1915 when the first chromosome count of a

clone of Saccharum spontaneum from Japan gave by Kuwada , the numbers of

about 88 clones from the various parts of the distribution area have been

recorded by various workers (Bremer et al.,1922). These determinations taken

together have indicated the wide range and variety that exists in the species in

respect of chromosome numbers. Possible relationships between certain

chromosome-number groups in the species have been suggested by Janaki

Ammal (1936).

Charcoal Briquettes

Charcoal briquettes have a consistent quality, high burning

productivity, and are ideally sized for complete combustion. The process helps to

solve the residual disposal problem and it provides additional income to farmers.

Charcoal briquettes are easy to ignite. There is no sulfur and fly ash when

burning briquettes. So it does not pollute the environment (Sharma et al. 45).

Using charcoal briquettes is cheaper than other charcoal. Once you used oil, coal

or lignite it cannot be replaced. Briquettes have much smaller ash content (2-

10% as compared to 20%-40% in coal). Combustion is more consistent

compared to coal. Briquettes are usually created near the consumption centers

and supplies do not rely on erratic transport from long distances. It gives much

higher boiler efficiency because of low moisture and higher density. Also,

briquettes are easy to store, pack and hygienic to handle (Ahmed et al. 143).

Some of the advantages of briquetting are as follows: there is an increase

in the bulk density of the material which makes it easier to transport and store,

there is higher energy substance per unit volume of the material and it enables

the production of a homogenous product fuel from different raw materials. In

assessing the performance of briquettes as fuel, the calorific value is the

primarily considered because it is the amount of heat formed by the briquettes

when burned (Chaney, 2010).

Charcoal Briquettes is a desirable fuel because it produces a hot, long-

lasting and almost smokeless fire. Briquette making has the possibility to meet

the additional energy demands of urban and industrial sectors, thereby making a

significant contribution to the economic advancement of developing countries.

Besides, briquettes have advantages over fuelwood in terms of greater heat

intensity, cleanliness, convenience in use, and moderately smaller space

requirement for storage. However, in order to make a significant impact as a fuel

source, there is the need to enhance and promote its production technology. This

is a densification process for improving the handling characteristics of raw

materials and improving the volumetric calorific values of biomass (Emerhi E. A.,

2011).

Briquettes are mostly used in the developing countries where cooking

fuels are not as simple to obtain. Heat industrial boilers used briquettes to

produce electricity from steam. It is a substitute for fossil fuels such as oil or coal,

a renewable source of energy and it prevents adding fossils carbon to the

atmosphere. This renewable source is given national priority and appears to be

the only permanent solution into limitations of the national laws and avoid

pollutions. (Sharma et al. 44)

In the Philippines, as stated in a survey by Central Echo (2011) more

than 90% of Filipinos rely on charcoal for cooking. While liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG) is used only at a 1-2% because of the high cost of living. Yet, in order to

produce charcoal trees are needed to be cut down. As an outcome, only the

kinds of trees that don't burn easily are left in the Philippines' forests. (The

Central Echo,2011 as cited by Comedis el at. 2).Since briquettes are a biofuel

replacement for coal and charcoal it reduces the risk of cutting trees because

briquettes are made of agricultural waste and it is a renewable source (Sharma

et al. 44).

Charcoal briquettes using other variables

According to (Davies, R.M., Davies, O.A. 2014), water lily invaded most of the

creeks and inlets, clogging drainage, ditches, shading out other aquatic

vegetation blocking waterways, causing problems in water transportation, fishing,

recreation and other commercial activities whose survival depend upon water.

On the other hand, when water lily is used for the production of biofuel, this could

be perhaps the best method to both harvest and control. This will enhance rural

economic development, market diversification, farm income, agricultural surplus

reduction, negative environmental impact reduced and creation of employment

opportunities in the area of production, harvesting, and utilization. Agricultural

wastes are a potentially huge source of energy-giving materials. These include

wood, herbaceous and aquatic plants, crop and forest residues, animal wastes.

These residues could be processed into charcoal, liquid fuel or

combusted/gasified to produce electricity and heat. Many unique qualities

provide environmental benefits with the use of agricultural wastes as an energy

source. It helps to reduce acid rain, mitigate climate change, soil erosion, and
water pollution. It also helps to maintain forest health through better

management and provides wildlife habitat.