Rapid and High-Throughput Determination of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) Biomass Composition using Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics

Themes: Conversion, Feedstock Production

Keywords: Biomass Analytics, Modeling

Citation

Ahmed, M.W., Esquerre, C.A., Eilts, K., Allen, D.P., McCoy, S.M., Varela, S., Singh, V., Leakey, A.D.B., Kamruzzaman, M. June 19, 2024. “Rapid and High-Throughput Determination of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) Biomass Composition Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemometrics.” Biomass and Bioenergy, 186: 107276. DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2024.107276.

Overview

Schematic representation of NIR model development for biomass composition. Process/analysis is presented in boxes and products without boxes.

Compositional characterization of biomass is vital for the biofuel industry. Traditional wet chemistry-based methods for analyzing biomass composition are laborious, time-consuming, and require extensive use of chemical reagents as well as highly skilled personnel. In this study, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used to quickly assess the composition of above-ground vegetative biomass from 113 diverse, photoperiod-sensitive, biomass-type sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) accessions cultivated under field conditions in Central Illinois. Biomass samples were analyzed using NIR spectra collected in the spectral range of 867–2536 nm, with their chemical compositions determined following the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) protocol. Advanced spectral pre-treatment and band selection techniques were utilized to develop calibration models using partial least squares regression (PLSR). The models’ effectiveness was assessed through cross-validation and independent data tests. The predictions for moisture, ash, extractives, glucan, xylan, acid-soluble lignin (ASL), acid-insoluble lignin (AIL), and total lignin were accurate and reliable, demonstrating the capability of NIR spectroscopy to provide rapid and precise characterization of sorghum biomass. The results demonstrated that NIR spectroscopy is an efficient tool for rapidly characterizing sorghum biomass, making it a sustainable option for screening desirable feedstock for biofuel or bioproduct production.

Data

Download (3.9 KB) includes:

  • Sorghum biomass composition
  • Full spectra and select bands model performance
  • RMSE comparison

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