Researchers have found a western Canadian crop that could rival corn as the most economical North American feedstock for producing ethanol.
“We believe there is very strong potential for triticale,” said Francois Eudes, biotechnologist with Agriculture Canada.
Corn is currently king of the North American ethanol industry, the primary feedstock ingredient in all but nine of the 116 plants operating in the United States and most of the facilities in Eastern Canada.
It is the cheapest ingredient to buy and to process, according to Agriculture Canada’s market analysis
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“Triticale is the only feedstock in Canada that can provide a similar economic benefit that the corn platform does in the U.S.,” Eudes said.
The cereal grain offers a 15 percent yield advantage over wheat and far lower input costs than corn.
A consultant’s report comparing the three grains determined that the cost of producing one tonne of triticale starch is similar to that of corn. However, because it has a protein profile similar to soft white spring wheat, it can produce a better quality animal feed byproduct than corn.
The report was part of a concerted effort by a network of research scientists to promote and develop triticale as Canada’s biomass crop of the future.
Eudes said the project started in 2002 when a supervisor at Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre challenged his scientists to find novel uses for existing crops.
They chose to work with triticale and there is now a network of more than 70 research scientists from 10 institutions working on the project.
Funding has come from Agriculture Canada, Alberta Agriculture, the University of Alberta and the University of Lethbridge. The group is seeking a further injection of $25 million from the agricultural biotechnology community to support the network.
Triticale is grown on about 200,000 acres and is primarily used for silage and feed destined for the livestock sector. However, the crop’s future may lie in biorefining, where the seed and stalks can be used in a variety of applications, from bioplastic to biofuel.
The grain’s 66 percent starch content rivals wheat and corn, making it a good source of glucose for ethanol production. The stem is largely cellulose and hemicellulose, making it a good candidate for cellulosic ethanol when that technology evolves.
Triticale is already used as an ethanol feedstock in Sweden, but North American plants would first have to tweak the enzyme cocktail they use to break down the starch before fermentation and change the piping to deal with a more gummy product.
Researchers are using biotechnology to increase the amount of biomass produced by the crop, improve its disease resistance and create designer lines that will improve the industrial function of the crop by making it easier to convert straw into simple sugars.
Eudes is working on identifying the most effective digestive enzymes found in rumens such as musk ox, porcupines and cattle for breaking down the plant’s cellulosic fibres. Using yeasts, he plans to create a genetically modified triticale line that will express those enzymes.
The idea is to encourage the plant to break down its own tough cellulosic fibres, which will save time and money in the biorefining process.
Eudes’ colleagues in Quebec are in the late stages of a bioplastic project where triticale starch is being combined with glycerol, a byproduct of the biodiesel industry, and corn-based polymers in an extruder to create a plastic that can be used to make biodegradable grocery bags.
“I already have some of these plastics in my office, so I know it’s possible.”
