Abstract
Cymbopogon flexuosus, lemongrass, and C. martinii, palmarosa, are perennial grasses
grown to produce essential oils for the fragrance industry. The objectives of this study were
(1) to evaluate biomass and oil yields as a function of nitrogen and sulfur fertilization, and
(2) to characterize their utility for lignocellulosic ethanol compared to Panicum virgatum
(switchgrass). Mean biomass yields were 12.83 Mg lemongrass ha-1 and 15.11 Mg palmarosa
ha-1 during the second harvest year resulting in theoretical biofuel yields of 2541 and
2569 L ethanol ha-1 respectively compared to reported 1749–3691 L ethanol ha-1 for switchgrass.
Pretreated lemongrass yielded 198 mL ethanol (g biomass)-1 and pretreated palmarosa
yielded 170 mL ethanol (g biomass)-1. Additionally, lemongrass yielded 85.7 kg
essential oil ha-1 and palmarosa yielded 67.0 kg ha-1 with an estimated value of USD $857
and $1005 ha-1. These data suggest that dual-use crops such as lemongrass and palmarosa
may increase the economic viability of lignocellulosic biofuels.
Introduction
