A joint team from the U.S. Agricultural Research Service and Ohio State University has developed a procedure for making biofuel out of sweet sorghum, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Feb. 10.

Sweet sorghum is normally associated with syrup. Researchers have developed a way to make biofuel from sweet sorghum bagasse. Bagasse refers to the fibrous material that remains after the sugar-rich juices have been extracted from the sorghum, USDA said.

"Now, this hardy member of the grass family could also be tapped as a 'home-grown' resource for making a renewable transportation fuel called bio-butanol," the USDA news release said.

 Butanol is an attractive biofuel option because it is not as corrosive as ethanol, and it is easier to mix with gasoline, the agency said. 

"Bio-butanol, along with ethanol, is also considered a cleaner burning alternative gasoline," USDA said. "However, bio-butanol can be transported in existing pipelines and is less corrosive to internal combustion engines than ethanol."

 Bio-butanol can also be upgraded to bio-jet fuel for sustainable aviation fuel, USDA said. Sorghum is also promising as a biofuel because it can tolerate drought and can adapt to different growing conditions including marginal cropland, according to the release.

A paper on the sorghum research was published last December in the journal "Fermentation."