GCB Bioenergy (2013), doi: 10.1111/gcbb.

12112

Cassava stems: a new resource to increase food and fuel

production
N A . L E S T A N D E R * 1 , H AK
BERG*, MAOGUI WEI,
 A N OR
W A N B I N Z H U * 1 , T O R B J OR

B J OR N H E D M A N * , J I W E I R E N , G U A N G H U I X I E and S H A O J U N X I O N G *
*Division of Biomass Technology and Chemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE 901 83 Umea, Sweden,
Centre of Biomass Engineering, China Agricultural University, No.2 Yuanmingyuanxilu, Haidian, Beijing 100094, China,
National Energy R&D Centre for Nonfood Biomass, China Agricultural University, No.2 Yuanmingyuanxilu, Haidian,
Beijing 100094, China

Abstract
Given the growing global population, mankind must find new ways to lower competition for land between food
and fuel production. Our findings for cassava suggest that this important crop can substantially increase the
combined production of both food and fuel. Cassava stems have previously been overlooked in starch and
energy production. These food-crop residues contain about 30% starch (dry mass) mostly in the xylem rather
than phloem tissue. Up to 15% starch of the stem dry mass can be extracted using simple water-based techniques, potentially leading to an 87% increase in global cassava starch production. The integration of biofuel
production, using residues and wastewater from starch extraction, may bring added value. The cassava roots on
which biofuels and other products are based can be replaced by cassava stems without land use expansion,
making root starch available as food for additional 30 million people today.
Keywords: combined food and fuel, crop residue, dietary energy, land use, starch, tropic and subtropic region

Received 6 May 2013; and accepted 1 July 2013

Introduction
Biofuel production has accelerated globally in recent
decades (IEA, 2009), and concerns about food supply
are increasing as first-generation bioethanol and biodiesel products are generated from the edible parts of food
crops (Fargione et al., 2008; Searchinger et al., 2008;
Thomson et al., 2009; Glover et al., 2010; Cheng & Timilsina, 2011). Indeed, pressure on food supplies is now
more significant than ever, given the continuous growth
of the global population. Between now and 2050 the
worlds population is predicted to increase by more
than two billion people (Granham-Rowe, 2011; Haub &
Gribble, 2011), or more than 28%. Today, more than one
in seven people in the world are suffering from malnutrition (FAO, 2008; Glover et al., 2010), while at the same
time first-generation biofuels are being produced from
sugars (sugarcane), starch (e.g., maize, cassava), and
plant oils (rape seeds, soybean). These conventional
food crops provide sustenance for billions of people
and livestock (Bruinsma, 2003); production of biofuel
from these crops is therefore competing with food and

The authors have an equal contribution to this article.

Correspondence: Shaojun Xiong, tel. +46 90 7868778, fax +46 18

672000, email: shaojun.xiong@slu.se

2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

animal feed production for the limited amount of available arable land (Cheng & Timilsina, 2011). If this competition occurs in a laissez-faire environment, expansion of
arable land is likely to be achieved at the price of deforestation and deterioration of other natural ecosystems,
especially in countries with poorer economies and lower
incomes; in addition, increased food prices are likely to
arise (FAO, 2011; Granham-Rowe, 2011).
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz.) is cultivated for
its root starch, which is used mainly as food (48%) and
feed (34%), but also as feedstock (18%) for biofuels and
biochemicals (FAO, 19902011, 2008). The production of
cassava roots has kept growing in last 10 years and
reached about 230 Tg y 1 (wet mass) in 20092010. As
many as one billion low-income people live on it in
many developing countries in tropical Africa, Asia, and
Latin America (FAO, 2000, 2008). Global cassava
production uses about 19 million hectares of land,
including unproductive and low precipitation areas.
The biomass of cassava stem can be as much as 50%
of the root mass, but the role of cassava stems in both
starch and energy production has so far been overlooked. Except for ca. 1020% that are used for propagation, cassava stems have a long history of being found
mostly non-useful, even for feed, because of their particularly woody nature. In some countries, a part of
cassava stems is either used as fuel for cooking
1

2 W . Z H U et al.
(Howeler, 2012a,b), though longer process in igniting
and making flame than other biomass, or reincorporated
into the soil to add organic matter and nutrients with
the help of a mechanical chipping. The surplus stems
have to in many places be cleared from the fields in
readiness for the next seasons growth and are abandoned or burned in the wild, causing emissions and
environmental problems.
Studies on maximizing the use of existing waste
biomass in energy production, such as crop residues
(nonfood parts), are therefore of extreme importance
and are a high priority (Perlack et al., 2006; Gao et al.,
2011). In this article we use cassava as a model crop and
suggest a sustainable concept of combined food and
fuel (CFF) products that have the ability to create synergies between the demands of food and energy, rather
than competition between them for land use. The concept is based on our results about the high starch content in cassava stems and the findings that the stem
starch can be easily extracted, and studies on, among
others, starch and biofuel production systems used in
the world based on cassava.

Materials and methods

Bio-material origin and sampling
All cassava stem materials for experiments are harvested in
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Fig. 1), the largest area of
cassava cultivation in China. It lies in a subtropical region. The

sampling area covered the major production areas in 17 counties

(21.624.6N, 106.8110.4E), all in south half of Guangxi.
Between December 2008 and March 2009, samples were
taken from three locations: Longan, Wuming, and Guiping
(marked with stars in Fig. 1) and mostly used for starch identification, starch extraction, and stem biomass determination.
One variety SC205 (Huanan 205 = South-China 205,) was
concerned only. In September 2009, samplings of cassava stems
were also conducted to examine existence of starch in stems.
In December 2010, 30 cassava stem samples were taken from
28 different locations in the region (Fig. 1). The selection of the
sample locations was based on a previous survey in 2008 (Tao
et al., 2011). The samples covered eight varieties, with the
dominant variety, SC205, appearing in 17 of the 28 locations.
At the locations Shatang Jiaoqi (22.8N, 109.2E) and Lianghe
Maling (22.8N, 109.4E) four and two varieties, respectively,
were in the same field where an experiment was being
conducted to compare varieties.
Almost all samples were taken when cassava stems were
standing in fields and when cassava tuberous roots were
mature and about to be harvested from late November to
February, except one case in September 2009. Each site has an
area of at least 660 m2 (one Chinese mu). Before sampling,
biomass quality was assessed. Eighteen plants without signs
of decay or contamination were randomly chosen. Aboveground stem section between 40 and 60 cm from ground was
in most cases harvested, except those for biomass determination where whole plant was harvested and separated into
root, previous-year stem (i.e. original stake or the stem cutting
as propagator from previous year) and current-year stems (i.e.
the stem shooting from the stake). Careful records were kept
about the site owner, variety, location (using a GPS), and
harvest time.

Fig. 1 Map of sampling region of Guangxi, south China.

2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

CASSAVA STEMS FOR INCREASING FOOD AND FUEL 3

Samples for starch studies were taken back in plastic bags to
the laboratory where they were washed and then cut into
lengths of 15 cm and dried at 60 C for 48 h before being
shipped to the BTC pilot plant at the Swedish University of
Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden. At the BTC laboratory,
stem samples were fractured to pass through a 2 mm sieve to
be used in the starch extraction experiment, and a representative part of each sample was further milled to 0.5 mm particle
size used for fuel and starch analyses and also starch extraction.
To examine the variation of starch content with stem height
position, we randomly selected two plants of the same variety
(SC205) in the same field at the location in Wuming. The whole
stems were cut into 10-cm sections and then dried at 60 C and
milled (0.5 mm) for further analysis.

The washed material was sieved through a metallic wire net

with a ca. 125 lm aperture size (120 mesh). The material was
rinsed with small amount of deionized water and the remaining water was pressed out.
The filtrate was allowed to settle until a firm layer, containing starch and other heavy particles, was deposited. The supernatant was decanted and the starch-containing sediment was
rewashed at least two times and dried. Sediment samples from
5 min washing (particle size 0.5 mm, 20 C, 30 C and 40 C;
and particle size 2 mm, 20 C and 40 C) were analyzed for
starch content.
The starch sediment was modeled using milling size,
temperature, and time and their two-way interactions. The statistical analysis was performed using the software package SPSS
(SPSS, 2011).

Starch identification and determination

Assessment of stem starch production

The identification of starch was performed in a laboratory at

SLU and the Umea University.
Lugol (iodine) staining (with Iodine-KI reagent) and transmitted light microscope views were used to identify the
presence of starch in the stem tissues. Cross-sections of about
50 lm thickness were treated with iodine solutions and then
placed on glass slides under a transmitted light microscope
Zeiss Axioplan 2 with a Zeiss Axiocam digital camera (Carl
Zeiss, Gttingen, Germany) for observation and photographing.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique was also
used to analyze starch distribution in cassava stems. Pieces of
cassava stem were cut with a sharp knife to the size of
6 9 4 9 2 mm and fixed overnight in sodium-cacodylate
buffered 2.5% glutaraldehyde. The pieces were dehydrated in a
series of increasing gradients of ethanol and kept in pure ethanol for 1 h to substitute all remaining water. They were thereafter transferred to a critical-point dryer (Polaron E3000 CPD;
Quorum Technologies Ltd, Ashford, Kent, UK) and dried from
liquid carbon dioxide according to standard critical-point
protocol. Dry specimen was attached to aluminum specimen
holders with conductive glue (Electrodag 1415M; Ted Pella Inc,
Redding, CA, USA) and coated with 5 nm chromium in a
sputter coater (Q150 TES sputter coater; Quorum Technologies,
Ashford, Kent, UK). Finally, the specimens were analyzed in a
FEGSEM (Zeiss Merlin FEGSEM; Carl Zeiss SMT AG, Oberkochen, Germany) and images were saved from randomly chosen
areas at standardized magnifications.
Amylogucosidase/a-amylase analyses (Megazyme, 2011)
was adopted to quantify starch content in the cassava stems,
considering the extracted starch as well as the stem residues
after starch extraction. An accredited laboratory (Eurofins Environment Sweden AB) conducted the starch analysis according
to AOAC standard (Method 996.11).

Our approach is to determine a ratio of stem to root biomass,

through which the stem starch can be calculated using the
starch content and the stem biomass. There are few data available on biomass production of cassava stems, but many data
about the root production in the world. Thus, to make the ratio
possible, we need data and a definition about how to
distinguish stem from root biomass.
Most cassava varieties are propagated using stem cuttings
(stakes). The cassava stem biomass includes the current years
stem (the aboveground part, here called A) and the previousyear stem cutting (Cn-1, original stake), which is mostly buried in
soil and is the propagator of the current seasons shoot and root.
About 20% of the current year above-ground stem is normally
preserved as present-year stem cutting (Cn; Cn = 20% 9 A) for
propagation in the following season. Theoretically Cn-1 is about
equal to Cn. When the roots are harvested at the end of the
growing season, Cn-1 should be expressed as C*n-1, because it
has normally grown up to two times larger in weight from the
time it was buried in soil for propagation at the start of the
growing season. A pilot study using six random samples in
Guangxi indicated that the relative mass density (grams per mm
stem length, wet based) of C*n-1 became 2.05 times (SE 0.05) of
that for Cn-1. Thus, the weight of total current-year stem (A) is
considered as the plant part potentially available for industrial
use. This estimate is thus definitely conservative.
The ratio of current-stem to root (A/R, where R is the root
biomass) was determined based on both a literature review,
and our field investigations in Guangxi, China 2009. Thus,
statistical data for global cassava tuberous root production can
be converted to stem data.
The biomass of the stems (variety SC205) and respective
roots from three locations was surveyed on five harvesting
occasions: once every other week from mid-December 2008 to
mid-February 2009. On each sampling occasion, 10 plants of
cassava were randomly selected from each location and the
fresh weight of the current-year stem, previous-year stem and
tuberous roots were recorded, respectively (after washing). The
ratio of stem mass to tuberous root mass was then calculated,
using the current stem mass only (A). Samples from the field
were then brought back to a laboratory to determine the dry
mass at 105 C for 24 h.

Stem starch extraction

The starch extraction experiment was conducted combining
three factors: the milling size of the raw material; extraction
time; and temperature (Table 1). Samples of milled cassava
stems (200 g) were washed in ca. 5 l stirred and thermostated
deionized water. Every treatment was replicated three times.

2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

4 W . Z H U et al.
Data pertaining to the extensive cassava production and the
economy in different countries of the world were collected
from the FAO statistics database at its website (FAO,
19902011). The database was accessed in 20112012.

Fuel analysis of stem residues after starch extraction

The fuel analyses of the cassava stem residues were also
conducted by the above-mentioned accredited laboratory. The
methods used for the fuel analyses are summarized in Table 5.

Estimation of biogas production

Biogas production after stem starch extraction includes
processes based on solid-state fermentation (i.e. stem fibrous or
solid residues) and liquid fermentation (i.e. wastewater). The
biogas production was estimated based on preliminary results
from methane potential assay experiments using the stem
residues and wastewater after stem starch extraction as materials. The experiments were conducted in a laboratory at China
Agricultural University whose facilities and the experiment settings can be found in Gao et al. (2012).
Seven grams dry mass of the solid stem residues (particle size
<0.3 mm) were placed as substrate in a 150 ml conical flask that
was then filled with distilled water or alkali solution to make a
ratio of solid to liquid 1 : 20. The bottle containing the substrate
was then pretreated either by ultrasonic or alkaline, three replicates each. The bottle without any pretreatment was set as
control. A bench-scale ultrasonic unit (KH5200B; Kunshan Hechuang, Suzhou, China) was adopted to radiate the material in
conical flasks, with 100 W output and 30 C temperature for
Table 1 Experiment design for extraction of starch from
cassava stems
Exp
No.

Milling
size (mm)

Temperature
C

Time
(minute)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
0.5
0.5
0.5
15.0
15.0

20
30
40
20
30
40
20
30
40
20
30
40
20
30
40
20
30
40
20
20

1
1
1
5
5
5
30
30
30
120
120
120
210
210
210
5
5
5
5
210

30 min. For the alkaline pretreatment, 70 ml of 5% NaOH was

added into the conical flask and 48 h was set for soaking time;
HCl of 6-Mol was then used to adjust the pH to a neutral.
The methane potential assays were performed in triplicate
500 ml glass bottles (liquid volume 400 ml) at 37  1 C.
Inoculum (300 ml) and substrate were added into the bottles,
distilled water was added to produce a liquid volume of
400 ml. The contents of the bottles were then flushed with N2
gas for 5 min and the bottles sealed with a silicone stopper.
Bottles were mixed manually before each gas measurement.
The control set containing only inoculums was used as a baseline comparison of methane production. The biogas composition and production were monitored throughout the 40 days.
The inoculum was obtained from a mesospheric scale digester
(Shangzhuang, Beijing) treating dairy manure and crop residues as substrate. Its pH value was 7.3 and it contained
21 g l 1 of volatile solids and 35 g l 1 of total solids.
The same device was used for methane potential assays from
wastewater. About 400 ml waste water was poured in the
digester directly. No pretreatment was conducted for the waste
water before the batch fermentation. The COD (organic
matter measured as Chemical Oxygen Demand) of the sample
was determined using a water quality monitor (LOVIBOND
99731COD, Dortmund, Germany) and pH a HORIBA Compact
pH meter (Model B-212, Kyoto, Japan). A liquid displacement
method was used to measure the biogas production. The percentages of methane and carbon dioxide in the biogas were
determined using biogas analyzer (BioGas, Geotec, Leamington
Spa, UK).

Results
Starch distribution in stem
The iodine staining did not show any clear pattern of
starch in stems harvested in September (6 months after
planting) (Fig. 2a top). However, starch stains covered
the whole of the cross-section of the stems that were harvested in December (Fig. 2a middle and bottom), which is
when cassava roots are normally matured and harvested in
Guangxi, China. The massive starch has been found to be
mostly stored in the xylem tissue of the stems (Fig. 2bd).
Starch content in cassava stems ranged between 22
and 39% (Fig. 3a, b), depending on the growing location,
variety, and extent of plant senescence. Within a plant,
the starch content in the stem biomass varied with the
plant stem height (Fig. 3c); the middle parts contained
more starch than, in particular, the top sections.
An indicative analysis showed that about 95% stem
starch is located in xylem tissues, 4% in bark (including
phloem), and 1% in pith of a current year stem.

Stem starch extraction

The maximum starch sediment achieved was 18.3  1.2%
(Mean  SE) in proportion to cassava stem dry mass;
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CASSAVA STEMS FOR INCREASING FOOD AND FUEL 5

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Fig. 2 Cross-sections taken at a height of about 0.60.8 m of cassava stems (SC205) collected in Wuming County, Guangxi, south
coast of China: sample photo (2a), transmitted light microscope images of a panoramic (2b) view after Lugol (iodine) staining and
scanning electron microscopical images (2c and 2d). 2a: samples are from the growing season in September (2009, upper), showing no
starch stain, and at the harvest in December (2009 and 2010, middle and down respectively), showing starch stains.

76.0  2.1% of the sediment was pure starch according to

a starch analysis using the amylogucosidase/a-amylase
method. The quantity of extracted starch mainly varied
with the milling size (Fig. 4). With a particle size of
2.0 mm, 56% of the stem dry mass was starch, but a
three times higher ratio of starch was extracted when the
milling size was 0.5 mm. The temperature settings in
this experiment had a statistically significant and positive
effect (P < 0.03) on the ratio of extracted starch. The time,
however, did not show any significant effect on (P > 0.05)
the extracted starch; most of the starch was leached into
the water within 25 min, after which there was no
significant increase in starch sedimentation.

The cassava stem production in the world

A literature review was conducted and 24 data sets
from six reports were found (Table 2). Four reports

were from research in Latin America and one from

Asia. All data concern only current-year stems. It is
clear that the stem to root ratio (i.e. A/R) varies
considerably by varieties.
The field survey, in Guangxi China in 20082009,
generated 15 data sets covering five harvesting times
and three different counties (Table 2). It showed that
there was no statistically significant difference
(P > 0.05) in moisture contents between the current
stem and root at any of the examined harvesting
times, suggesting there was no need to distinguish the
dry- or wet-based data of the A/R ratio. The ratio of
A/R was found to be significantly affected by the
growing location (P < 0.01), but not by harvesting time
(P > 0.05).
Polling all data from both the review and our field
survey, the average A/R ratio was 0.51, ranging from
0.19 to 0.85 (Table 2). This study, however, adopted 0.50

2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

6 W . Z H U et al.
(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 3 Starch content (% of dry mass, DM) in cassava stems. 3a, same variety (SC205) at different geographic locations (see also
Fig. 1), average content = 30.2%; 3b, different varieties from two separate locations, average = 27.4%; and 3c, starch content distribution at different height sections of the same stem (the scale indicates the upper level of the section intervals, variety SC205); 3c also,
section -10 refer previous seasons stem cutting (belowground, 0 to 15 cm).

cassava stem was then estimated at about 116 Tg of fresh

weight or 34.9 Tg of dry weight, based on FAO data of
20082010 for cassava root production (FAO, 19902011).

Global stem starch production

Based on the facts that Cassava stem biomass is about
one half of its root mass (Table 3) and 15% of stem dry
mass can be obtained as starch (using 0.5 mm particles), the global potential of starch production from
cassava stems can be estimated at about 5.2 Tg (Table 4)
in comparison to the current 6.0 Tg from cassava roots
(UNCTAD, 2012). Thus, at least 87% of all current rootbased production of starch for industrial use could be
replaced with that from stems.
Fig. 4 Extraction of starch sediment from cassava stems in
association with milling degree (particle size). Bars refer to
mean  SE (standard error). Extraction time was 5 min and
water temperature was 20 C.

as a factor to make a conservative estimate of stem production in terms of cassava root quantities in different
parts of the world (Table 3). The global production of

Potential of stem starch for global food supply

As shown in Table 4, the extraction of 15% of stem dry
mass starch from cassava stems, may replace the 23.2
Tg (wet based) cassava roots that are still mostly used
for food in the world. These potentially replaced
cassava roots have a value corresponding to the annual

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CASSAVA STEMS FOR INCREASING FOOD AND FUEL 7

Table 2 Stem to root ratio (A/R) of cassava in different conditions. Stem refers to current-year shoot stalk(s).
Data source

Location

Cultivar

A/R*

Days of growing

Howeler & Cadavid (1983)

Cauca Valley, Colombia

Howeler (2002)

Cali, Colombia

M Col 22 (early mature)

M Mex 59 (later mature)
n.a.

Onwueme (2002)

Bahia, Brazil

Cigana

El-Sharkawy & De Tafur (2010)

Cauca, Colombia

Santhosh Mithra et al. (2002)

Kerala, India

Current study

Guiping, China

Tall - CG 402 - 11
CM 4574 - 7
MBra 110
MMal 48
CM 507 - 37
CM 4729 - 4
SG 536 - 1
Short-MCol 22
MBra 900
CG 1141 - 1
CG 1420 - 1
CM 2766 - 5
MPan 51
CM 3294 - 4
SG 107 - 35
H-1687
H-2304
M-4
SC205

0.39
0.78
0.43
0.48
0.37
0.83
0.67
0.40
0.67
0.42
0.38
0.42
0.40
0.29
0.32
0.19
0.24
0.32
0.56
0.32
0.37
0.51
0.47
0.75
0.46 (0.02)
0.75 (0.06)
0.85 (0.09)
0.67 (0.03)
0.75 (0.03)
0.48 (0.03)
0.49 (0.02)
0.53 (0.03)
0.52 (0.03)
0.50 (0.03)
0.65 (0.03)
0.65 (0.03)
0.58 (0.04)
0.54 (0.03)
0.56 (0.05)

360
360
360
360
150
360
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
300
365
365
365
260
275
290
305
325
260
275
290
305
325
260
275
290
305
325

Longan, China

Wuming, China

Average

0.51

*Data in brackets each refers to a standard error of 10 observations. Data are not distinguished between wet- or dry-based, as our field
surveys suggest no significant differences in moisture between the root and stem at harvesting times.

dietary energy requirements for about 30 million people

on average today (Fig. 5), based on our preliminary
calculation according to cassava root energy content
(USDA, 2005) and FAO norms (FAO, 2000).
Theoretically, the potential of stem starch production
may add to 20% more starch from current cassava cultivation [(0.5*0.30)/(1*0.75) = 0.20, i.e. stem starch is 20%
of root starch, dry mass, when the cuttings intended for
propagation (Cn) are excluded and the previous year
cuttings (C*n1) are included, but C*n1 > Cn so the

estimate of 20% is most probably conservative], based

on the fact that cassava stems contain about 30% (Fig. 3)
and the roots 75% starch (dry mass). Thus, if technological development allows extraction of almost all starch
from the stems, the values in Table 4 and Fig. 5 will be
doubled, without any change in land use, and then
globally 46.5 Tg (wet mass) cassava roots that are currently used for starch and starch-based production of
biofuels can be replaced and saved for additional
humans food.

2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

8 W . Z H U et al.
Solid fuel from stem residues after starch extraction
A mass analysis indicate that the ratio of solid residues
after starch extraction is at least 60% of dry stem mass
Table 3 Estimate production of cassava stems in the world

World
Africa
Asia
Latin
America

Root production
Average
20082010*
Tg (w.b.)

Estimated
fresh stem
production
Tg (w.b.)

Estimated dry
stem mass
available
Tg (d.b.)

232.474
120.865
77.769
33.642

116.237
60.432
38.884
16.821

34.871
18.130
11.665
5.046

*Data source: FAO statistics (FAO, 19902011).

Stem/root = 0.5 is used.
Table 4 Potential production of cassava stem starch as a
substitute for cassava roots

Potential stem starch (pure)

production, Tg (dry mass)*
Approximate substitute or
saving of root mass, due to
stem starch production,
Tg (wet mass, 70%
moisture content)

World

Africa

Asia

Latin
America

5.230

2.719

1.750

0.757

23.247

12.086

7.777

3.364

(when particle size 0.5 mm), suggesting a large quantity remains available for uses, such as solid biofuel
after being dewatered to less than 50% moisture and/or
dried and densified into pellets or briquettes.
The fuel analysis (Table 5) indicated the stem
residues had very promising properties for direct combustion. Because of the washing process with water
during the extraction, these residues have a lower content of ash, chlorine, silicon, potassium etc., but a relatively higher calcium content (Table 5) (Tao et al., 2011).
These changes in ash composition will increase the ash
melting temperatures and lower the risks of slagging
and corrosion in combustion (Bostr
om et al., 2012).
There would be about 20.9 Tg (dry mass) of stem
residues after starch extraction globally (Table 6). The
energy contained in the dry stem residues equivalents
to 12.3 Tg standard coal (29.3 MJ kg 1), that is, corresponding to the energy consumed by about 4.7 million
people per year, according to global averages. In Africa,
it would retain sufficient energy for use by 6.7 million
people. There is a considerable possibility of replacing
coal by using stem residues as solid fuel (Table 6), for
example, in Asia. Globally, the use of cassava stem
residues to replace coal for combustion can potentially
contribute a reduction of 32.1 Tg of emitted fossil CO2
(given 2.6 Mg of CO2 emission per Mg of standard
coal).

Biogas from stem residues and wastewater

*Based on dry stem mass available (Table 3), and calculated as

15% of dry mass that can be extracted as starch. The data do
not include the stem fraction for propagation.
Calculated as 75% of root dry mass being starch.

(a)

Cross all our laboratory trials conducted, the average of

methane (97%) production across treatments was
153.3 Nm3 per Mg dry mass of stem residues. There
was no significant difference in the biogas production
between the ultrasonic-, alkaline-, and nonpretreated

(b)

Fig. 5 Approximate numbers of adults whose annual food energy requirements correspond to that of the replaced cassava roots by
stem starch production in the scenario of 15% stem dry mass being extracted as starch. Global average of dietary energy requirement
for adults (FAO, 2000) is used in the estimation. The lowest acceptable body weight and height (a): 47 kg and 1.59 m height for female
and 54 kg and 1.71 m for male; the highest acceptable body weight and height (b): 63 kg and 1.59 m for women and 73 kg and
1.71 m for men. Energy value of cassava root (70% moisture): 5025 kJ kg 1 (USDA, 2005). Columns refer to moderate physical activity
level, while bars indicate from light (plus) to heavy (minus) activities throughout all 365 days.
2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

CASSAVA STEMS FOR INCREASING FOOD AND FUEL 9

(control) solid materials (P > 0.05). This implies a global
potential of about 3.2 9 109 Nm3, or 113 PJ, biogas production, which is about 64% of the biogas gross producTable 5 Fuel characteristics of stem residues after starch
extraction. Data are averages  SE (standard error) of 13 samples; each represents a combined sample of three replicates,
and is based on oven-dry mass.

Item

Method/
standard

Unit

Mean

SE

EN 14918

MJ kg

EN 14918

MJ kg

EN 14775
EN 15289
EN 15289
EN 15104
EN 15104
EN 15104
ASTM-D
5373

%
%
%
%
%
%
%

CEN/TS
15370-1
CEN/TS
15370-1
Hemisphere
CEN/TS
15370-1
Flow
CEN/TS
15370-1
Major ash elements
Silicon (Si)
CEN/TS
15290
Calcium (Ca)
EN 13656
Potassium
EN 13656
(K)
Magnesium
EN 13656
(Mg)
Sodium (Na)
EN 13656
Phosphor (P)
EN 13656

647.5

8.3

1507.5

25.0

1549.2

0.8

1550.0*

0.0

Gross calorific
value
Net calorific
value
Ash
Sulphur (S)
Chlorine (Cl)
Carbon (C)
Hydrogen (H)
Nitrogen (N)
Oxygen (O)
(calculated)
Ash fusion
Shrinkage
start
Deformation

19.24

0.04

17.93

0.04

1.74
0.049
0.061
48.55
6.05
0.671
42.89

0.07
0.001
0.005
0.17
0.05
0.020
0.07

tion in Germany [176 PJ in 2009 (UN, 2012)], the largest

biogas consumer in Europe and second only to the USA
in the world.
The average biogas production (methane concentration: 97%) from the waste water after the stem starch
extraction was 139.6 Nm3 per Mg dry mass of COD.
Laboratory experiments suggested that as much as 21%
of dry stem organic matter (measured as chemical oxygen demand, COD) is retained in the wastewater. Each
ton of starch (with 12% moisture) extracted from the
stems can generate about 1.25 ton COD (dry mass) in
wastewater, potentially yielding 175 Nm3 biogas of 97%
methane without technical optimization. As such, the
global potential for biogas production from wastewater,
using stem starch extraction, may contribute about
1.0 9 109 Nm3, which is equivalent to about 36 PJ, that
is, a half of biogas gross production in the UK (72 PJ) in
2009 (UN, 2012).
The results about biogas produced from the wastes
after starch extraction are considerably lower than those
from a previous study on biogas production from both
root residues and wastewater after starch extraction
from cassava roots (Gao et al., 2012). A higher content
of wood fiber in stems than in root residues could be
the major reason for the low biogas production from
stem residues.

A case study integrating starch and biofuel production

mg kg

171.15

10.93

mg kg
mg kg

3375.83
1886.50

97.29
166.50

mg kg

337.42

15.96

mg kg
mg kg

65.78
536.25

3.35
41.05

*Set value as the ash fusion test ended at 1550 C.

A case study on combined starch and fuel production

was conducted in Wuming County, Guangxi, China, a
region where cassava cultivation and cassava starch
production is one of the dominant industries in the local
economy, and where small-scale biogas production
exists.
Systems analyses were conducted on two scenarios
integrating cassava stems into existing plants producing
root starch that is extracted using simple water-based
techniques (Fig. 6). Either scenario can result in a 10.8%
increase in starch production based on current industrial conditions. For scenario 1 (starch + solid fuel +

Table 6 Estimation of biomass quantity and energy of stem residues after starch extraction

World
Africa
Asia
Latin America

Stem residues
dry mass
Tg
20.923
10.878
6.999
3.028

Energy potential
1015 J

Standard coal
replaced
Tg

Average use of
energy per
capita*
109 J

Potential energy use

for people
Millions

CO2 emission if
coal is burnt
Tg

362
188
121
52

12.347
6.419
4.130
1.787

77.0
28.1
67.0
51.9

4.697
6.701
1.805
1.008

32.102
16.690
10.739
4.646

*According to Energimyndigheten, 2010; and IEA, 2009. The average in China is used for Asia, because of lack of data.
Each Mg standard coal corresponds to 2.6 Mg of fossil CO2 released during combustion.
2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

10 W . Z H U et al.
(a)

(b)

Fig. 6 Simple combined starch and fuel concept: integration of processing cassava stems with existing root starch and fuel production in Wuming, Guangxi, China. Basis for calculation: 70% and 15% of starch are extracted from the root and stem dry mass, and
16% and 60% of solid fibrous residues are left over after root and stem starch extraction, respectively. The starch product contains
12% moisture. The feedstock (root and stem) has a moisture content of 70% at harvest and its mass is based on one hectare.

biogas), processing of cassava stems can add 1.87 times

more solid fuel (pellets) and 43% more biogas than the
corresponding production methods for the root processing system only. In scenario 2 (starch + biogas), the
increase in biogas production can be as high as 80%
based on that from the method using roots alone, due to
there being no solid fuel production. In addition, sludge
after biogas production and ash after the solid fuel
combustion is recycled as fertilizers.

Discussion
Rarely has a high content of starch been reported in crop
nonfood residues and their various xylem cells. It is usually considered that starch should accumulate in the
phloem (Kozlowski, 1992), although a small amount of
starch has been observed in the sapwood and ray cells,
e.g., of salix (von Fircks & Sennerby-Forsse, 1998).
Despite Lopez Molina & El-Sharkawy (1995) reported a

rather high starch content in planting stakes, the attention to explore an utilization and mechanism about it
have rarely been paid. It is understandable that the accumulation of starch in the stem is important for plant
regeneration using stem cuttings. The mechanism by
which starch is stored in high quantity in xylem (Fig. 2)
rather than phloem tissues remains to be studied.
The fact that cassava stems have a high content of
starch and that the stem starch is rather easily extracted
indicates the possibility of using the stems as a new
resource: to replace the roots that are used as feedstock
for producing starch, biofuel and biochemicals, and save
the roots for increasing demands of food for humans.
These findings apparently are very important for those
one billion people who are dependent on cassava cropping and industries, in terms of food, fuel, the environment, and social development. As matter of the fact, the
saved cassava roots have a potential to increase the dietary energy requirements for additional 30 million

2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

C A S S A V A S T E M S F O R I N C R E A S I N G F O O D A N D F U E L 11
people today, based on our preliminary calculation
according to cassava root energy content (USDA, 2005)
and FAO norms (FAO, 2000) about adults daily dietary
energy requirement.
There is also a great possibility that cassava root as
well as stem production will continuously increase over
the next two decades. This assumption is based on the
fact that global cassava root production increased by
30% over the last decade (2001-2010) (FAO, 19902011).
The increase in yield per hectare had the largest contribution: it increased from about 8.6 to 10.2 Mg in Africa
and from 14.5 to 19.3 Mg in Asia, but only from 12.3 to
12.4 Mg in Latin America. The research and development in breeding (e.g., disease resistance and drought
tolerance) have played and will continue to play an
important role (Howeler, 2012a,b; Jarvis et al., 2012). Fertilization, especially potassium (K), helps also to increase
both root and stem yields (Lopez Molina & El-Sharkawy,
1995). Today Africa has about 12 9 106 ha, 64.5% of global cassava cultivation area, but only 52.8% of global production. If the yield per hectare in Africa alone increases
from 10.2 to 16.0 Mg (which was the level in Asia 2002
2003), the world cassava production may increase
another 30% from todays level, without expansion of the
cultivation areas. Actually, the average of cassava yield
in Ghana reached 15.4 Mg ha 1 in 2010 (FAO, 1990
2011), which is not very far from the level of 16 Mg ha 1.
Based on our preliminary analysis, it is optimistically to
say that in about 2030 years to come, with social and
technological developments, the substituted roots by
starch extraction from stems have a potential to provide
food for additional up to 100 million people globally.
This study shows that up to 15% of stem dry mass
can be currently extracted as starch by means of simple
processes milling, washing, sedimentation similar to
those for producing starch from cassava roots or potatoes. This suggests there would be no need for a large
investment to integrate stem starch production into the
existing cassava starch industry, although some small
adjustments, for example, the design of the feeding
devices, may be needed. A higher rate of starch extraction from the stem than 15% of dry mass could probably be achieved if the particle size was further reduced
and improved techniques are used, as suggested by
Guo (2004), who shows that the extraction of root starch
increases from 71% to 84% of dry mass using a similar
extraction method if the milled particle size is reduced
by finer and double milling.
This study also provides a good example of how food
and fuel can be produced in a harmonized way rather
than being the subject of a competition for land use; the
CFF concept is of great importance for the worlds
growing population, as it may increase both food and
fuel resources and even reduce poverty. In this study,

our concept of CFF includes the case where cassava

roots are for food and stems for fuel at a large sense,
but also the case where both biofuel and starch are
coproduced from cassava stems, as starch is apparently
used for food as well. We have also shown a good
example that solid fuel and biogas can be produced
using stem residues and wastewater after starch extraction, but the concept may extend to the integrations of
bioethanol (Nuwamanya et al., 2012) and other biobased
products such as bioplastics (Chen & Patel, 2012),
although the technological processes and economic
feasibility as well as environmental risks will need to be
analyzed in detail.
Conventionally, especially in some Asian countries,
only cassava tuberous roots are harvested and the surplus
stems are left on the fields, sometimes burned, or thrown
away wherever possible because they are not useful. Furthermore, the fiber residue in the wastewater after starch
manufacture is discharged into water bodies. With the
CFF concept, resources can be more efficiently used and
both starch and fuel production are increased and, in
addition, pollution is minimized when the stems are integrated into the combined starch and fuel model according
to scenarios described in Fig. 6. Moreover, sludge from
biogas production and the ash remaining after the combustion of solid fuel from cassava stems can be recycled
as fertilizers (Fig. 6). In addition, filtrated water after the
fermentation for biogas was in this case study reused for
some processes in the starch production.
It should be kept in mind that our estimations are conservative, which may be considered underestimation. In
addition to those mentioned in earlier sections, one more
example is that we use 30% dry mass (i.e. 70% moisture)
content for roots based on our field survey at harvest,
when FAO data are used for the estimation, which means
that the dry mass of the stems is 15% of the root wet mass.
However, 40% as dry mass of the roots is often considered
in literature and reports (e.g., Howeler, 2012a; UNCTAD,
2012), a half of it, that is, 20% of the root wet mass, should
be for stem dry biomass.
Crop residues have today reached about 6.7 Pg in the
world; 60% of this could be available for biofuel production (Tao et al., 2012), yielding ca. 64.8 EJ y 1 of energy
(given the net heat value of 16.2 MJ kg 1). This corresponds to the annual energy use of about 840 million
people based on the global average of energy use per
capita (IEA, 2009). Exploration of and research into
these left-over crop materials for fuel as well as for food
and feed production is essential.

Acknowledgments
Guangcan Tao, China Agricultural University (CAU), helped
with the field and laboratory work. Mr Kjell Olofsson, Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences, and Per H
orstedt, Umea

2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, GCB Bioenergy, doi: 10.1111/gcbb.12112

12 W . Z H U et al.
University, helped with transmitted light microscope images
and scanning electron microscope images respectively. The
authors are grateful to Professor Xu Cheng at CAU, Professor
Keith Richard, University of Cambridge, Francine Hughes,
Anglia Ruskin University, UK, and Stellan Marklund, Umea
University, Sweden, for valuable comments during the course
of the study and on the manuscript. Financial support was
received from EU-China Energy and Environment Program
(EEP-PMU/CN/126077/RE006), the Swedish Energy Agency
(32805-1), the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture 948-project
(948-2011-S7), the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering
Science, the China Academy of Engineering and Bio4Energy, a
governmental strategic research environment in Sweden.

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