Does switchgrass make better ethanol than corn?
Grass Makes Better Ethanol than Corn Does. Midwestern farms prove switchgrass could be the right crop for producing ethanol to replace gasoline. Share on Facebook. Share on Twitter. Share on Reddit. Share on LinkedIn.
Why switchgrass for hay and forage?
More than 70 years of experience with switchgrass as a hay and forage crop suggest switchgrass will be productive and sustainable on rain-fed marginal land east of the 100th meridian.
What do we know about switchgrass?
Long-term plot trials and farm-scale studies in the Great Plains and plot trials in the Great Plains, Midwest, South, and Southeast indicate switchgrass is productive, protective of the environment, and profitable for the farmer. Weed control is essential during establishment but with good management is typically not required again.
Do switchgrass farms produce more energy than nonrenewable energy?
Switchgrass fields on 10 farms in Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota produced 540% more renewable energy (NEV) than nonrenewable energy consumed over a five-year period (Schmer et al., 2008).
What is the benefit of using switchgrass instead of corn for fuel?
Switchgrass yields more than 540 percent more energy than the energy needed to produce and convert it to ethanol, making the grassy weed a far superior source for biofuels than corn ethanol, reports a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
What are the 3 advantages of switchgrass as a fuel?
Growing switchgrass for biofuel can provide ecosystem services benefits that do not have a direct cash value—at least in today's marketplace. These benefits include reduced soil erosion and fertilizer runoff, increased soil organic carbon that retains moisture and maintains fertility, and wildlife habitat.
Why is switchgrass important?
Recently, significant attention has been given to switchgrass as a model perennial grass for bioenergy production to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, boost our rural economies, reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce erosion on marginal cropland, and enhance wildlife habitat.
Why is switchgrass a good form of bioenergy?
Switchgrass is an excellent candidate for biofuel production. It is an adaptable plant that can grow on millions of acres of U.S. lands that cannot support crop or food production. It is also a renewable resource.
Why is switchgrass not used for ethanol?
While corn-based ethanol contains scarcely as much energy as is required to produce it, fuel made from switchgrass, a native prairie plant found in the Great Plains region, contains more than 5 times as much energy than it takes to grow it and refine it into ethanol.
How long does it take to grow switchgrass to maturity?
three yearsWhy should I plant a crop that takes three years to reach maturity? One of the most exciting characteristics of switchgrass is its potential to turn marginal land into productive land. Most people envision planting switchgrass and other native warm season grasses on marginal or currently unproductive land.
What animals can eat switchgrass?
For ducks, upland game birds, songbirds, and small mammals, switchgrass provides excellent cover and the seeds are an important food source [56,68]. PALATABILITY : Switchgrass is palatable to cattle, horses, and sheep during the spring and early summer before the leaves become coarse and tough.
How much ethanol is produced from switchgrass?
The high cellulosic content of switchgrass makes it a favorable feedstock for ethanol production. It is anticipated that switchgrass can yield sufficient biomass to produce approximately 500 gal- lons of ethanol per acre.
Can corn be turned into biofuel?
Corn grain makes a good biofuel feedstock due to its starch content and relative easy conversion to ethanol. Infrastructure to plant, harvest and store corn in mass quantities benefits the corn ethanol industry.
Which of the following is an advantage of switching to renewable energy sources?
Generating energy that produces no greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and reduces some types of air pollution. Diversifying energy supply and reducing dependence on imported fuels. Creating economic development and jobs in manufacturing, installation, and more.
How is switchgrass turned into ethanol?
Thermochemical Conversion: Switchgrass also can be used to produce ethanol using thermochemical processes. In this approach, heat and chemicals are used to break biomass into syngas (a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) and reassemble it into products such as ethanol.
How much ethanol is produced from switchgrass?
The high cellulosic content of switchgrass makes it a favorable feedstock for ethanol production. It is anticipated that switchgrass can yield sufficient biomass to produce approximately 500 gal- lons of ethanol per acre.
Where is switchgrass native to?
North AmericaPanicum virgatum, commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico.
Why are biofuels important to alternative energy?
Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels—fuels produced from renewable organic material—has the potential to reduce some undesirable aspects of fossil fuel production and use, including conventional and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollutant emissions, exhaustible resource depletion, and dependence on unstable foreign suppliers.
Introduction
Grassland scientists have conducted research on switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum) for more than 70 years, with initial research focusing on livestock and conservation. In 1936, L. C.
Current Potential for Use as a Biofuel
Switchgrass has excellent potential as a bioenergy feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production, direct combustion for heat and electrical generation, gasification, and pyrolysis. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program selected switchgrass as the herbaceous model species for biomass energy.
Biology and Adaptation
Figure 1. Switchgrass is adapted to much of North America. Image: USDA NRCS.
Production and Agronomic Information
Figure 2. Soybean stubble provides an excellent seedbed for no-till seeding switchgrass. During the establishment year, all harvests must occur after a killing frost to avoid damaging stands. In the establishment year, good weed management and rainfall will provide about half of the fully established yield potential of the site and cultivar.
Potential Yield
Switchgrass yield is strongly influenced by precipitation, fertility, soil, location, genetics, and other factors. Most plot and field-scale switchgrass research has been conducted on forage-type cultivars selected for other livestock-based characteristics in addition to yield.
Production Challenges
There are major challenges to using switchgrass for cellulosic ethanol (Mitchell et al., 2008). An ethanol plant requires a reliable and consistent feedstock supply. A 50-million-gallon per year plant will require 625,000 U.S. tons of feedstock per year assuming 80 gallons of ethanol can be produced from one ton of feedstock.
Production Cost
Results of a recent economic study based on the five-year average of 10 farms in Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota indicated producers can grow switchgrass at a farm gate cost of $60/ton (Perrin et al., 2008).
