BioFuel Plant Sources
| Plants: | |
|---|---|
www.science.doe.gov |
U.S. Department of Energy's Geographic Distribution of Biomass Crops Map. |
www.usda.gov |
USDA Announces Project to Develop Next-Generation Biofuels -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the first Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project area, which will promote the production of dedicated feedstocks for bioenergy. Producers in the project area will plant mixes of perennial native plants, such as switchgrass, for the manufacture of biomass pellet fuels and other biomass products. |
| Camelina: | |
biofuelsdigest.com |
Biofuels Digest. "Report on camelina, an advanced biodiesel wonder crop”. August 18, 2008. |
| Cattails: | |
www.news-record.com |
"New source of ethanol. Cattails" 2008 A&T North Carolina. |
| Duckweed: | |
www.sciencedaily.com |
North Carolina State University research shows that growing duckweed on hog wastewater can produce five to six times more starch per acre than corn. "Tiny Super-plant Can Clean Up Animal Waste And Be Used For Ethanol Production" ScienceDaily, Apr. 13, 2009. |
| Hemp: | |
www.hempcar.org |
Hemp Car. Industrial hemp would be an economical fuel if hemp were legal to cultivate in the United States. Hemp Car demonstrates the concept of hemp fuels on a national level and promotes the reformation of current law. Facts and info. |
thehia.org |
Hemp Industries Association is a non-profit trade group representing hemp companies, researchers and supporters. |
www.hemp.org |
Hemp.org focuses on the industrial uses of hemp, including fuel, paper, foods, clothing, building materials and, potentially, many more. Over the past 15 years the hemp industry has grown to a nearly billion dollar a year industry. See biodiesel and biomass news. |
| Jatropha: | |
e360.yale.edu |
"Hailed as a Miracle Biofuel, Jatropha Falls Short of Hype" Report 04 May 2009 Yale Environment 360. |
www.theecologist.org |
Jatropha better suited to local communities, not biofuel markets. Study predicts the yields of jatropha will fall in the next decade and that it is better suited to community-level, rather than industrial-scale, production for the biofuel market. Ecologist 6th July, 2010. |
www.time.com |
The Next Big Biofuel? A Florida farmer thinks the next big biodiesel alternative will come from the seedpods of the jatropha tree. Time.com Video. |
| Kudzu: | |
dsc.discovery.com |
Discovery News "Kudzu Gets Kudos as a Potential Biofuel" |
| Myco-Diesel (from Fungus): | |
www.montana.edu |
Montana State University led team finds new type of fuel in Patagonia fungus. |
mic.sgmjournals.org |
Society for General Microbiology. "The production of myco-diesel hydrocarbons and their derivatives by the endophytic fungus Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072)" |
| "Miscanthus, yields twice the amount of ethanol per acre than corn or switchgrass ethanol in one quarter of the space....plus is able to grow on land too marginal for crop production, so it doesn't have to compete with land for food crops." www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/07/5-things-you-didnt-know-w_n_117522.html |
|
Miscanthus: (also known as Elephant Grass or Giant Grass) |
|
news.illinois.edu |
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "Using corn or switchgrass to produce enough ethanol to offset 20 percent of gasoline use – a current White House goal – would take 25 percent of current U.S. cropland out of food production, the researchers report. Getting the same amount of ethanol from Miscanthus would require only 9.3 percent of current agricultural acreage." A rhizome, Miscanthus returns annually without need for replanting. If harvested in December or January, after nutrients have returned to the soil, it requires little fertilizer. |
| Switchgrass is producing 540% more renewable energy than the nonrenewable energy consumed during its production.... Plus the greenhouse gas emissions from cellulosic ethanol derived from switchgrass are 94% lower than that from gasoline. www.pnas.org/content/105/2/464.full?sid=403956f1-26db-4641-974d-eac2ad518591 |
|
| Sorghum: | |
www.uga.edu |
"Genome sequence shows sorghum's immense potential" University of Georgia via Eureka Alert. Jan 29, 2009. |
cals.ufl.edu |
University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., received a grant of $5,430,439. The purpose of this project is to improve the production and sustainability of sweet sorghum as an energy crop. The University will identify genetic traits in sorghum associated with drought tolerance through genetic mapping and will select strains that produce high biomass yields and can be easily converted to fermentable sugars. |
| Switchgrass: | |
www.grassbioenergy.org |
Grass Bioenergy Information Sheets. Instructions for production. Cornell University. |
www.utbioenergy.org |
University of Tennessee Biofuels Initiative "Tennessee, DuPont break ground on biofuels refinery" Tenn. officials hope new research refinery will make state a major biofuel player. Tennessee has committed $70 million to its switchgrass initiative- $40 million for the refinery and $30 million for research at the University of Tennessee into advances in growing, harvesting, storing and transporting the common prairie grass. October 14, 2008. |
bioenergy.ornl.gov |
"Biofuels from Switchgrass: Greener Energy Pastures" Oak Ridge National Laboratory. See numerous reports on switchgrass. |
www.metabolix.com |
Metabolix, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., received grant of $6,000,001. Metabolix will enhance the yield of bio-based products, biopower, or fuels made from switchgrass. The project will use high temperature conversion to produce denser biomass and other products that can be further processed to make fuels such as butanol, chemicals such as propylene and other materials to improve the economic competitiveness of future biorefineries. |
| Willow: | |
www.esf.edu |
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. For almost two decades SUNY-ESF has teamed up with over 20 organizations to facilitate the commercialization of willow crops and other woody biomass for bioenergy and bioproducts in the Northeast and Midwest United States. |
| "Scientists estimate that agave can produce up to 2,000 gallons of ethanol per acre per year and increase to 18,000 gallons if the plant's cellulose is processed." www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/07/5-things-you-didnt-know-w_n_117522.html |
|
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