Switchgrass

	This page needs work!
You can help us by editing this page: add information, links, images or make other changes! This is your wiki, too!

Switchgrass is the perennial herbaceous prairiegrass Panicum virgatum native to the Great Plains of North America. It is considered a prime candidate for a cellulosic ethanol or other bioenergy feedstock in North America, as it has a very high biomass yield per acre with low-inputs and fertilizers.

News

Grass biofuels 'cut CO2 by 94%', 8 January 2008, by BBC News: A new report by US researchers has found that fast-growing "switchgrass-derived ethanol produced 540% more energy than was required to manufacture the fuel" and "delivers vast savings of carbon dioxide emissions compared with petrol." The paper, "Net energy of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass (PDF file)" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed all of the energy input factors, including "nitrogen fertiliser, herbicides, diesel and seed production."
Family sees hot promise in pellets, 30 April 2007 from the Times Leader. A family company will produce a portable machine to create biomass pellets from switchgrass. The pellets can be used as a substitute for heating oil.

Adoption Subsidies and Environmental Impacts of Alternative Energy Crops by Bruce A. Babcock, Philip W. Gassman, Manoj Jha, Catherine L. Kling; Center for Agricultural and Renewable Development, Iowa State University, March 2007. Provides "estimates of the costs associated with inducing substantial conversion of land from production of traditional crops to switchgrass" and examines "potential environmental consequences of conversion".
Costs of Producing Switchgrass for Biomass in Southern Iowa (pdf) by Michael D. Duffy and Virginie Y. Nanhou; Reprinted from: Trends in new crops and new uses. 2002. J. Janick and A. Whipkey (eds.). ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.

Bioenergy feedstocks

edit

Charcoal feedstocks: Bamboo | Wood
Waste-to-energy (MSW)

	Types of bioenergy	edit
Gases: Biopropane \| Biogas \| Synthetic natural gas \| Syngas Liquids: Biodiesel \| Biobutanol \| Biogasoline \| Biokerosene \| Biomass-to-Liquids (BTL) \| Dimethyl ether (DME) ETBE \| Ethanol \| Methanol \| Pure plant oil (PPO) \| Pyrolysis oil \| Synthetic Natural Gas Solids: Biomass pellets \| Char/Charcoal \| Wood

Navigation
Please comment on *"Global principles and criteria for sustainable biofuels production"'* ("Version Zero") What is bioenergy? \| Benefits/Risks \| Who is doing what? Events \| Glossary \| News \| Organizations \| Publications \| Regions \| Technologies/Feedstocks \| Policy \| Timeline \| Voices Wiki "sandbox" - Practice editing \| About this Wiki \| How to edit