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Energy Crops and their Implications for ForagesBiomass - Technical ReportAuthor: Joe Bouton Description: The US Department of Energy (DOE) reports an annual need for a billion tons of biomass to produce enough biofuel to replace 30% of current USA petroleum consumption. Switchgrass is considered one of the main perennial biomass species for cellulosic ethanol production. Breeding and management research is currently underway at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in partnership with Ceres, Inc. to make switchgrass a higher yielding and more fermentable feedstock. Another target is elite switchgrass varieties with less lignin deposition. Alfalfa, bermudagrass, tall fescue, clovers, and sorghum will be investigated for use in co-cropping or inter-cropping systems with switchgrass. For alfalfa, dividing the harvested product into high value leaf meal and the stems for sale to a biorefinery is an approach. If pharmaceutical co-products are simultaneously extracted from the alfalfa leaf material, the economics improves even more. The Noble Foundation’s mission to improve any of these target species crops as biofuels crops should simultaneously translate to improved forage crops for range renovation or a better feed for livestock production. Login to post comments Printer friendly version |
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