SWITCHGRASS HAS POTENTIAL

Among the points generating enthusiasm for switchgrass is that because it is not a foodcrop, it will not so directly affect food prices. But guess what? Farmers will still get to choose what they want to grow. Will they pick a grass that requires little care and has a government-subsidized market? Or a grain that requires tending and may get queezed out by genetic modification?

Right now corn is still the crop of the hour. Even using switchgrass, cellulosic ethanol still costs twice as much to make as corn ethanol. VCs are betting big on biological processes expected to solve the dilemma of turning cellulose into fuel economically. A recent talk at Cal-Tech by Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry Frances Arnold suggested the VCs may not be placing bets that will pay off anytime soon.

But it’s easy to understand the stampede away from corn ethanol. Popular estimates suggest it takes about 1.5 times as much energy to make it as is derived from it. Cellulosic ethanol may, because less energy is likely to be needed to turn it into a biofuel, actually generate more energy than is needed to make it. But it all depends on how it is processed. And nobody really knows yet how it can be economically processed.

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Switchgrass fuel yields bountiful energy: study
Timothy Gardner (w/Christian Wiessner), January 8, 2008 (Reuters)

WHO
Ken Vogel, researcher/study co-author, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Environmentalists, venture capitalists (VCs)

WHAT
Switchgrass is expected to be the source crop from which cellulosic or “next-generation” ethanol is produced. Environmentalists are enthusiasts because it produces far fewer emissions than petroleum-based gasoline and more energy per acre than corn. VCs are investing big to find the refining method that can economically bring switchgrass-based cellulosic ethanol to market.

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WHEN
The December 2007 energy bill pushed through by the Bush administration mandates and incentivizes a huge increase in ethanol production by 2022 and requires that 2/3 of the production come from “next-generation” sources.

WHERE
Findings published January 8: Net Energy of Cellulosic Ethanol from Switchgrass in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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WHY
- More liquid volume of fuel can be obtained per acre of switchgrass than per acre of corn.
- The switchgrass lifecycle (growing, processing, burning) generates 94% less greenhouse gases than petroleum-derived gasoline.
- Growing switchgrass requires much less intensive farming methods, fertilizing and watering in much of the US because it was once a widespread native grass.
- One of the special qualities of switchgrass is its deep root system, allowing the sequestering of more atmospheric CO2.

There are grasses in every region of the U.S. that could be developed as biofuels. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Ken Vogel, researcher/study co-author, U.S. Department of Agriculture: "Switchgrass is a good crop for marginal crop lands…Corn is still going to be grown to make ethanol; whether it ever takes a chunk of crop land away from corn is all going to come down to economics…"