Is the Switch on to Switchgrass?

Year after year, in an effort to get his students’ attention, Auburn University Professor David Bransby burns a field of switchgrass to illustrate its immense energy output as well as its potential as an alternative fuel source.

Bransby, an international authority on the use of biomass as an alternative energy source, has argued time and again that Alabama already has enough biomass to supply all of its residential power needs. Until now, though, he and other biomass proponents have felt frustrated over what they considered to be the half-hearted efforts of policymakers to provide Americans with more incentive to use these crops.

Biofuel proponents already can point to a success model: Brazil, a country that set out a quarter century ago to reduce its dependence on foreign oil by crafting an energy policy that capitalized on its abundant agricultural wealth, particularly its sugar cane. It uses these crops to produce home-grown ethanol, used to power modified automobiles and public transport vehicles. As a result, the nation is essentially free of dependence on foreign oil.

Meanwhile, in the United States, corn-based ethanol accounts for a measly 3 percent of the nation’s fuel use, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, even though the industry has the capacity to produce as much as 4.3 billion gallons annually.

Following President Bush’s State of the Union address earlier this week, there appears to be a ground swell of interest in switchgrass and other biomass products. The President’s 2007 budget calls for $150 million for developing “cellulosic ethanol” and making it cost effective by 2012 --- a change that potentially could result in as much as a 30 percent reduction in the nation’s current fuel use.

As biomass products go, switchgrass is considered promising for several reasons. For starters, it’s a native perennial plant and highly resistant to most bugs. Once established, it can produce as much as eight to 10 tons of biomass a year, according to columnist Brent Olson. Olson also stresses that it makes a good forage crop and a terrific habitat for wildlife. It’s also ideal for the soil and preventing soil erosion, he says.

The power output of switchgrass is only about 75 percent that of coal, but it emits much less carbon-dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

So what’s preventing farmers from making a mad dash to raising switchgrass? As Bransby pointed out to ABC News recently, researchers already know how to raise, harvest and deliver switchgrass. The biggest challenge remains developing markets for it.

Indeed, for switchgrass to take hold, there must be a strong commitment from U.S. industry. Companies will have to prove they can convert cellulose from switchgrass and other biomass sources into a fuel that can be sold on a commercial scale. Next comes the challenge of developing a system to distribute all of this ethanol.

Actually, crop residues readily available on Alabama at certain times during the year also could serve as biomass sources. A prime example is cotton, a crop that produces millions of tons of residue that, for the most part, is left to decay on harvested fields.

Other sources include gin trash, the stuff left behind from cotton fiber processing, and peanut hulls and related by-products.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at February 2, 2006 03:27 PM | TrackBack