What is the major obstacle in obtaining ethanol from switchgrass?

What is the major obstacle in obtaining ethanol from switchgrass?

The major source of these enzymes is Novozymes, a Danish company that specializes in agricultural biochemistry. The cost of these enzymes is the major stumbling block to economically viable switchgrass ethanol production.

What are the 3 advantages of switchgrass as a fuel?

Growing switchgrass for biofuel can provide ecosystem services benefits that do not have a direct cash value—at least in today’s marketplace. These benefits include reduced soil erosion and fertilizer runoff, increased soil organic carbon that retains moisture and maintains fertility, and wildlife habitat.

What is the benefit of switchgrass?

Switchgrass production can benefit farmers, taxpayers, industrial fiber producers, energy producers and energy consumers. Switchgrass is a valuable soil protection cover crop. It binds loose soils and provides valuable wildlife habitat.

Can ethanol be made from switchgrass?

Switchgrass. While corn-based ethanol contains scarcely as much energy as is required to produce it, fuel made from switchgrass, a native prairie plant found in the Great Plains region, contains more than 5 times as much energy than it takes to grow it and refine it into ethanol.

Why is switchgrass bad?

Researchers found that switchgrass, if used in streamside buffers or as a cash crop, stores harmful carbon at a level similar to trees and better than land planted with other native grasses.

Why is it so difficult to make cellulosic ethanol?

The production of ethanol becomes more difficult when starting with more complex carbohydrates from corn grain or other plant materials. Because cellulose makes up nearly half of all plant biomass, cellulosic ethanol is considered the largest potential source of biofuel in the near future.

Why is switchgrass better than corn?

Switchgrass yields more than 540 percent more energy than the energy needed to produce and convert it to ethanol, making the grassy weed a far superior source for biofuels than corn ethanol, reports a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Can ethanol be used as a fertilizer?

The resulting ethanol safe, not only as an alternative fuel, but also as a beverage additive. The fermentation residues can also be converted into high-quality animal feed or organic fertilizers.

Which crop is best for ethanol production?

Corn
Corn is the leading U.S. crop and serves as the feedstock for most domestic ethanol production. Corn ethanol meets the renewable fuel category of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which is limited to 15 billion gallons.

How long does it take to grow switchgrass to maturity?

Why should I plant a crop that takes three years to reach maturity? One of the most exciting characteristics of switchgrass is its potential to turn marginal land into productive land. Most people envision planting switchgrass and other native warm season grasses on marginal or currently unproductive land.

Is switchgrass good for wildlife?

Wildlife: Switchgrass provides excellent nesting and fall and winter cover for pheasants, quail, and rabbits. It holds up well in heavy snow (particularly ‘Shelter’ and ‘Kanlow’ cultivars) and is useful on shooting preserves. The seeds provide food for pheasants, quail, turkeys, doves, and songbirds.

What is the most common source of ethanol?

corn
The most common ethanol production processes today use yeast to ferment the starch and sugars in corn, sugar cane, and sugar beets. Corn is the main feedstock for fuel ethanol in the United States because of its abundance and relatively low price historically.

Which is a better source of ethanol grass or corn?

“Cost competitive, energy responsible cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass or from forestry waste like sawdust and wood chips requires a more complex refining process but it’s worth the investment,” Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said at the Range Fuels facility groundbreaking in November.

What are the challenges facing the ethanol fuel industry?

Challenges facing the ethanol fuel industry. The ethanol fuel industry also faces challenges and opposition, mainly due to its impact on corn markets and land use. As farmers cleared more lands to plant corn, wildlife habitats are compromised.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ethanol?

Because ethanol fuels are produced from natural products, the amount of fuel that can be produced is reliant on the quality of the growing season. A poor season because of draught or pests could result in fuel shortages, increased pricing, or other issues that have the potential to disrupt our transportation networks.

How many megajoules of ethanol does grass produce?

But yields from a grass that only needs to be planted once would deliver an average of 13.1 megajoules of energy as ethanol for every megajoule of petroleum consumed—in the form of nitrogen fertilizers or diesel for tractors—growing them.