University of Tennessee AgResearch Center harvests poplars for biomass trials

March 3, 2016 |

In Tennessee, a small stand of poplar trees harvested from a University of Tennessee AgResearch Center is set to help scientists progress further down the path toward low-cost, high-quality biomass and a bioeconomy.

Located on UT’s East Tennessee AgResearch Center in Blount County, the 10-acre plot of hybrid poplars was planted just over four years ago and the now 30-ft trees are expected to produce some 60-100 tons of woody biomass — a crop Tennessee and other Southeastern farmers could potentially sell to biorefineries for conversion into advanced fuels or other biobased products.

The harvest is part of a five-year $15 million multi-disciplinary research and development effort funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reduce barriers to the development of the Southeastern bioeconomy. UT’s CRC, located within the UT Institute for Agriculture, leads the effort, which is called the Southeastern Partnership for Integrated Biomass Solutions, or IBSS. Partners in the broad-based effort include Auburn University, North Carolina State University, the University of Georgia, ArborGen, and Genera Energy Inc.

Category: Research

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