In Illinois, researchers from the University of Illinois and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville say that miscanthus growers need crop insurance, but growing anti-biofuel sentiment by those who think the RFS should be dropped or that biofuels competes with food mixed with the lack of a biomass-based group to help farmers grow it and […]
In Ohio, farmers that planted miscanthus as part of a $5.7 million Biomass Crop Assistance Program grant in 2011 don’t yet have the $200 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Ashtabula County that they were expecting to sell their harvest to, but there appear to be 40 other uses that they can sell their crops for […]
In Missouri, the Columbia Municipal Power Plant will begin co-firing tests with corn stover and miscanthus pellets beginning in December. Wood is currently being co-fired with coal to reduce GHG emissions but the new pellets will go further towards reducing those emissions. Columbia-based Enginuity produces the pellets. The pellets are expected to work better than […]
In Missouri, MFA Oil’s attempts to co-fire coal with miscanthus pellets has failed, in part because the pellets were susceptible to moisture and then disintegrated. When the pellets were burned, they burned much faster than the coal and caused “fireballs” before entering the stoker. In order to make the fuel work, changes will need to […]
In Illinois, two researchers from the University of Illinois have developed a greener method to pre-treat miscanthus using butadiene sulfone in the presence of water. The butadiene sulfone can be recovered at potentially high yields and can be re-used after pretreatment. Existing commercial availability of production and recovery of butadiene sulfone means the technological breakthrough […]
Today on Twitter: sputnik_nyc Updates: Scientists develop ‘green’ pretreatment of Miscanthus for biofuels BerkeleyLab Turning Up the Heat on Biofuels. Douglas Clark making enzymes tolerate higher heat. @AmerChemSociety ProSyn: Bjørn Lomborg: “Biofuels have become an almost unstoppable and unmitigated disaster.”
In Illinois, miscanthus and other biofuels crops actually reduce the escape of nitrogen into the environment, according to a study performed at the University of Illinois. The study compared miscanthus, switchgrass, and mixed prairie species against a traditional corn and soybean rotation, and discovered that certain perennial crops quickly reduce nitrate in the soil. The […]
In the UK, researchers from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences in Aberystwyth University working on the biofuel crop Miscanthus sacchariflorus, commonly known as Asian Elephant Grass, have shown that delaying flowering in the plant can result in a 50% growth increase. The discovery could have important implications for biofuel production, leading to […]
In Missouri, Doe Run Company is participating in a pilot project with MFA Oil Biomass LLC and Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) to help transform mine tailings sites into potential biofuel crop sites. In April, Doe Run planted a test plot of 11 acres of Miscanthus grass at the company’s current Viburnum, […]
In Virginia, scientists from the National Wildlife Federation released a report regarding species of plants used for biofuels feedstocks that have recently been labeled as harmful invaders. The list includes giant reed, canary grass, and napiergrass, as well as the Cylindro strain of algae. The report also warns about miscanthus, which can threaten natural habitats. […]
