Miscanthus x giganteus harvested using a modified forage harvester mounted on a combine
Forchheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, February 1995.
Photo by Dr. I. Lewandowski, Institute for Crop Production and Grassland Research, University of Hohenheim, Germany
More on the gasification front… GCC is into E-Grass.
Green Car Congress relays that Biomass Investment Group, which is based in Gulf Breeze near Pensacola, Florida, “is looking to rent 11,000 hectares (42.5 square miles) of land in the Philippines to grow e-grass as biomass input to a gasification process to produce transportation fuels.”
This is an example of increasing development of larger scale, biomass gasification systems with research into various sorts of feedstock. In addition to other examples of the Biomass Initiative, i.e., gasification of crop residues and recycled urban waste, feedstock development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 1978 has included identification and development of fast growing trees and herbaceous crops.
Miscanthus has relatively high yields of 8–15 tons / hectare (3–6 tons peracre) dry weight, low moisture content, low mineral content, and a good energy balance and output / input ratio compared with some other biomass options. It requires about 25 inches of water per year to survive, tolerates brackish water, and uses a minimal amount of nutrients from the soil. — ORNL Report on Miscanthus
In a number of instances, biomass waste is preferred as a feedstock for biofuels over crops such as rapeseed and grain because of lower capital investment and less total energy input by farmers. Nonethless, perennial feedstocks also compare favorably because they can be harvested from marginal use areas having been grown without the benefit of fertilizer, irrigation, or pesticides.
The output can be combined heat and power and biofuel. The environmental profile of such development depends upon not only on the process technology, i.e., whether power or fuel, but also on applications made of the output.
