Switchgrass-based ethanol could cost $1 per gallon, reduce foreign oil dependence
Switchgrass-based ethanol could cost $1 per gallon, reduce foreign oil dependence
mongabay.com
December 5, 2006
Genetic engineering of switchgrass, a native prairie plant, could reduce the price of ethanol to $1 per gallon according to a plant geneticist at the University of Rhode Island.
Dr. Albert Kausch says that switchgrass could trump corn, which is currently the dominant source of ethanol in the United States due in a large part to rich agricultural subsidies. In a news release from the University of Rhode Island, Kausch notes that “switchgrass can be grown on marginal soils, is useful as wildlife habitat, and requires little use of fertilizers, insecticides or irrigation.” Further, ethanol derived from the plant can help reduce American dependence on foreign oil.
“Switchgrass is a native plant of the tall grass prairies. It grows 12 feet tall in one season and produces 10 tons of plant material an acre, more biomass per year than most other plants,” said Kausch, who launched Project Golden Switchgrass at the University of Rhode Island. “I’m confident my lab can make it produce 20 tons an acre using the tools and personnel we have right now.”
Kausch says that native switchgrass grown commercially today could produce ethanol for approximately $2.70 per gallon but that genetic refinements could bring the production price down to $1 per gallon.
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“There are several impediments to the process of converting switchgrass to ethanol that would make unaltered switchgrass commercially unprofitable,” Kausch said. “We are working with professors at Brown University, for instance, to create better enzymes that will degrade cellulose into sugars for a more efficient conversion to ethanol.”
Kausch believes the switch from fossil fuels to plant-derived ethanol can help reduce emissions that contribute to global warming.
“It won’t entirely solve the problem, but it sure will help,” he said. “And the reduced CO2 that comes from your tailpipe is then absorbed by the plants that are then turned into ethanol again, so it becomes a natural cycle.”
Kausch is working on genetic improvements and hopes to have the first varieties in commercial production by 2011.
Related article
High oil prices fuel bioenergy push. High oil prices and growing concerns over climate change are driving investment and innovation in the biofuels sector as countries and industry increasingly look towards renewable bioenergy to replace fossil fuels. Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, has recently invested $84 million in an American ethanol company, while global energy gluttons ranging from the United States to China are setting long-term targets for the switch to such fuels potentially offering a secure domestic source of renewable energy and fewer environmental headaches.
This article is based on a news release from the University of Rhode Island.
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