Gasoline (not diesel) from switchgrass

[Anonymous-0]

Anyone planting switchgrass?

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/money-doesnt-grow-trees-gasoline-might-15801.html

 

[paul]

It's a rather complex project. Lot of issues to work out yet. Maybe in 5, 10 years it will be more practical.

They are also working on using corncobs, collected from the back of the combine. Takes a mountain of cobs to make a little fuel. Lot of work on it in the SE corner of South Dakota tho.

Getting ethanol out of a simple sugar or a starch is a lot easier.

--->Paul

 

[rustyfarmall]

Also, I saw somewhere that they are experimenting with using what is left in the field after a sugar cane harvest. Apparently the leaves and other residue previously had been burnt off before the harvest. I know very little about sugar cane, maybe someone more knowledgeable can fill in the details?

 

[Ken Macfarlane]

I not sure but I too have seen pictures of burning the cane fields. The woman showing me was showing the workers all spearing these huge cane rats that come running out.

 

[cahess]

Cane was burned when it is cut by hand to rid field of poinsous critters an also to get rid of unwanted leaves an weight i think. Now days it is cut by 300hp machines that are on tracks an chop an blow good part in wagons an discard top leaves. Just put in (case sugar cane harvesters } in Google an you can see video of them in action.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Google on a site for an organization here in Canada called REAP. Roger Samson has been working on this for years and I for one think it makes more sense to be making ethanol out of a perennial low input grass than corn or any other grain.
Sugar cane waste is called bagasse and the Brazilians have been making millions of gallons of ethanol from it for decades. Good for them, making a usable product out of a former waste product.

 

[Brother Dave]

The University of Tennessee received a grant from the government to study the ethnol from switch grass avenue. They are in the process of building the pilot distillation plant and are signing up farmers to plant the switch grass on their marginal land not used for crop land. Don't know where they are in the process but they are building the distillation plant.

 

[paul]

Saw those machines once, sort of kinda like a little bit like the huge Claas forage harvesters. Something to see. I will guess the leaves are higher than average sugar content, and could be collected for processing.

'Here' sugar beets are pretty common not far from me, wonder if they will get on board with fuel processing.

Think the waste parts would be difficult to store, and ethanol plants are more efficient if they run 24/7/365. Some of these input crops are pretty seasonal and difficult to store. Makes using them look better on paper than in real life.

Hope they get more of this stuff figured out sooner, I'm all for it.

Looks like a lot of the corn ethanol plants are looking into combining, using corn cobs or switch grass as well as corn. This allows multiple inputs, instead of relying on just corn. And the mess left from processing corncobs or switchgrass can be burned for heat or electricity. As well some are starting to press the oil out of the corn, and make bio-diesel from the small amount of oil in the corn crop. Every little bit....

Will take time to sort out what works and what doesn't.

--->Paul

 

[JMS MN]

Plenty of companies doing research on making ethanol out of switchgrass. Big problem is to develop the right enzymes that make the conversion economical. Still telling us it is 5-10 years away. Heard the same story years ago. Hopefully, it will work out. Lots or current research is on stalks, cobs, etc. All are cellulosic-

 

[Anonymous-0]

I've not found switchgrass easy to establish. Maybe I planted too late that year, but after several years I still don't have a thick stand. I think its hard to get growing, and the ground I planted has a tendency to be wet and its Iowa black prairie dirt.

Gerald J.

 

[fixerupper]

A good friend of mine here in NW Iowa said the same thing. He was on the ASCS comittee when the CRP program started and was introduced to switch at that time. Jim

 

[skip33652]

why would the petroleum people want a cheaper way. takes lots of diesel and natural gas(fertilizer) to make ethanol now.Paul

 

[Anonymous-0]

I'm wating for one of you fellas to invent a home gasoline distillery that makes gas out of lawn clippings. We'd all get mow mileage that way.

Sorry.