Study Bares Potential of US Marginal Lands for Biofuel Production
January 30, 2013http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11811.html (full access may require paid subscription)
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2013/marginal-lands-are-prime-fuel-source-for-alternative-energy/
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A study published in the journal Nature reveals the potential of so-called marginal lands or lands unsuited for food crops in ten Midwestern US states for growing mixed species of cellulosic biofuel crops that can produce up to 21 billion liters of ethanol with less greenhouse gas emission. Led by Michigan State University researchers, the study was based on a comparative assessment of six alternative cropping systems over 20 years and the use of a computer model for successional vegetation on marginal lands within 80 kilometers of a potential biorefinery.
Results suggest that such vegetation could produce 21 billion liters of cellulosic ethanol per year from roughly 11 million hectares of currently idle lands. This potential production represents about 25 percent of the 2022 target for cellulosic biofuel set by the US government without initial carbon debt and indirect land-use costs which are associated with food-based biofuels.
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