New Energy Crops Analyzed for Biofuel Greenhouse Gas Releases

Cellulosic biomass, such as switchgrass, alfalfa, reed canary grass and hybrid poplar, proposed as “future dedicated energy crops” can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This was the result of analysis done by researchers from the Colorado State University, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Agricujlture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) for their capacity to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Using life cycle analysis and the DAYCENT Biogeochemistry model, they found that cellulosic biomass feedstocks (switchgrass and hybrid poplar) can reduce GHG emissions by about 115%. Non-cellulosic biomass (corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel) could do the same by only 40%. Reed canary grass can reduce GHG emissions by 85%. Although GHG-emitting fossil-fuel-inputs are inevitable in biofuel production, bioenergy crops have the ability to offset this by absorbing CO2 greenhouse gases while they are grown in plantations.

See the summary article and other news on biofuels in this week’s Biofuels Supplement of the Crop Biotech Update at http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/news/2007/04/12.html