14 DAY TRIAL // Corn is currently considered to be the most well-suited material for producing biofuels, primarily because it can be harvested in very large amounts. However, the conclusions of a new study indicate that there may be more to creating sustainable biofuels than yield, and argues that other candidate materials need to be assessed as well.
Biomass yield is indeed one of the most important aspects of biofuel production. Since it requires a lot of material to create these chemicals, the plant that can provide the most ample supplies naturally has an advantage. Focusing exclusively on yield does come with a price though, scientists say.
The new research, presented in a paper published in this week's early online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was led by investigators at the Michigan State University, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site.
The paper reveals that “unconventional” biofuel crops, including native perennial grasses and switchgrasses, can score just as high as corn when it comes to producing these chemicals. The research focused on the capabilities of these two candidates, plus corn, in terms of biofuel synthesis efficiency.
“We believe our findings have major implications for bioenergy research and policy. Biomass yield is obviously a key goal, but it appears to come at the expense of many other environmental benefits that society may desire from rural landscapes,” MSU biologist and co-lead paper author Doug Landis says.
“Sustainability, food security, biodiversity, biofuel production--all are important to an increasing human population. This is a superb example of how fundamental ecological research can assist human well-being,” expert Saran Twombly adds.
Twombly holds an appointment as a program director with the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) at NSF. The Division provided the funds needed for this study, through its LTER Program.
The research group believes that the findings presented in this research could be of great use for informing new policies on which type of plants to subsidize for biofuel production. “With supportive policies, we envision the ability to design agricultural landscapes to maximize multiple benefits,” Landis concludes.