Corn ? Sugar ? Why not Switchgrass?

Problem: Why is this difficult ? Farm lobbies, congress and others are getting in the way of the logical conclusion that energy from a food source is not as preferable as energy from a material grown for energy production.

Ethanol based on corn is not only inefficient in terms of net energy produced but also drives up corn prices, which drive up livestock feed prices, which drive up beef prices , which …you get the idea. Most U.S.-produced ethanol is now made from ground corn in a process that has been faulted as inefficient. Corn yields less sugar per acre than sugar cane, and the refining uses substantial amounts of energy. To keep ethanol competitive with gasoline, major refiners such as Archer Daniels Midland Co. have relied since the 1970s on a tax subsidy, now 51 cents a gallon. Wrong incentives Mr Congress !

Isn’t there a better way? Brazil has made huge progress on ethanol from sugar, some 30% of all fuel for automobiles contains ethanol vs 3%in the United States. Corn yields less sugar per acre than sugar cane, and the refining uses substantial amounts of energy. I have seen estimates of sugar being 3 times more efficient per acre.

In the United States, the sugar-cane industry has had little incentive to diversify into ethanol production because import quotas support U.S. sugar prices far above world levels. Expansion of sugar cane acreage beyond Hawaii, Florida and the Gulf Coast is limited by the need for a long, frost-free growing season.

The United States also imposes a stiff tariff on imported ethanol. Wrong again Congress ! All this talk of free trade and we don’t let US businesses invest in the Brazilian refining plants and import the energy to the USA. Companies are finding work arounds, like Cargill Inc., the third-largest U.S. ethanol refiner, announced plans last year to refine Brazilian ethanol in El Salvador and export it to the United States duty-free under provisions of the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Seems like a lot of work. Let’s learn from Brazil.

But again why ethanol from a food source. Aren’t there more efficient ways?

Why not switchgrass? This is the celluose based approach. I believe President Bush even mentioned in a state of the union address. As usual things mentioned there mean little, other than that it is now an officially recognized alternative. Where is the money to investigate this alternative? There has been a test underway for a couple of years in Ottumwa, Iowa called the Chariton Valley Biomass Project http://www.iowaswitchgrass.com . This project was considered a successful test. I wouldn’t consider it the ideal test, but it used existing infrastructure and made it work. The program tested 1.) Growing switchgrass in four counties of Iowa 2.) Packaging and distribution issues with switchgrass 3.) Storage of the product 4.) Use within an existing coal-fired plant as a supplement fuel source.

Some learnings; Weed control of initial fields is crucial, fields take two years to mature and to increase production. 2 tons per acre was a break-even from a cash standpoint for farmers, some of the best numbers were 6 ton averages per acre. Already the universities are investigating how they can genetically formulate a better seed source, as there was wide variation in production amongst the seeds used.

Existing haying equipment and flatbed trucks deliver the product to the power plant. Storage of the product will require large storage buildings. Special equipment was put in place to process the bales, so that it could be blown into the coal fired burners, thereby reducing the coal needed to produce energy.

From my readings, some benefits of switchgrass over corn and sugar based energy;

• Energy from a non food source
• Switchgrass is a native grass which can be grown from canada to mexico (more farmers benefit)
• Once established, switchgrass is a crop that keeps on giving: It’s a perennial, so it can be harvested for decades without replanting, dramatically reducing the amount of energy needed to grow it, compared to corn.
• Limited fertilization needed, if any (again weed control important up front)
• Harvesting done with existing farm equipment
• Switchgrass is great at capturing carbon dioxide and trapping it underground with its three-metre deep roots, thus acting against the gas which is produced by burning fossil fuels and which many scientists say is the main reason for global warming.
• More efficient production – The energy ratings rank how much energy is contained in a fuel product per unit of fossil fuel used in its production. Ordinary gasoline has a 0.8 fossil energy balance rating; ethanol from corn, 1.5; ethanol from sugar cane, 8; and cellulosic ethanol, such as that from switchgrass, a range from 2 to 36, based on current experiments.

Bottom line – Congress, set aside a few dollars from the billions in farm subsidies to continue the research in switchgrass. Provide incentives to farmers and power plants to try this as a supplement to their existing fuel source and lastly remove barriers to importing other forms of energy from countries like Brazil. Lose the ‘not invented here’ mentality and learn about ethanol production from Brazil, tidal power from Netherlands, Geothermal from Iceland, Solar and Conservation approaches from Germany and Wind from many countries including Scotland.