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| Cellulosic ethanol may be the next generation of biofuels |
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| By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent
BROOKINGS S.D. — Pheasants Forever’s (PF) Dave Nomsen recently testified at a field hearing for the Energy Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee. PF was invited to offer its perspective at the national discussion on cellulosic energy (energy produced from a variety of biomass sources) production and the 2007 Farm Bill.
“The focus of the hearing was the next generation of biofuels; looking at the future for cellulosic ethanol as opposed to the current grain-based system,” said Nomsen, PF’s vice president of government affairs. “We talked about switchgrass and other perennial grasses.”
Discussion is ongoing about how to develop energy from biomass sources like switchgrass and wood waste. Groups like PF have expertise in the field on how to plant switchgrass, grow it and get it established, he explained. Nomsen testified that conservation could be complimentary to the use of biomass energy and he also expressed concerns over protecting the CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) program, which has been heralded as USDA’s most successful conservation program, he said.
“It’s done tremendous things for water quality and soil erosion and wildlife and yet it is a voluntary program,” Nomsen said. “I expressed my concern about making sure that CRP remains economically competitive and viable, and that regardless of the price of corn we need additional CRP out there on the landscape.”
One advantage is that switchgrass is a perennial cover, Nomsen said. Once it’s established it’s there for a number of years, so it doesn’t require as many inputs as an annually planted crop would.
“Since it is a grass cover, whenever it would be harvested it’s still going to be protecting the soil—you’re going to get water quality benefits throughout the year,” Nomsen said.
Often with the switchgrass biofuel models, the switchgrass is not harvested until very late in the growing season, possibly after the first frost. That means undisturbed cover would be available for wildlife through the entire nesting season for wildlife – so there are promising aspects, Nomsen said.
“Clearly it’s an exciting opportunity,” he said. “Especially if you’re going to put this perennial biofuels crop into a heavy row crop environment…you’re going to have water quality benefits, soil erosion benefits and again wildlife benefits, depending on what you plant and how you harvest it.”
Also, any of the cellulosic plants have an advantage over corn-based ethanol in terms of the output, Nomsen said. Yet another intriguing element is that any type of a cellulosic crop, whether switchgrass or pine trees or whatever, when it is broken down to produce ethanol, one of the byproducts is lignin.
“That byproduct is something you can use to fuel the ethanol plant in the boilers,” Nomsen said.
Most ethanol plants are natural gas or coal-fired. A cellulosic crop would not only produce ethanol but would reduce the energy inputs needed. It would be environmentally a much stronger product and more cost efficient. Much research and development still needs to be done in this field and Nomsen stressed that it needs to be the right research.
“I really think that what is going to happen with the ‘07 Farm Bill is that we’re going to have a few years to do a strong amount of research and development here, leading to a fully fledged biofuels program in the next farm bill,” Nomsen concluded. |
| 4/18/2007 |
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