BY LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

URBANA, Ill. — Bioenergy took center stage as the University of Illinois’ crop sciences department staged its 51st annual Agronomy Day in Urbana on Aug. 16.

For the department, the event was an opportunity not only to promote and share research on homegrown fuels with Illinois farmers, but also a chance to attract new students to careers in the bioenergy field.

“There’s a widening gap between the number of people that are needed in the bioenergy industry and the number of people that are getting educated for it,” said Pat Tranel, an associate professor in the UoI crop sciences department and chair of the 2007 Agronomy Day.

As a result, the department is actively trying to recruit and train new students to meet the surging demand for bioenergy know-how on the federal level as well as in the private sector.

And the students are coming from all walks of life.

“What we’ve seen is a decrease in students who come from an agricultural background and an increase in students who come from urban areas and are interested in biotechnology,” Tranel explained. “Crop sciences is not a dying field – it’s a growing field right now. And we’re not just training people to become farmers; that’s a misconception.”

Visitors to the 2007 Agronomy Day could get a sample of just how the growing bioenergy industry may play into their futures, through a walking tour that focused solely on renewable energy. For example, one featured UoI research team has developed a process that converts swine manure to a product that’s similar to crude oil.

“It sounds complicated, but we’re really just replicating the natural way crude oil is made,” said Mitch Minarick, a graduate student in the agricultural and biological engineering department.

Whereas petroleum-based oil takes millions of years to form from fossilized plants and animals, Minarick and his research team can make oil out of swine manure in less than an hour, using a thermochemical conversion reactor. With current efficiency, the lifetime manure from one market hog could produce up to 15 gallons of crude oil, adding value to the animal and offering a holistic way to treat livestock waste, as concerns about emissions have spurred more stringent regulations and increasing costs.

Depending on the price of crude, Minarick estimated the value of manure conversion could add up to $15 per head over the lifetime of the hog. On top of that, the process could earn hog farmers money for sequestering carbon.

“It’s looking like a win-win situation on all fronts,” Minarick said.
The research team is currently working with industry partners to get the project from the experimental stages to a real farm, and expects to have a pilot project up and running in a year or 18 months.

Another renewable fuel that holds great promise for Illinois farmers is cellulosic ethanol made from the Asian grass Miscanthus. Frank Dohleman, a graduate research assistant in the plant biology department, said Miscanthus field trials in Illinois have generated average harvests of 15 tons per acre.

In comparison, corn grain and corn stover combined only yield about 7.6 tons of harvestable biomass per acre, presuming three tons of stover are removed every year. Compared to switchgrass, which is frequently mentioned as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol, Miscanthus also comes out on top, since switchgrass only yields about 5.6 tons of biomass per acre.

A perennial that requires very little maintenance once established, Dohleman said Miscanthus plots in Europe, where the grass is mainly used for heat and electricity production, have grown for as long as 30 years without needing replanting.

“We don’t have a good idea of how long it’ll grow, but we think it’ll grow for a good while,” he said.

Other advantages are that Miscanthus is not affected by any known pests or diseases, stores carbon in the soil, doesn’t require a lot of water to grow and can be harvested using existing farming equipment.

“I enjoyed the tours very much,” said Don Uchtmann, a retired professor of agricultural law who attends Agronomy Day every year. “Miscanthus is something we’re hearing about all the time. I think it’s a very interesting possibility – now we need some pilot plants and economic data.”