Switchgrass Energy
Nothing relaxes the mind like a barefoot stroll across the park. The world slows down on a well worn bench under an old Oak tree. The energy I feel is in the wind, in the bright sunshine and right here under my feet. Often overlooked, grass has proven its worth to us time and time again.
In the middle of the Dark Ages, someone began harvesting alfalfa grass and using it as livestock feed in the winter months. By keeping domesticated animals alive year round, alfalfa hay helped cold weather communities thrive in the modern era.
Farmers still feed alfalfa to their livestock in the winter. But now a new type of grass is poised to change life as we know it. A January, 2008, United States study at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln showed that switchgrass (also known as prairie grass) produces five times more energy than it takes to grow. The infrastructure to burn switch grass as fuel is currently under construction.
Pelletizers
As the name suggests, pellitizers reduce switchgrass to pellets, which can then be used for home heating. Mobile pellitizers have only come out as prototypes so far, but the future looks promising. The day when farmers can bring their switchgrass crop in to the local cooperative and leave with enough fuel to heat their homes for a year may not be far off.
Better Ethanol
Most ethanol in the United States is produced from corn. Corn must be replanted every year and takes far more energy to produce than switchgrass. Switchgrass energy production is an environmentally friendly activity which reduces greenhouse gas emissions. And since switchgrass grows well in poor soil, it won’t impact food crops as directly as corn grown for ethanol.
October 13th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Wow, I can’t believe that there is one thing you can do to use a grass..I thought that this will be useless to people. Great job!