Switchgrass fuel costs as low as 44 cents per gallon, says research team after five-year study

March 10, 2008

In Nebraska, a research team at the University of Nebraska released more details on a five-year, 10-farm study on switchgrass production. The research team determined that five farmers achieved average costs of $50 per ton for production, translating to a feedstock price of as little as 58 cents per gallon for switchgrass ethanol. The research team also found that greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 94 percent in switchgrass production, compared to gasoline emissions. Two farmers in the study, with previous experience growing switchgrass, achieved costs of $39 per ton in the five-year study, or 25 percent below the average for the group, indicating a potential to produce fuel at as low as 44 cents per gallon.

In Illinois, researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign surveyed local farmers and report that the major challenge in developing cellulosic ethanol will be to persuade farmers to grow the crop. Farmers indicated in the survey that they would only grow cellulosic crops if they could be persuaded that the cellulosic crops such as switchgrass and miscanthus can compete with soybeans and corn in terms of profitability.

Switchgrass hasÂ received a green light recently as a biofuel feedstock on the nitrogen front. A report has been published comparing the impact of additional biofuel production on nitrogen levels in Chesapeake Bay. The report found that corn production increased nitrogen in the Bay by 16 pounds per acre under production, versus 8 additional pounds per acre of soybeans. The report found that switchgrass production would reduce nitrogen levels by 27 pounds per acre under production.

Detailed results downloadable for five-year study on switchgrass production costs, feasibility

In Nebraska, detailed results from the five-year switchgrass study, that demonstrated average production costs of $60 per ton of biomass with a low of $39 per ton, are now available online. The comple...

Oak Ridge research team says switchgrass can reduce Gulf of Mexico “death zone” effect

A research team at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said that improvements in crop management and the planting of perennials such as switchgrass could ease hypoxia levels in the Gulf of Mexico, which...

Planting begins at 1,000 acre switchgrass farm; will provide feedstock for cellulosic ethanol

In Oklahoma, researchers have commenced planting on a 1,000 acre switchgrass farm that will produce feedstock for the Abengoa cellulosic ethanol demonstration facility in Hugoton, Kansas. Researchers ...

Five-year study on switchgrass finds a 500 percent return on energy inputs; US cellulosic ethanol prospects receive a huge boost

In the first comprehensive report on the biofuel potential of switchgrass, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science says that switchgrass has a yield of more than fi...

Algae biofuel yields 154 times more miles per acre than soy biodiesel; solar is king, but as yet expensive

Miles per acre is the subject of an article at ecogeek on the productivity of various renewable energy sources. The article credited soybean biodiesel with a productivity of 2,400 miles per acre per y...

Study says 10 percent of US fuel supply from biofuels could come from marginal land

In California, a research team from Stanford has undertaken a national survey of the potential for cultivating biofuels on marginal lands that are unused and unsuitable for food cultivation. The team ...

Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Producer News, Research