carver.clark.switchgrassethanol

The problem at hand is that the world is burning fossil fuels at a tremendous rate. Excessive amounts of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere with no means to remove the carbon dioxide. One possible solution to using fossil fuels is switchgrass ethanol and its byproducts. Switchgrass is a fast growing grass native to the United States. Switchgrass can be grown just about everywhere including land that was thought to be used up. Switchgrass can actually replenish nutrients in the used soil. Switchgrass can be used to create ethanol to power cars and trucks and the biomass that is left over can be burned in biomass plants to produce electricity. However, switchgrass takes up a lot of land that could be used to raise cattle or other food crops.



Switchgrass is also called Panicum Virgatum. It is a warm season grass that is native to North America. It is one of the most common plants that make up the tall grass prairie of the United States. It is found around the states of Alabama and Mississippi as well as most of the Great Plains. Switchgrass is reasonably easy to grow it can grow in pretty much any soil and can grow in flooding or drought. Switchgrass is also resistant to pests and diseases since it is a native plant. There are two different types of Switchgrass one grows up to 5-6 feet; the other can grow up to 12 feet. Switchgrass can grow in very large quantities it is possible to grow up to 10 tons per acre.

Annual cultivation of many agricultural crops depletes the soil's organic matter, steadily reducing fertility, but switchgrass adds organic matter. With its network of stems and roots, switchgrass holds onto soil even in winter to prevent erosion. Switchgrass can also filter runoff from fields planted with traditional row crops. So switchgrass could be planted in rows around traditional crops and also along river banks and wetlands and harvested that way. Switchgrass also removes more CO2 than corn over the lifetime of the plant. Energy crops of switchgrass "recycle" CO2 over and over again, with each year's cycle of growth and use. It also helps conserve water because it digs deep into the ground and uses the water it finds very efficiently.

To take the switchgrass and convert it to fuel it needs to be done in a cellulosic biorefineries. Cellulosic ethanol is the fuel that is made from the switchgrass it is very complex process to do so but, if it is done switchgrass could become the most promising natural fuel. The cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass contains more net energy than ethanol from corn and also emits much less greenhouse gases in the process. Energy secretary of the U.S. department of energy said " cost competative, energy responsible cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass or from forestry waste like sawdust and wood chips requires a more complex refining process but it's worth the investment."

A major benefit of using switchgrass is that it removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the process of refining it into ethanol produces less carbon dioxide than using corn. Switchgrass can produce 11,500 gallons per acre, substantially higher than corn. Physiologist Sandy McLaughlin explains that "Producing ethanol from corn requires almost as much energy to produce as it yields," he explains, "while ethanol from switchgrass can produce about five times more energy than you put in. When you factor in the energy required to make tractors, transport farm equipment, plant and harvest, and so on, the net energy output of switchgrass is about 20 times better than corn's."

Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane motor fuel that is produced from renewable sources. At its most basic, ethanol is grain alcohol. Ethanol is also used in industrial industries such as beauty products, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, cleaning products, and many paints, lacquers, and explosives. Ethanol is produced in refining plants much like gasoline and diesel. However, ethanol cannot be used in all vehicles and older vehicles must be modified to be able to handle the ethanol.



Ethanol Refinery



The ethanol produced from switchgrass is made from the cellulose inside the plant. Cellulosic ethanol has the same chemical make up as normal ethanol produced from corn but it has a three times higher energy output and emits less greenhouse gases while it is being produced. Cellulosic ethanol can only be produced from plants such as straw and switchgrass but can also come from the waste of industrial processes such as saw dust and paper pulp. Ethanol is created by breaking the cellulose down into sugars which are then eaten by yeast and a byproduct of the yeast eating the sugar is the ethanol. The trouble comes in trying to break the plant fibers down into sugars. Two methods are currently being used. One approach utilizes acid hydrolysis to break down the complex carbohydrates into simple sugars. An alternative method, enzymatic hydrolysis, utilizes pretreatment processes to first reduce the size of the material to make it more accessible to hydrolysis. Once pretreated, enzymes are employed to convert the cellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars. When the yeast eats the sugars ethanol and carbon dioxide are produced.

Cellulose Molecule



Ethanol is considered better than gasoline because of many reasons. It comes in many forms E10 has 10% ethanol and 90% regular gasoline. The major use for ethanol is as an alternative fuel to gasoline called E85 which is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E85 reduces harmful hydrocarbon and greenhouse gas emissions. E85 is the highest performance fuel you can purchase at the retail level with its octane rating of at least 105. The only vehicles now that can use E85 are flex-fuel vehicles which can also run on normal gasoline. Ethanol got a big boost when the Indy Racing League switched from 100% methanol to 100% ethanol. Ethanol is also much more cost effective than regular gasoline saving people money.



In conclusion, ethanol produced from switchgrass can be a very viable means of renewable energy in the future. It is easy to grow and readily available. With the new processes being created to turn the cellulose in the plant into ethanol, switchgrass ethanol will become one of the leading renewable resources. This is because of how efficient it is to produce and use. It is also very good for the environment which cannot be said for most renewable resources, there is always a down side with most. Switchgrass and the ethanol it produces will be used in the future very effectively.