Freeways to Fuels (F2F)
by Dallas Hanks and Ralph Whitesides (Utah State University) … Nearly all highway, airport, railway and military areas in the United States have fallow agronomic areas that require regular maintenance to keep them from becoming unsightly and unsafe. In addition to costly maintenance, these areas can harbor noxious weeds and other pests and can become significant fire hazards. For example, Utah has over 5000 miles of highway right-of-ways and considering the length and width of the highway shoulder this translates into more than 1.5 million acres that need maintenance on an annual basis. The expense to the public to mow, control pests, and maintain these areas can reach over $300/mile/year – an annual total of over 1.7 million dollars (2007 Utah Department of Transportation – UDOT).A potential solution for these problems is growing biofuel feedstock crops along the freeway under non-irrigated dry land conditions and converting the biomass into biofuels. Benefits of biofuel production with this method include:Displacement of petroleum usage • with biofuels by Utah Department of Transportation and other states that adopt this method;
Biofuel feedstock growth using this • method does not affect food supply. This would be new acreage currently not being utilized for crop production;
Decreases weed pressures • through crop competition and subsequent use of pesticides along targeted areas such as roadsides;
Significantly decreases exhaust • emissions from equipment when biofuels grown on these areas are utilized in government and private fleets;
Increases aesthetics along utilized • areas;
Increases sustainability of utilized • areas;
Decreases costs of maintenance • to zero – in some cases actually provides financial benefits;
Increases the public awareness • regarding biomass and biofuels by “freeway” exposure;
Decreases fire danger of targeted • areas by replacing fuel load of plants such as downy brome (cheatgrass). READ MORE
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