by Megan Cassidy (Columbia Missourian) Shibu Jose and his team believe that today’s soggy river bottoms could be untapped grounds for the largest advanced biofuel economy in the nation. Jose, director for MU’s Center for Agroforestry, is proposing to cultivate and harvest
miscanthus
Back TO HOMESwitch from Corn to Grass Would Raise Ethanol Output, Cut Emissions
(EurekAlert!/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Growing perennial grasses on the least productive farmland now used for corn ethanol production in the U.S. would result in higher overall corn yields, more ethanol output per acre and better groundwater quality, researchers report
July 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Southeast US Offers Huge Energy Crop Potential
by Kris Bevill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The U.S. Southeast is ripe for energy crop development, according to several panelists who spoke during a session devoted to next-generation feedstock strategies June 28 at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in
June 30, 2011 Read Full Article
Ashtabula County: Growing New Energy Industry
by Tom Beres (WKYC) Farmers in Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania are being recruited to grow a special grass that can be converted to biofuel energy. Some are already planting miscanthus, a durable grass that won't spread and requiries little fertilizer and care. It
June 29, 2011 Read Full Article
Chain, Chain, Chain – Chain of Fuels: Birth of a Global Supply Chain for Biomass
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Mendel CEO Neal Gutterson talks about miscanthus, and the role of the power sector as the driver of a global supply chain for biomass. ...The company’s IP lies in its understanding of a large class of
June 27, 2011 Read Full Article
USDA Announces Projects to Provide Increased Renewable Energy Production, Reduce Reliance on Foreign Oil
(US Department of Agriculture) Projects Further Obama Administration's Effort to Produce Clean Home-Grown Energy, Create Sustainable Rural Jobs Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today the establishment of four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas to promote the cultivation of
June 17, 2011 Read Full Article
Tobacco Funds Give Danville Boost
by Tara Bozick (GoDanRiver.com) ...Other projects receiving tobacco commission money: ...• The commission approved $490,000 for Piedmont BioProducts in Gretna to improve its biofuel-making process, which will lead to the company’s first commercial bio-refinery in Gretna Industrial Park. READ MORE and MORE and
June 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Iowa State's Role in the Future of Biofuels
by Dan Piller (Des Moines Register) Prototypes of the biofuels refinery of the future sit in a 19,000-square-foot complex on the Iowa State Research Farm west of Ames. Two experimental plants, whose network of pipes and containers looks to the lay
May 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Harvesting, Storage and Transfer Technology Update
by Maynard Herron and Bob Matousek (Kansas Alliance for Biorefining and Bioenergy) AGCO (Hesston, KS) received an award for biomass feedstock supply demonstration as a partial match of a $5 million renewable energy R & D grant
April 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Switching Biofuels Could do a Double-Whammy on Climate Change
by John Timmer (Ars Technica) Biofuel crops have the potential to offset the world's reliance on fossil fuels, increasing energy security and decreasing the risk of climate change. However, the choice of crops and target fuel can radically change their
March 03, 2011 Read Full Article
A Billion Tons of Biomass a Viable Goal, but at High Price, New Research Shows
by Phil Ciciora (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A team of researchers led by Madhu Khanna, a professor of agricultural and consumer economics at Illinois, shows that very high biomass prices would be needed in order to meet the ambitious
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
Vinod Khosla on Biofuel Feedstocks
by Vinod Khosla (GreenTechMedia) Imagination is in shortest supply when it comes to agronomic econometrics that extrapolate the past instead of inventing a new future. Part II: Feedstock. Feedstock cost, environmental impact and even its politics are critical variables. With each
February 06, 2011 Read Full Article
Field Day Promotes Giant Miscanthus
by Cheree Franco (Mississippi State Ag Communications) On a January morning in Soperton, Ga., southeastern farmers mingled with investors and biomass experts to discuss Freedom Giant Miscathus--a towering grass that may be America’s most promising clean energy solution. Freedom was developed
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
2011 Miscanthus Acres to Mushroom
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Miscanthus will see a giant leap in acreage in 2011, thanks to Soperton, Ga.-based Repreve Renewables LLC. The company currently has 500 acres planted in five locations in the Southeast, which Craig Patterson,
December 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Biomass May Hold Partial Solution to Global Energy Needs
by Cary Blake (Western Farm Press) A growing U.S. agricultural biomass industry can help meet the catapulting energy and fuel demands of a global population that the United Nations predicts could reach 9 billion by 2050. “We need to envision and implement
December 23, 2010 Read Full Article
New Miscanthus Hybrid Discovery in Japan Could Open Doors for Biofuel Industry
(Science Blog) In the minds of many, Miscanthus x giganteus is the forerunner in the race of viable feedstock options for lignocellulosic bioenergy production. But researchers believe “putting all their eggs in one basket” could be a big mistake. Scientists at
December 22, 2010 Read Full Article
BIOLYFE Newsletter Announces Preliminary Research Results of EU Second Generation Ethanol Production Project
(BIOLYFE) The BIOLYFE project aims at improving critical steps of the second generation bioethanol production process and at demonstrating the whole supply chain, from feedstock sourcing via fuel production to product utilisation. The main result will be the construction of an
December 21, 2010 Read Full Article
Agrivida Announces Collaboration with Syngenta Ventures to Deliver Low-Cost Sugars for Cellulosic Biofuels and Biochemicals
(Agrivida) Agrivida, Inc. announced a collaboration with Syngenta Ventures to develop advanced crop technology that will provide low-cost sugars for a variety of industrial applications. Under the terms of the agreement, Syngenta licenses to Agrivida access to crop technology and
December 17, 2010 Read Full Article
Miscanthus Multiplication Made Easier
(Sprigger's Choice) Sprigger’s Choice should be your choice establishing lifting, harvesting and planting your Bio-Energy Crop such as Miscanthus with Rhizomes. Growers of the energy crop Miscanthus will shortly have available to them some additional equipment, specifically designed to assist in
December 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Connecting Biofuels Agribusiness to the Supply Side of Its Market
(Write2Market) ...Sunbelt Biofuels is a small company building on the business acumen of its Founder and CEO, so-called ‘SodFather ‘Phillip Jennings. Phillip supplies much of the world’s turf market, famously carpeting the ground for the Superbowl. At this early stage
December 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Researchers Find New Switchgrass Virus
(High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal) University of Illinois researchers have confirmed the first report of a potential new virus belonging to the genus Marafivirus in switchgrass, a biomass crop being evaluated for commercial cellulosic ethanol production. The virus is associated with mosaic and
November 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Grasses Have Potential as Alternate Ethanol Crop, Illinois Study Finds
(EurekAlert!) Money may not grow on trees, but energy could grow in grass. Researchers at the University of Illinois have completed the first extensive geographic yield and economic analysis of potential bioenergy grass crops in the Midwestern United States. Demand for biofuels
November 03, 2010 Read Full Article
Advanced Energy Crops: Industry Perspectives --Miscanthus Commercial Varieties and their Production
by Dr. Neal Gutterson (President and Chief Executive Officer, Mendel Biotechnologies, Inc.) Dr. Gutterson details the activities of Mendel Biotechnologies relevant to the advanced biofuels business space. Mendel developed Miscanthus x giganteus, a custom, sterile, weed-resistant variation of miscanthus. Currently, Mendel is
October 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Study: Miscanthus Guzzles More Water Than Corn but Soaks Up More Nitrates Too
by Lisa Song (Solve Climate News) Research emerging from the University of Illinois paints an ambiguous picture of the grass's biofuel potential. Miscanthus, a potential bioufuel crop, uses more water than corn or soybeans but is better for water quality, reported scientists
October 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Oxford Resource Partners, LP and Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. Announce a Miscanthus Biomass Pilot Project in Ohio
(Oxford Resource Partners) Opportunity to Convert Reclaimed Mine Lands for Renewable Energy Oxford Resource Partners, LP and Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. announced their collaborative agreement to develop a pilot project to produce Mendel's proprietary Miscanthus varieties on land previously reclaimed from mining operations by
September 24, 2010 Read Full Article
The Pros & Cons of Miscanthus
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel) ...The potential of miscanthus and switchgrass has been studied extensively by researchers Greg McIsaac, Mark B. David and Corey A. Mitchell... The study focused on two important environmental concerns surrounding biomass: water quantity and nitrogen “leeching”. When
September 14, 2010 Read Full Article
DOE Announces Awards for up to $16.5 Million for Biomass Research and Development
(US Department of Energy) U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced September 8, 2010, the investment of up to $16.5 million for two major research and development (R&D) initiatives that will support the expansion of renewable transportation fuels production. The first initiative
September 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Miscanthus Planters From New Energy Farms
(New Energy Farms) Growers of the energy crop Miscanthus now have two planters available from New Energy Farms, the leading Miscanthus development company in North America and the EU. Miscanthus is a perennial grass which is harvested each year for the
August 09, 2010 Read Full Article
High-Yielding Miscanthus for Ethanol
by Hembree Brandon (Delta Farm Press) “We see a lot of potential in Freedom giant miscanthus — it’s the most promising of the hundreds of miscanthus cultivars we’ve evaluated over the years, and it’s light years ahead of any of the other
July 20, 2010 Read Full Article
Ceres Develops First Salt Tolerant Energy Crop
by Joanne Schroeder (DomesticFuel) Now this is interesting. I was reading earlier this morning in Cadillac Desert about how agriculture in many areas is suffering from water issues that include too much salt. The salt damages the soil, kills the crops
July 01, 2010 Read Full Article
Biofuels Digest Special Report on Biofuels, Genomics, and Feedstock Development
by Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest) ...Genomics research can be applied to energy crops to select for sequencing based on relevance to the DOE missions. Projects focus on one of three key aspects: the development of biofuel feedstocks; the identification of
April 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Miscanthus, Sweet Sorghum, Energy Cane Advancing at SERC
Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Mississippi, MSU professor Brian Baldwin provided an update on feedstock research at the MSU’s Sustainable Energy Research Center, where a focus on biofuels grasses has produced the recently licensed Freedom varietal of giant miscanthus. ...Baldwin’s presentation
February 18, 2010 Read Full Article
Researchers Evaluate New Potential Pests in Biomass Crops
Perennial grasses could become popular biomass crops in the future. Many perceive these grasses require little to no management for insects or other pests. However, researchers are finding rather than being pest-free, the identity of insect pests and their effects
February 11, 2010 Read Full Article
Mendel Biotechnology and Speedling Announce Development and Commercial Collaboration for Miscanthus Products
Speedling Incorporated and Mendel Biotechnology, Inc. today announced a collaborative agreement to jointly research, develop, and commercialize a cost-effective propagation and production system for Mendel's advanced Miscanthus product candidates. Speedling will apply its proprietary propagation methods to optimize the production
December 28, 2009 Read Full Article
California Company Sees Potential in Its Miscanthus Trials
by Lisa Gibson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) California-based Mendel Biotechnology Inc. has more than 2,000 varieties of miscanthus under development on several different plots and hopes to have significant plantings for biomass power generation in the next two to four years. Fifteen
December 11, 2009 Read Full Article
Mississippi State University Lets “Freedom” Ring as Viable Biofuel Feedstock
by Patti Drapala (MSU Ag Communications) ... One focus of MSU’s research is giant miscanthus, or Miscanthus x giganteus, a warm-season Asian grass that many scientists believe has potential as a biomass crop for fuel. Researchers with the Mississippi Agricultural
December 07, 2009 Read Full Article
Changes in Soil Organic Carbon under Biofuel Crops
by Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Sarah C. Davis, Michael D. Masters and Evan H. Delucia (Global Change Biology Bioenergy) One potentially significant impact of growing biofuel crops will be the sequestration or release of carbon (C) in soil. Soil organic carbon (SOC)