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Little River, TX | Possibly the bloom is off of Switchgrass as a fuel
I say this because at least 10 years ago maybe 15 the experiment station at Stephenville, TX was looking at growing switchgrass as a bio fuel and using dairy waste for fertility needs. They have not said much about their progress of late.
Paul has stated most of my reservations. I will add that it is a bunch grass and after a few years may become difficult to harvest with machinery.
Now switchgrass does a reasonably good job of stockpiling or curing standing. Not only that it does not tend to lodge like other grasses when allowed to cure standing.
Earlier the idea was to burn the dried material. This was supposedly by grinding it to a powder and burning it in a gas turbine to generate electricity. The waste heat from the turbine would be used to heat water for a steam turbine. There was a pilot program for alfalfa using this technology, in Wisconsin during the 90's. That program died.
Regardless (irregardlessly) for bio fuels to succeed it needs to be without government intervention. | |
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The Future of Switchgrass as a Cellulosic Ethanol Feedstock
