Research shows grasses superior to corn in ethanol production

FORT COLLINS — Research from Colorado State University, with cooperation from the University of Illinois, shows that biofuel grasses have the potential to replace corn-based ethanol.

CSU senior research scientist William Parton and his team found that using certain grass species, such as switchgrass, in the same land area as that used to grow corn could result in an increase in ethanol production and a decrease in nitrogen leaching into the Gulf of Mexico, as well as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the Midwest’s Corn Belt.

Replacing corn ethanol with perennial grasses could lead to an increase in productivity of food and fuel within the region without causing additional land use change.

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“Replacing perennial biofuel crops on previously cultivated land in the United States will result in massive reductions in greenhouse gas fluxes from agricultural systems,” Parton said.

“Production of corn-based ethanol simply cannot compare to the 15 to 30 percent reduction in nitrogen leaching into the Gulf of Mexico when perennial crops are grown for ethanol production,” he continued.

Policy implications of the study point toward more research that should be conducted on how to produce ethanol from biofuel crops.  The potential benefits to the environment and the economy cannot be ignored, according to Parton.