The production of biofuel from silver grass proved to be the most lucrative and ecologically inoffensive
Scientists arrived at this conclusion after having compared the yield with the prime cost of biofuel production from silver grass, switchgrass and maize spadices.
The palm of supremacy here belongs to silver grass, a fast-growing energy plant. Modelling showed that silver grass holds the first place by the indexes of crop productivity, being capable of growing on poor, unfertile soil. Besides, it determined maize wastes according to their capacity to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.
Madu Hanna, the representative of Illinois University, who is also a co-author of investigation and a member of scientific group of Biological Science Institute, asserted that the main reason for the interest for this crop lies in its capacity of growing on poor soils, leaving therefore areas for agriculture. Hence, agrarians will be able to make a profit on exploitation of the likely soils and will not have to occupy the soils suitable for grain-crops growing.
"For lack of actual data we felt a certain skepticism towards energy crops capable of growing on unfertile soils. But, this research furnished proofs. We’ve managed to maintain the same conditions on a level, changing only the dimensions of a soil", declared Evan DeLuchia, the professor of integrative biology of Illinois University.
For model standardizing we used the data received at university experimental farm, and the data from the farms situated all over the country. During thirty years, in different weather conditions, in the process of modelling, the productivity and the degree of greenhouse gases emissions were suscitated.
Another purpose of investigation implied the comparison of the degree of carbon dioxide emissions during the production of biofuel while using sources of raw materials. It appeared that in case of maize wastes utilization, the degree of reduction of these emissions was higher than when silver grass and switchgrass were utilized.
"As a rule, maize straw is used as raw material only because a farmer, who grows maize, doesn’t have to grow any other crops. But, biofuel obtained from maize straw is more ecological than the traditional one, meanwhile the index of fuel from silver grass equals 140%. That’s why, if we want to think of ecology and if we are eager to reduce the degree of greenhouse gases emissions, we should use silver grass as raw material", says Mandu Hanna.
And now we have to conceive how to persuade consumers to tank their cars with this kind of fuel. Mandu Hanna considers that a so-called ecologic tax may serve as a powerful incentive. Biofuel produced from silver grass doesn’t cause carbon dioxide emissions, and therefore the price of tax will be low, which is certainly going to make this fuel agreeable for clients.
