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Monday, November 2, 2009: 3:30 PM
Convention Center, Room 321, Third Floor
Abstract:
With the rise of the energy crisis, much attention is being paid to biofuel crop. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is one of the prospective plants for cellulosic ethanol production. One of the challenges is to lower the production costs and improve the biomass yield in a sustainable way. This can be done by managing nutrient removal during harvest. The overall goal of the current research is to study nutrient partitioning in switchgrass during the year and therefore determine the best time to harvest the biomass in order to minimize nutrient removal and sustain the system. This experiment was conducted on a 10 year old switchgrass stand in South Missouri. Four plots were delimited and at different time of the year, biomass was harvested within these plots. Using an atomic mass spectrometer, nutrient content was determined in the biomass. Nutrient accumulation was determined by multiplying the biomass by the nutrient content.
The maximum feedstock yield was obtained in October (21.9 Mg/ha); while a slight loss of biomass was encountered from October to November due to the fall of seed and the wind that cut some dried leaves off the plants. A dramatic change in nutrient accumulation is observed with time. For instance, N accumulation in the biomass decreased more than 4 times from July to November. The least decrease was observed with the micronutrients such as Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe. Considering the data obtained in this study, the harvest date of switchgrass can have a significant impact of the sustainable management and production of biofuel from that plant. November seemed to be the best time to harvest in order to maximize the yield and minimize nutrient removal. Also the cost of drying the biomass during the industrial processing will be low because, in November, the water accumulation in switchgrass biomass is about the fourth that on the active vegetation stage. Similarly, the low N content of the biomass at that time has a positive impact on the industrial biomass processing and on climate change. More than 7500 liters/ha of ethanol can be produced from switchgrass biomass in a sustainable.
The maximum feedstock yield was obtained in October (21.9 Mg/ha); while a slight loss of biomass was encountered from October to November due to the fall of seed and the wind that cut some dried leaves off the plants. A dramatic change in nutrient accumulation is observed with time. For instance, N accumulation in the biomass decreased more than 4 times from July to November. The least decrease was observed with the micronutrients such as Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe. Considering the data obtained in this study, the harvest date of switchgrass can have a significant impact of the sustainable management and production of biofuel from that plant. November seemed to be the best time to harvest in order to maximize the yield and minimize nutrient removal. Also the cost of drying the biomass during the industrial processing will be low because, in November, the water accumulation in switchgrass biomass is about the fourth that on the active vegetation stage. Similarly, the low N content of the biomass at that time has a positive impact on the industrial biomass processing and on climate change. More than 7500 liters/ha of ethanol can be produced from switchgrass biomass in a sustainable.