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Biofuel and Carbon Sequestration

Updated 07/11/2008

Switchgrass was one the first perennial grasses evaluated for use as a biofuel.Biofuel is any fuel derived from a recently living organism, such as a plant. Biomass produced from plants is processed into liquid fuel (ethanol and biodiesel), burned to generate electricity, or chemically converted to syn-gas.

The Plant Materials Program of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been collecting, evaluating, selecting, and releasing cultivars of switchgrass since the 1940’s for soil conservation, livestock forage and wildlife.  These cultivars such as ‘Alamo’, ‘Kanlow’ and ‘Cave-in-Rock’, which are products of the plant materials program, are being utilized as biofuel crops in the Northern Great Plains and southeastern United States. Several Plant Materials Centers have cooperated with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Biomass Feed Stock Development Program by conducting regional testing trials and management practices for biomass production and evaluation.

 

Publications

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Plant Materials Used for Biofuel PDF; 2,758 KB June 2007 - National Plant Materials Program Fact Sheet

Switchgrass Biomass Trials in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. PDF; 852KB Tober, D., W. Duckwitz, N. Jensen, and M. Knudson. 2007. USDA, NRCS, Bismarck, ND. March 2007. 20p. (ID# 7093)

 'Alamo' Switchgrass - Could It Be A Friendly Fuel for Cars. PDF; 111 KB Rudy G. Esquivel. 2006. James E. 'Bud' Smith Plant Materials Center, Knox City , Texas. March 2006. 1p. (ID# 6525)

President's State of the Union Address has Grassroots in Texas. PDF; 18 KB . 2006. Knox City PMC, February 2006. 1p. (ID# 6520)

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