Visualizing Future Bioenergy Harvests

By Susanne Retka Schill

What might harvest look like in the future of cellulosic ethanol and bioenergy crops? Look to the present, suggests Corey Radtke, principle scientist with the renewable energy and power group at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and conceptualize what will change with the new crops.

For instance, the model right now is to bale dry energy crops, store them for a time, truck them to the biorefinery with short-term storage, grind, pretreat and begin the conversion process. Cost-effectiveness will depend on how many of those steps can be eliminated or combined. "We could save huge amounts of money if we get the format right at the combine," he says. Researchers at INL are looking at such issues as the properties of ground feedstocks with a wide range of particle sizes and potential fire hazards. For example, dry biomass burns easily, and dust can be explosive.

With corn stover or wheat straw, the biomass crop will most likely be a coproduct of the grain harvest. A collaborative effort between INL and the University of Kentucky is looking at whether parts of the plant will be more valuable to collect while other parts are left in the field for soil building. In corn, for example, they are looking at the composition of the cobs, husks, leaves and other parts, Radtke says.

Ethanol Producer Magazine, August 31, 2007