Clemson U Hosting Switchgrass Conference

CLEMSON — In a move to bring more crops into the biofuel mix, Clemson University is hosting a conference to explore alternative fuels, Switchgrass: Energy of the Future, on Thursday in Florence.

By assembling an inter-disciplinary team of scientists, legislators and corporate sponsors, which will be named at the conference, Clemson hopes to bring switchgrass into the biofuel mainstream.

Switchgrass is a drought-resistant perennial and native to the central prairies of the United States. It can grow in poor soils, in sun or some shade and it can be used as livestock forage. In appearance switchgrass looks like many of the ornamental grasses used in landscaping in South Carolina, often reaching heights of 6 feet or more.

Switchgrass is considered a good candidate for biofuel, especially ethanol fuel production, because of it hardiness, experts said.

It grows rapidly, needs little fertilizer or care and tolerates poor soils and stressful climate conditions, according to Clemson researchers.

The new word in biofuels technology is “cellulosic.” Cellulosic ethanol is chemically identical to ethanol from other sources, such as corn starch, but is more abundant and cheaper to grow. However, it does require higher levels of energy to extract the sugar used to make the ethanol.

Clemson Independent Mail. Com, Nov. 12, 2007