Biomass Pretreatment Less Costly Than Expected

Hay & Forage Grower
May 5, 2011 11:49 AM

Pretreating bulky biomass feedstocks to make them into a denser, more compact form as a first step toward making them into biofuels may require less energy than scientists had thought.

That’s the good news thus far from a $1.1 million study funded largely by the North Central Sun Grant Center at South Dakota State University (SDSU).

Scientists already know the biofuels of the future will likely require regional biomass processing centers to pretreat and densify materials such as switchgrass and cornstalks. Pretreating and densifying feedstocks will make it easier to ship biomass to processing facilities as much as 50-100 miles away. The new study explores some of the actual methods and technologies that could be used.

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