Page 282 - Synthetic Fuels Handbook

268 CHAPTER NINE

therefore also have valuable environmental benefits by acting as absorbing disposal areas
for waste water and some industrial effluents). Furthermore, Miscanthus seems to grow
well in most soil conditions (bar thin droughty soils) but appears to thrive within areas
which are currently best-suited to maize production. The advantages of Miscanthus as an
energy crop are that it multiplies very rapidly, has a high yield which is relatively dry and can
be harvested annually (from its second season onward) compared with every 2 to 4 years for
short rotation coppice.
Further advantages are that miscanthus can be grown and harvested with existing farm
machinery; it requires little or no pesticide/fertilizer input after establishment and the harvest
can use the same infrastructure for storage and transport as short rotation coppice. Finally,
Miscanthus has a similar calorific value per unit weight as wood and therefore could possibly
be used in the same power plant or those designed for agricultural residues.

9.1.3 Reed Canary Grass
Reed canary grass is a robust C3 perennial grass, widely distributed across temperate
regions of Europe, Asia, and also North America. It usually grows in damp areas.
This rhizonous grass can grow up to 6 ft in height and usually flowers in June and July.
Reed canary grass is usually harvested once per year either by mowing or baling using
a high density baler. Crop duration of 10 years or more may be possible. Due to its low
moisture content, canary grass (those harvested in spring) can be easily converted to pellets,
briquettes, and powder.
The advantages of reed canary grass as an energy crop are its good adaptation to cool
temperate climates and poor wet soil conditions and, conversely, its ability to withstand
drought. Crucially, for the purposes of biomass production, reed canary grass is also able to
attain high dry matter content earlier than Miscanthus. The crop responds well to nitrogen
and phosphate and it may be used in a bed system to remove nutrients from waste water, as
well as to stabilize areas at risk of soil erosion.

9.1.4 Cordgrass

Cordgrasses are perennial grasses from Western Europe, Africa, and North America. They
are pioneer colonists of muddy coastal salt flats, spreading by means of rhizomes to form
clumps and mats which help to reduce erosion and reclaim land from the sea. Cordgrasses
are expected to be able to produce good yields of biomass in poor soil conditions.

9.1.5 Switchgrass

The utilization of energy crops such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum, L., Poaceae) is a
concept with great relevance to current ecologic and economic issues on a global scale.
Development of a significant national capacity to utilize perennial forage crops, such as
switchgrass as biofuels, could provide an important new source of energy from perennial
cropping systems, which are compatible with conventional farming practices, would help
reduce degradation of agricultural soils, lower national dependence on foreign oil sup-
plies, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants to the atmosphere
(McLaughlin, 1997).
Switchgrass is a perennial sod-forming grass with thick strong stems. The advantages of
switchgrass as an energy crop are that it is fast-growing, remarkably adaptable, and high-
yielding. Further advantages of switchgrass are that it can be harvested, using conventional