Mississippi Feedstocks Research

Mississippi Mississippi Feedstocks Feedstocks ResearchResearch

Brian BaldwinDept. of Plant and Soil Science

Focus Crops• Dry Harvested, truly deciduous

– Switchgrass– Giant miscanthus (Mxg) – yields are twice swtg

• Wet harvested– Sweet sorghum (sugar and bagasse)– Energycane (some sugar and whole stalk)

• Inclusion of Mississippi cultivars– Napiergrass (elephantgrass) – de-emphasized

Giant Miscanthus18-20 T/A

Switchgrass7-10 T/A

Standability

Sweet sorghum8-12 T/A

Naipergrass0-19 T/A

Energycane5-23 T/A

End of Season Harvest2008

Tonn

age

Tons/A (front columns) Mg/ha (back columns)

Wood• Still the primary feedstock for existing and

new EtOH and syngas plants

• Can we provide grass between trees as they are regenerating (co-culture).– What are the potential effects on each crop?– What are the economics of the expected yield

compromise?

Establishment• Like real estate, its all about three things

– Establishment, establishment, establishment

• Need herbicides that work for switchgrass– pre- especially

• Need herbicides we can use in Mxg

Herbicide Resistance

Seed Safener

Low Seed Dormancy

Land Resources• Land for biomass crops will NOT come

from row crop land– Land will come from hill country where it can

serve as a (soil) conservation incentive

Land Resources– Land will come from CRP and pasture

• What will be the method of conversion?• Can we convert from existing CRP and pasture

land?• Develop establishment techniques to enable swtg

proliferation in mixed stands

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs

• Track N cycling in the plant

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs

• Associative dinitrogen fixation– Association of micro-organisms in and around the

crop roots

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs

• Winter legumes (perennial or annual) as a source of nitrogen• Must be timed with harvest

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs

• Organics/carbon sequestration over time

Use of By-products

• Char– Syngas and biooil plants getting 250,000 lbs

of feedstock a day will generate volumes of this.

• Will application to soil affect nutrient availability?• Can we create terra preta nova ?• Will it be advantageous?

Co-ordination with Feds.• DoE and its derivatives (INL, NREL, ORNL)

– Characterization of factors that affect quality of biomass

• Weathering effects on structural carbohydrates• Fertilizer source (esp Cl- and SO4

-2)• Soil type and luxury consumption of soil minerals• Species effects on structural carbohydrates

– Cultivar (esp. Forestburg)

• USDA (ARS and NRCS)