Chemical composition and bioethanol potential of different plant species found in Pacific Northwest conservation buffers

Lands producing mixed lignocellulosic ethanol feedstocks may be able to produce more biomass with fewer resources than conventional monoculture crops, but lignocellulosic ethanol production processes and efficiencies can be highly dependent on feedstock composition. In this study, plants were collected from areas planted to simulate conservation buffers alongside stream channels within three common resource areas the interior Pacific Northwest. Two grasses (tall wheatgrass and alfalfa) and seven forb species (fiddleneck tarweed, dog fennel, kochia, downey brome, tall annual willowherb, prickly lettuce, and tumble mustard) commonly found in these buffers were examined to determine their chemical composition, potential bioethanol yields, and difficulties that may arise if they were to be harvested and processed in a single facility. Potential ethanol yields calculated on the basis of sugar monomer composition in the biomass ranged from 181.5 to 316.5 l/dry ton of biomass. Significant differences were noted ...

[1]  T. Sisk.  Perspectives on the Land Use History of North America: A Context for Understanding Our Changing Environment , 1998 .

[2]  Peter McKendry,et al.  Energy production from biomass (Part 2): Conversion technologies. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[3]  Nick Otting,et al.  An Ecological Perspective of Riparian and Stream Restoration in the Western United States , 1997 .

[4]  D. Neary,et al.  Hydrology and Impacts of Disturbances on Hydrologic Function , 2003 .

[5]  Rebecca J. Garlock,et al.  Influence of variable species composition on the saccharification of AFEX™ pretreated biomass from unmanaged fields in comparison to corn stover , 2012 .

[6]  J. Williams,et al.  Plant Community Development in a Dryland CREP in Northeastern Oregon , 2011 .

[7]  K. Vogel,et al.  Influence of lignin on digestibility of forage cell wall material. , 1986, Journal of animal science.

[8]  G. Murthy,et al.  Impact of pretreatment and downstream processing technologies on economics and energy in cellulosic ethanol production , 2011, Biotechnology for biofuels.

[9]  Peter McKendry,et al.  Energy production from biomass (Part 1): Overview of biomass. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[10]  Robert B. Mitchell,et al.  Chemical composition and response to dilute-acid pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification of alfalfa, reed canarygrass, and switchgrass , 2006 .

[11]  Jacinto F. Fabiosa,et al.  Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land-Use Change , 2008, Science.

[12]  Heather L MacLean,et al.  Life cycle evaluation of emerging lignocellulosic ethanol conversion technologies. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[13]  Scott D. Wilson,et al.  Strategies for mixed-grass prairie restoration: herbicide, tilling, and nitrogen manipulation. , 1995 .

[14]  W. Schillinger,et al.  Available water and wheat grain yield relations in a Mediterranean climate , 2008 .

[15]  D. Tilman,et al.  Carbon-Negative Biofuels from Low-Input High-Diversity Grassland Biomass , 2006, Science.

[16]  Ye Sun,et al.  Hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials for ethanol production: a review. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[17]  C. Wyman,et al.  Composition and hydrothermal pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification performance of grasses and legumes from a mixed-species prairie , 2011, Biotechnology for biofuels.

[18]  J. Mciver,et al.  Restoration of degraded lands in the interior Columbia River basin: passive vs. active approaches , 2001 .

[19]  A. Molnár,et al.  How can land-use modelling tools inform bioenergy policies? , 2011, Interface Focus.

[20]  Erle C. Ellis.  Anthropogenic transformation of the terrestrial biosphere , 2011, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[21]  Deepak Kumar,et al.  Life cycle assessment of energy and GHG emissions during ethanol production from grass straws using various pretreatment processes , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[22]  D. Engle,et al.  Vulnerability of Rehabilitated Agricultural Production Systems to Invasion by Nontarget Plant Species , 2009, Environmental management.

[23]  F. S. Chapin,et al.  Paying for Ecosystem Services—Promise and Peril , 2011, Science.

[24]  Farzaneh Teymouri,et al.  Optimization of the ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX) treatment parameters for enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover. , 2005, Bioresource technology.

[25]  M. Galbe,et al.  Optimization of steam pretreatment of SO2-impregnated corn stover for fuel ethanol production , 2005, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.

[26]  D. Simberloff,et al.  Adding Biofuels to the Invasive Species Fire? , 2006, Science.

[27]  K. Muthukumarappan,et al.  Optimization of switchgrass and extruder parameters for enzymatic hydrolysis using response surface methodology , 2011 .

[28]  M. Delwiche,et al.  Methods for Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Efficient Hydrolysis and Biofuel Production , 2009 .

[29]  R. Dasari,et al.  The effect of particle size on hydrolysis reaction rates and rheological properties in cellulosic slurries , 2007, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.

[30]  Sven G Sommer,et al.  A new algorithm to characterize biodegradability of biomass during anaerobic digestion: influence of lignin concentration on methane production potential. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[31]  Ganti S. Murthy,et al.  Pretreatments and enzymatic hydrolysis of grass straws for ethanol production in the Pacific Northwest U.S. , 2011 .

[32]  Gjalt Huppes,et al.  An energy analysis of ethanol from cellulosic feedstock-Corn stover , 2009 .

[33]  C. Wyman,et al.  Features of promising technologies for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. , 2005, Bioresource technology.

[34]  Ilya Gelfand,et al.  Carbon debt of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands converted to bioenergy production , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[35]  Is bioenergy for the birds? An evaluation of alternative future bioenergy landscapes , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[36]  G. Murthy,et al.  Potential for ethanol production from conservation reserve program lands in Oregon , 2011 .

[37]  N. Mosier,et al.  Optimization of pH controlled liquid hot water pretreatment of corn stover. , 2005, Bioresource technology.

[38]  M. Öhman,et al.  Slagging tendencies of wood pellet ash during combustion in residential pellet burners , 2004 .

[39]  Christopher B Field,et al.  Direct climate effects of perennial bioenergy crops in the United States , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.