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Switchgrass makes the State of the Union! (Cellulosic ethanol on tap)
NY Times | 02/01/2006 | Staff

Posted on 02/01/2006 8:26:01 AM PST by cogitator

I was just impressed that the President's speech included a mention of switchgrass, which could become an important feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production.

"We must also change how we power our automobiles. We will increase our research in better batteries for hybrid and electric cars and in pollution-free cars that run on hydrogen. We will also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but from wood chips and stalks or switchgrass. Our goal is to make this new kind of ethanol practical and competitive within six years."


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: alcohol; alternative; biofuels; energy; ethanol; fuels; gas; oil; switchgrass
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A picture of switchgrass:


1 posted on 02/01/2006 8:26:02 AM PST by cogitator
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To: cogitator

red X


2 posted on 02/01/2006 8:27:13 AM PST by FOG724 (Governor Spendanator)
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To: FOG724

See, this is brilliant. Red X's are a renewable resource. If we can find a way to make ethanol out of red X's, in 20 years we can power all our cars off it and tell the Arabs to go pound sand!

}:-)4


3 posted on 02/01/2006 8:28:49 AM PST by Moose4 ("I will shoulder my musket and brandish my sword/In defense of this land and the word of the Lord")
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To: cogitator

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2002/110-1/switchgrass.jpg


4 posted on 02/01/2006 8:32:15 AM PST by Solamente
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To: cogitator
more info
5 posted on 02/01/2006 8:35:28 AM PST by hang 'em (Russian intelligence: "Baghdad will become the Iraqi Stalingrad" Now THAT's an intelligence failure)
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To: cogitator

Thank you. When Bush mentioned it, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Just proves you can find out anything on FR!


6 posted on 02/01/2006 8:36:47 AM PST by livius
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To: cogitator

If Brazil can run 50% of its autos on 100% pure ethanol, why can't America?


7 posted on 02/01/2006 8:38:47 AM PST by Blzbba (Sub sole nihil novi est)
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To: Blzbba
If Brazil can run 50% of its autos on 100% pure ethanol, why can't America?

Because gasoline would suddenly and without explanation become inexpensive again.

8 posted on 02/01/2006 8:49:18 AM PST by Realism (Some believe that the facts-of-life are open to debate.....)
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To: cogitator
Here's different pictures. The first is the same as the one where the link broke in post 1.


9 posted on 02/01/2006 9:08:19 AM PST by cogitator
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To: livius
""Ethanol is blended with petrofuels to increase combustion and decrease pollutants. The problem is, most ethanol now in use is made from corn, and the total energy output/input ratio is about 1.2. This means the net energy gain from corn ethanol is about 21 percent. The energy output/input ratio for switchgrass is estimated at 4.4, representing a net energy gain of 334 percent."

Taliaferro said the ratio is better with switchgrass because it doesn't require the nurturing of row crops and it is perennial, eliminating the need for annual planting."



10 posted on 02/01/2006 9:50:44 AM PST by JeffersonRepublic.com (There is no truth in the news, and no news in the truth.)
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To: JeffersonRepublic.com

Hmmmn, out west I would think tumble weeds (Russian thistle) and tule reeds.

http://geolit.org/rushranch/tulereeds.htm


11 posted on 02/01/2006 10:06:25 AM PST by Ursus arctos horribilis ("It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!" Emiliano Zapata 1879-1919)
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To: Realism

"Because gasoline would suddenly and without explanation become inexpensive again."


So? Like all the defenders of Big Oil like to say "It's just good Capitalism"


12 posted on 02/01/2006 10:26:37 AM PST by Blzbba (Sub sole nihil novi est)
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To: cogitator
If we all switch to grass why do we need ethanol?

SD

13 posted on 02/01/2006 10:31:02 AM PST by SoothingDave
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To: Blzbba
Or coincidence.
14 posted on 02/01/2006 10:32:13 AM PST by Realism (Some believe that the facts-of-life are open to debate.....)
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To: cogitator

Potentially dumb question, but why couldn't municipalities collect cut lawn grass for processing into fuel?


15 posted on 02/01/2006 10:35:55 AM PST by denydenydeny ("Osama... made the mistake of confusing media conventional wisdom with reality" (Mark Steyn))
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To: JeffersonRepublic.com

Grasses have always made a good fuel, although not widely used in modern times. The Romans used to use handfuls of grass to heat their floors (hypocausts), which were raised tile floors with channels underneath for hot air heated by a fire at some point. In certain parts of Roman-colonized northern Spain, up until about 50 years ago, there were still peasant dwellings that used the hot, fast heat of straw under tile floors.

Granted, this is an entirely different system and the new system doesn't depend on burning the grass itself, but it's interesting that an old fuel would come back in some form.


16 posted on 02/01/2006 10:38:53 AM PST by livius
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To: denydenydeny
Potentially dumb question, but why couldn't municipalities collect cut lawn grass for processing into fuel?

Off the top of my head it might have too much moisture content, so it works better for composting than as a fuel source. This gets into another aspect of alternative fuels, namely energy co-generation in incinerators. I remember seeing that cities in Japan get a positive energy balance from their incinerators, enough to provide power for public facilities like swimming pools (i.e., to warm up the water).

Municipal waste streams may provide another energy source, as you indicate.

17 posted on 02/01/2006 10:49:53 AM PST by cogitator
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To: SoothingDave

"If we all switch to grass why do we need ethanol?"

Switchgrass is used to produce ethanol.


18 posted on 02/01/2006 10:52:53 AM PST by JeffersonRepublic.com (There is no truth in the news, and no news in the truth.)
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To: JeffersonRepublic.com
Switchgrass is used to produce ethanol.

I think he meant a different "grass" as an alternative to personal (rather than vehicular) ethanol consumption.

19 posted on 02/01/2006 12:12:59 PM PST by cogitator
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To: cogitator
"grass"... lol, Only for self medicating I hope :)
20 posted on 02/01/2006 12:33:44 PM PST by JeffersonRepublic.com (There is no truth in the news, and no news in the truth.)
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