A Quick Way to Grade Grasses for Ethanol Yields (at the biorefinery's loading dock.)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110818.htm

A Quick Way to Grade Grasses for Ethanol Yields

By Don Comis
August 18, 2011

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) researchers have developed an inexpensive way to grade the ethanol potential of perennial grasses at the biorefinery's loading dock.

…

The researchers developed the first use of near-infrared sensing (NIRS) to measure 20 components in switchgrass biomass that determine its potential value to biorefiners. These components include cell wall sugars, soluble sugars and lignin. With this information, 13 traits can be determined, including the efficiency of the conversion from sugars to ethanol.

This is the first use of NIRS to predict maximum and actual ethanol yields of grasses from a basic conversion process. This capability already exists for corn grain using NIRS.

Predictions of actual ethanol yields were based on hexoses, or six-carbon sugars, in the plant cell wall and as soluble sugars. Since additional ethanol could be produced from pentose or five-carbon sugars as conversion technology improves, the NIRS method can be used to estimate what the total potential yield of ethanol or other biofuels would be if all sugars in the plant were converted.

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[hunter]

1. Call me a dreamer, but I think biofuels are loathsome.

I'd rather see any land biofuels might be grown on remain as, or be restored to, wilderness.

wikipedia

Let's not make more fuel, let's get rid of automobiles.