United States
October 29, 2007
When will biofuels be at all local
fuel pumps and from where will they come?
Researchers have been studying fuels from biomass for years.
Now, with growing dependency on foreign oils and an
energy-conscious society emerging, biofuels are fast becoming
part of a fuel revolution that could reach pumps all across
America.
Ethanol blends are already available at some gas stations.
However, their availability varies from state to state,
depending on the volume of ethanol produced. Sources of biomass
for biofuel production in each state also vary widely.
“To see it everywhere, we have to make more of it on a regional
basis,” says Dr. Bill Rooney, professor of plant breeding and
genetics, Soil & Crop Sciences Department, Texas A&M University.
“The best source for biofuel in a region is contingent on the
environment, growing season, water and fertility availability,
stress resistance, and processing and conversion techniques. In
any location, there will be several species grown for biomass.”
Approximately 20 percent of grain sorghum is now used for
ethanol production. Rooney is currently developing sorghum
varieties specifically for bioenergy. He will discuss this topic
on Wednesday, Nov. 7 during his talk, “Sorghum Breeding for
Bioenergy Traits,” at the International Annual Meetings of the
American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of
America (CSSA) and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). He
will speak at 2:30 pm during the symposium “Breeding and
Genomics of Crops for Bioenergy” at the Ernest N. Morial
Convention Center in New Orleans, room 207.
Another presentation related to biofuels, “Sweet Fuel for the
U.S.”, will be given by Dr. Jorge Da Silva, associate professor
of molecular genetics and plant breeding, Soil & Crop Sciences
Department, Texas A&M University, on Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 10:15
am. His presentation will be during the symposium “Agronomic
Aspects of Biofuel Crop Production” in room 214 of the
Convention Center.
“Production of energy, such as ethanol, from sugar is more
efficient than production from grains in both cost per unit and
energy efficiency,” Da Silva says. “Sugarcane is ranked first
among all other crops for biomass production and can be a key
component of biomass supply. Technology for producing ethanol
from sugarcane is well established in tropical countries such as
Brazil, where energy independence has been achieved.”
Although there is no finite development timeline, there is
clearly a race for biofuels as the cost of petroleum reaches
previously unimaginable levels, reserves diminish, and
environmental concerns soar. If won, this race could bring about
a revolution as significant as Henry Ford’s creation of the
Model T car.
The ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings will be Nov. 4-8 at the Morial
Convention Center. More than 4,000 scientists and professionals
from around the world will attend research presentations on
climate change, urban planning, crop production, hazardous
waste, human health, bioenergy and more. For information about
the meetings, including the abstracts online, go to
www.acsmeetings.org.
The ASA (www.agronomy.org),
CSSA (www.crops.org) and SSSA
(www.soils.org) are
educational organizations helping their 11,000+ members advance
the disciplines and practices of agronomy, crop and soil
sciences by supporting professional growth and science policy
initiatives, and by providing quality, research-based
publications and a variety of member services. |
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