Use of Saline And Wastewater for Growing Arundo donax

Second generation biofuel crops (non food, cellulosic feedstock) or pulp/paper crops are needed that grow well on saline lands with wastewaters. Here is a paper that reports on the underutilised resources of saline water and land to grow the second generation biofuel crop Arundo donax (Adx). This crop together with other cellulose feedstocks could form the basis of a new biofuel or pulp/paper industry .Trial results are presented for Adx growing on saline soil and irrigated with saline winery wastewater for biomass production, nutrient removal, salt tolerance, weed risk and carbon sequestration.

Initial economic analysis of Adx enterprises indicated they were viable options for cost saving measures of wastewater remediation.

This work has shown the potential for Adx to treat saline wastewaters, Phosporous and Nitrogen rich wastewaters (e.g. sewage or winery wastewaters) and to produce high biomass yields. This biomass can be used for feedstock for combined heat and power factories (to run pumps and other equipment) or to produce ethanol.

see more

Miscanthus : Fuel for the Future ?

Gov. Steve Beshear and several other dignitaries planted four rows of miscanthus seedlings at a dedication ceremony for a new biofuels operation in Kentucky, United States.In a few months, those seedlings will grow into a grass that will be harvested and turned into energy pellets by Midwestern Biofuels LLC.

Midwestern Biofuels is planting about 300 acres of miscanthus at that location and is leasing another 500 acres of property off the Northeastern Kentucky Industrial Parkway for that same purpose. The company also plans to enlist farmers within a 50-mile radius of the facility to grow miscanthus, paying them a per-acre rate for doing so and also purchasing their yields at harvest time.

The pellets produced by Midwestern Biofuels will be used by coal-fired electricity generating plants as a source of low-emissions fuel. Carbon emissions from burning miscanthus are equal to the amount of CO2 the plant uses from the atmosphere, which means the entire process is carbon-neutral. The facility will be producing pellets in less than two weeks. When it reaches peak capacity, plans call for the operation to employ 200 to 300.

see more

About Miscanthus:

Miscanthus is a perennial grass native to parts of Asia and Africa. Once planted, it grows back yearly for 20 years. It's considered a desirable choice for a biofuel because of its rapid growth, low mineral content and high biomass yield. ( more from here)

Anaerobic Digestion Plant Using Food Waste

A New electricity plant could be built in Doncaster to be powered by methane gas created from hundreds of tons of food waste which would be delivered every week.If built, it would take 45,000 tons of food waste every year, some from its own pet food production on site. Other waste would be collected from supermarkets and other outlets in the area.

That would be digested by micro-organisms in sealed chambers to produce methane gas which would in turn be burned to drive turbines to create electricity either for use on site or to be fed into the national grid.The Anaerobic digestion vessel would be 35 metres long, by 10 metres high, and a new steel framed building would also be needed for preparing the waste to be processed and the engines to burn the methane.

see more