Some researchers estimate that kudzu could produce 2.2 to 5.3 tons of carbohydrate per acre. This translates to 270 gallons of ethanol per acre, comparable to the ethanol yield of corn of 210 to 320 gallons per acre. In other terms, 900 to 2500 liters of ethanol can be produced per hectare of kudzu, compared to 2000 to 3000 liters per hectare of corn.
Kudzu is the kind of stock the U.S. needs to be working with because it is a weed, not an essential food crop in our human food supply. Kudzu needs nothing to grow – no planting, no fertilizer, no irrigation. The deep tap root of the kudzu vine can help hold the soil in place and allows the plant to prosper during dry spells, as opposed to corn, whose growth is dependent on sufficient rain fall and irrigation water.
At present, even if equipment were available that could harvest the kudzu roots, a large fraction of kudzu vines blanket steep hillsides and would be difficult to access. Some experts estimate that about one-third of kudzu plants in the US would be harvestable. If so, they calculate that kudzu could offer about 8 percent of the 2006 U.S. bioethanol supply. However, if existing corn ethanol manufacturing plants could be used to process kudzu, too, then the approach might be economical sooner. Kudzu is not tied to the commodities markets, so the price would not fluctuate as much.
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Showing posts with label Kudzu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kudzu. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Approval Rating for Kudzu Ethanol Soars
Just recently on the Discovery Channel website, there was an article about using kudzu for making ethanol. This article gave another Approval for Kudzu as a Potential Biofuel and could be part of the biofuel solution to making America less dependent on oil.
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rowan Sage of the University of Toronto gathered samples of kudzu from different locations in the Southeastern United States at different times of the year to measure the carbohydrate content of the various parts on the plant including leaves, stems, vines and roots.
Based on estimates completed by these researchers, kudzu could produce 2.2-3.5 tons of carbohydrate per acre or about 270 gallons per acre of ethanol. Corn will produce approximately 210-310 gallons of ethanol per acre. Sage commented in the article that “kudzu will not completely solve anybody’s energy crisis. but it certainly would be a useful supplement.”
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Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rowan Sage of the University of Toronto gathered samples of kudzu from different locations in the Southeastern United States at different times of the year to measure the carbohydrate content of the various parts on the plant including leaves, stems, vines and roots.
Based on estimates completed by these researchers, kudzu could produce 2.2-3.5 tons of carbohydrate per acre or about 270 gallons per acre of ethanol. Corn will produce approximately 210-310 gallons of ethanol per acre. Sage commented in the article that “kudzu will not completely solve anybody’s energy crisis. but it certainly would be a useful supplement.”
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Story of Kudzu
Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Countries were invited to build exhibits to celebrate the 100th birthday of the U.S. The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their country. The large leaves and sweet-smelling blooms of kudzu captured the imagination of American gardeners who used the plant for ornamental purposes.
Florida nursery operators, Charles and Lillie Pleas, discovered that animals would eat the plant and promoted its use for forage in the 1920s. Their Glen Arden Nursery in Chipley sold kudzu plants through the mail. A historical marker there proudly proclaims "Kudzu Developed Here."
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps. Farmers were paid as much as eight dollars an acre as incentive to plant fields of the vines in the 1940s.
Florida nursery operators, Charles and Lillie Pleas, discovered that animals would eat the plant and promoted its use for forage in the 1920s. Their Glen Arden Nursery in Chipley sold kudzu plants through the mail. A historical marker there proudly proclaims "Kudzu Developed Here."
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps. Farmers were paid as much as eight dollars an acre as incentive to plant fields of the vines in the 1940s.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Kudzu Ethanol Plant Planned in Tennessee
Mr. Doug Mizell, co-founder of Agro Gas Industries in Cleveland, Tennessee and company co-founder, Tom Monahan, have dubbed the kudzu-based-ethanol, “Kudzunol.” Kudzu is an obvious resource: “There’s 7.2 million acres of kudzu in the south that’s absolutely good to no one,” said Mizell. “It grows a foot a day, 60 feet a season and can be harvested twice a year and not even hurt the stand.”
Agro*Gas plans to break ground on an ethanol producing plant in McMinn County or a surrounding county by end of the year and hopefully begin production in 2009.
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Agro*Gas plans to break ground on an ethanol producing plant in McMinn County or a surrounding county by end of the year and hopefully begin production in 2009.
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Sunday, February 15, 2009
Fungus as BioControls For Kudzu
Plant pathologist C. Douglas Boyette at ARS` Southern Weed Science Research Unit, Stoneville, Mississippi, recently discovered that the sicklepod fungus Myrothecium verrucaria is also an effective bioherbicide for controlling kudzu. This fast-growing, nonnative weed covers more than 7 million acres of the South.
"Kudzu resembles a giant beanstalk," says Boyette. "It spreads at a rate of about 120,000 acres a year, reducing land productivity. Homeowners have a hard time controlling this vine, which grows up the sides of buildings, along fences, and on trees and telephone poles. Control costs increase by nearly $6 million each year."
In greenhouse and small field plot studies, Boyette and ARS plant pathologist Hamed K. Abbas found that the Myrothecium bioherbicide killed 100 percent of kudzu weeds treated at different growth stages and under varying physical and environmental conditions. It should provide a good nonchemical control alternative, since one spray treatment kills leaves and stems and appears to invade the roots. This research was done in collaboration with Louisiana Tech University-Ruston.
"Kudzu resembles a giant beanstalk," says Boyette. "It spreads at a rate of about 120,000 acres a year, reducing land productivity. Homeowners have a hard time controlling this vine, which grows up the sides of buildings, along fences, and on trees and telephone poles. Control costs increase by nearly $6 million each year."
In greenhouse and small field plot studies, Boyette and ARS plant pathologist Hamed K. Abbas found that the Myrothecium bioherbicide killed 100 percent of kudzu weeds treated at different growth stages and under varying physical and environmental conditions. It should provide a good nonchemical control alternative, since one spray treatment kills leaves and stems and appears to invade the roots. This research was done in collaboration with Louisiana Tech University-Ruston.
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Kudzu - A New Source of Bioethanol
Researcher in Canada and U.S. Department of Agriculture say the invasive kudzu vine could be an important new source of bioethanol.The kudzu vine could ease the problem, said University of Toronto professor Rowan Sage, one of eight authors whose study was published recently in Biomass & Bioenergy.
The plant is a fast-growing, woody vine that can grow up to 60 feet in one season. Its underground roots, around the diameter of an adult forearm, store plenty of starch essential for ethanol production. Kudzu exists mostly in the southeast but is native to China and Japan, where the starchy roots have long been used for cooking and thickening sauces.
In the U.S., especially in the southeast where it grows rampantly, the plant is considered a nuisance. Sage and his research team gathered samples of kudzu throughout the South, including in Statesboro, Ga. They found the plant stores the most carbohydrates in its roots; these carbohydrates can be converted into ethanol with yeast.
The study found that the amount of energy that can be extracted from kudzu is similar to that of corn. For instance, 900 to 2500 liters of ethanol can be converted per hectare of kudzu, compared to 2000 to 3000 liters per hectare of corn, Sage said.
The plant is a fast-growing, woody vine that can grow up to 60 feet in one season. Its underground roots, around the diameter of an adult forearm, store plenty of starch essential for ethanol production. Kudzu exists mostly in the southeast but is native to China and Japan, where the starchy roots have long been used for cooking and thickening sauces.
In the U.S., especially in the southeast where it grows rampantly, the plant is considered a nuisance. Sage and his research team gathered samples of kudzu throughout the South, including in Statesboro, Ga. They found the plant stores the most carbohydrates in its roots; these carbohydrates can be converted into ethanol with yeast.
The study found that the amount of energy that can be extracted from kudzu is similar to that of corn. For instance, 900 to 2500 liters of ethanol can be converted per hectare of kudzu, compared to 2000 to 3000 liters per hectare of corn, Sage said.
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