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Plant Materials Used for Biofuel
![Switchgrass was one the first perennial grasses evaluated for use as a biofuel.](images/biofuels.jpg)
Biofuel is any fuel derived from a
recently living organism, such as a plant. Biomass produced from
plants is processed into liquid fuel (ethanol and biodiesel),
burned to generate electricity, or chemically converted to syn-gas.
The Plant Materials Program of the USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) has been collecting, evaluating,
selecting, and releasing cultivars of switchgrass since the
1940’s for soil conservation, livestock forage and wildlife. These cultivars such as ‘Alamo’, ‘Kanlow’ and ‘Cave-in-Rock’,
which are products of the plant materials program, are being
utilized as biofuel crops in the Northern Great Plains and
southeastern United States. Several Plant Materials Centers have cooperated with
the U.S. Department of Energy’s Biomass Feed Stock Development
Program by conducting regional testing trials and management
practices for biomass production and evaluation.
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Publications
Featured Publications
Below are a few examples of biofuel related Plant Materials publications. To
view all biofuel related publications go to the Publications Relating to
Biofuel.
If you encounter any problems with the files provided on this page, please
contact Leslie Glass at 701-250-4330.
These documents require
Acrobat Reader.
Plant
Materials Used for Biofuel (PDF; 2,758 KB) Jun 2007 - National Plant Materials
Program Fact Sheet
Production of Biofuel Crops in Florida: Switchgrass. (PDF; 154 KB) Newman, Y., C.
Rainbolt, M.J. Williams, and J. Vendramini. 2008. Agron. Dep., Univ. Florida, IFAS, Florida Coop.
Ext. Ser., Gainesville, FL. SS AGR 291. 3p. (ID# 7987)
Biomass Yield of Five Native Perennial Warm Season Grasses. (PDF; 157 KB)
Angela E. Lee, John Lloyd-Reilley, Barry D. Lambert, and James P. Muir. 2008.
Tarleton State University & STPMC, Stephenville, TX. Jan 2008. 1p. (ID# 7846)
Switchgrass biofuel demonstration field selection criteria. (PDF; 16 KB)
Paul Salon. 2007. (ID# 7534)
Establishing switchgrass for biomass production. (PDF; 80 KB) Paul Salon.
2007. Empire farm days, Seneca Falls, NY. 8/7 - 8/9/07. 1p. (ID# 7530)
Big Bluestem Biomass Trials in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
(PDF; 1.6 MB)
Tober, D., N. Jensen, W. Duckwitz, and M. Knudson. 2008. USDA, NRCS, Bismarck,
ND. June 2008. 20p. (ID# 7933)
Switchgrass
Biomass Trials in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. PDF; 852KB Tober,
D., W. Duckwitz, N. Jensen, and M. Knudson. 2007. USDA, NRCS, Bismarck, ND.
March 2007. 20p. (ID# 7093)
'Alamo'
Switchgrass - Could It Be A Friendly Fuel for Cars.
PDF; 111 KB Rudy G. Esquivel. 2006. James E. 'Bud' Smith
Plant Materials Center, Knox City , Texas. March 2006.
1p. (ID# 6525)
President's
State of the Union Address has Grassroots in Texas.
PDF; 18 KB . 2006. Knox City PMC, February 2006. 1p. (ID#
6520)
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