I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.New project looking to create biofuel from grass
FARMING industry representatives, technology companies, fuel manufacturers and distributors are working with researchers at Aberystwyth University to develop a more sustainable method of producing biofuel from grass.
The three-year Grassohol project is focusing on sugar-rich varieties of perennial ryegrass, developed at the university’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences as a raw material for producing bio-ethanol.
Every link in the production chain is being studied in detail by the project team - from the farmer right through to the biofuel distributor.
The aim is to develop a commercially viable biofuel production process which has minimal impact on the environment.
The project brings together the expertise of eight partners who are leaders in their respective fields - Aber Instruments, Alvan Blanch, Germinal Holdings, IBERS, NFU, ONE 51 Plc, TMO Renewables and the Wynnstay Group.
It is being supported by Defra, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council through the Renewable Materials LINK programme.
Finance is also coming from the Welsh Assembly’s Academic Expertise for Business programme, supported by European structural funds.
“The entire project has only been made possible by the invaluable expertise that each partner brings to the table,” says IBERS research scientist and project director, Dr Joe Gallagher.
“It offers significant potential for biofuel production and the involvement of each partner demonstrates the commercial importance of the research as we move inexorably towards a bio-based economy.
“Farmers in the UK are experts on growing pasture and the use of these crops for biorefining will make an important contribution to both farm income and the UK economy while maintaining the traditional look of the countryside”, he added.
The team will be using high-sugar varieties of perennial ryegrass and experimenting with different soils, fertilisers and companion crops such as white clover, with the aim of reducing dependency on artificial oil-based fertilizers.
It is being seen as a real opportunity to demonstrate the potential of a commercially relevant process using an abundant UK non-food crop feedstock.
Early results are aid to be promising and indicate that up to 4,500 litres of ethanol per hectare of ryegrass could be produced every year.
This is comparable with other energy crops, but with the advantage of being environmentally friendly, capable of growing on poorer land and with cheaper management costs.
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