Switchgrass and sorghum have been promoted heavily in the last couple of years as potential feedstocks for producing cellulosic ethanol. The recently-launched Oklahoma Bioenergy Center at Oklahoma State University has just procured 1,100 acres of land for planting feedstocks. A 1,000 acre plot near Guymon, Oklahoma will be planted with switchgrass within the next six weeks. The remaining land near Chickasha and Maysville will be planted with a mix of switchgrass and sorghum.

The crops from the Guymon fields will be used to feed a cellulosic ethanol plant currently under construction by Abengoa Bioenergy near Hugoton, Kan. The new plant should be operational in 2010. Switchgrass is one of the preferred potential feedstocks for biofuels because of its ability to re-seed itself and grow on marginally fertile land with no irrigation or fertilizer. Oklahoma State has an extensive history with cellulosic biofuels. Researchers at the school developed the process used by Coskata for producing ethanol. The land for this program is being leased from Hitch Enterprises a long-time, family-owned agricultural company in the region.

[Source: Oklahoma Bioenergy Center]

Oklahoma State University: the school of ethanol made from sweet sorghum. Also, the place where the proprietary microorganisms that Coskata uses in its cellulosic ethanol process came from. OSU certainly is no stranger to biofuels, and a new $1.2m bioenergy laboratory will further research turning plants and other carbon matter into liquid fuel.

According to today's Journal Record, the new laboratory will be the centerpiece in OSU's attempt to secure funding for its interdisciplinary work on biofuels. Ray Huhnke, a biosystems engineer and the coordinator of the various OSU biofuels team members, said the holistic approach will result in "the creation of cost-effective biofuels."

The OSU Biofuels Team has been working together for the past decade. Members come from the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology; the University of Oklahoma; and Brigham Young University. OSU also partners with the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center, which also includes Oklahoma University and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation of Ardmore.

[Source: Journal Record]

Ethanol is in the middle of a flux right now, with the common corn-based ethanol being by far the most available source of the alternative fuel. The future of ethanol is cellulosic, but the technology has not matured to the point where the consumer can fill their tank with the cellulosic-based fuel. Unfortunately, the corn feedstock that we use for the ethanol that is common in the United States is not nearly the most efficient source of biomass. There are many better choices for biomass, like sweet sorghum, which can be grown and harvested in most of the country. In an effort to make this feasible, researchers at Oklahoma State University have come up with a potential farm-based processing scenario which could lower the price of making ethanol from the feedstock and make the entire process more efficient. For more on the process, click and read the news straight from the source.

[Source: Oklahoma State University]