Biomass: Woody or Herbaceous? video

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• published: 25 Mar 2014
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http://www.uoguelph.ca http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca Biomass- Woody & Herbaceous- A Comparative Analysis Video Watch related video: Woody Biomass - Filling the Fossil Fuel Gap video http://youtu.be/k5oxiSTcycE Introduction: This video documents a University of Guelph thesis study that compares the growth characteristics and combustive qualities of woody and herbaceous crops that were grown under identical soil and environmental conditions during a four-year establishment phase. The study included poplar, switch grass, miscanthus, willow, and a poly culture blend of grasses which was switch grass, Indian grass, big blue stem and little blue stem. The video shares the research study results regarding planting, crop maintenance, harvesting, and combustion qualities. Background: Biomass can be an excellent alternate fuel supply and if you own a lot of marginal land, you should give biomass some consideration especially if you donít have access to natural gas. You can burn wood chips from lumber mills to heat buildings, but you can also grow your own biomass for a consistent, sustainable supply. Some greenhouse owners are heating their greenhouses with biomass and in rural areas farmers are burning biomass to heat their barns, buildings and homes. And stoves that burn biomass pellets are already popular with everyday consumers. There could be money to be made growing biomass crops. Thereís already a market for animal bedding made from biomass. Biomass can also be used to make a variety of bio-products, such as bio-plastic that could replace petroleum based plastic, a liquid fuel that can be used to make ethanol and willow bark has medicinal properties similar to aspirin. Thereís another good reason to consider growing your own biomass. Once established, it is pretty easy to grow, even on marginal land. There are two basic types of biomass: woody such as willow trees and herbaceous like miscanthus, a perennial grass. Biomass received a boost from the Ontario Power Authority in 2013. It increased its Feed-in-Tariff price for buying power from renewable energy sources from 13.8 cents per kilowatt hour to 15.6 cents per kilowatt hour which is about a 13 percent increase. That may peak your interest, but you might ask: which type of biomass will give me the best yield: woody or herbaceous? It is a challenge that agroforestry researchers have taken to heart. To compare how these different species grow, researchers at the University of Guelph grew herbaceous and woody crops at the same time on marginal land to evaluate which one will be the better bio-fuel. The thesis study was led by graduate student John Mann. As well as his description of the research study, youíll hear from Dr. Andrew Gordon, who heads up the Agroforestry Research and Development Group in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. The video also features Dr. Naresh Thevathasan, Manager of Agroforestry Research and Development at the University of Guelph,as well as Dr. Mahendra Thimanagari a Crop Bio-products Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and Dr. Bill Deen who is with the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph.