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Any type of hay can be used to produce energy, and the equipment for hay production is already available.
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OPPORTUNITIES TO PRODUCE BIOENERGY IN ALABAMA
by David Bransby |
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Electricity and Liquid Fuels Can Be Produced�
from Hay, Wood and Manure |
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The term bioenergy probably means little to most of us. However, commercialization of bioenergy may have more potential than many other alternatives for alleviating the economic, national security, and environmental problems that face America today. It also offers great opportunities for agriculture and forestry in Alabama. This is the first in a series of articles that will provide information about opportunities to produce bioenergy in our state.�
Bioenergy is energy in the form of electricity (green power, or biopower) and liquid fuels (such as ethanol) produced from biomass. The term biomass means organic material. It includes hay, wood and animal manure, which are all abundant in the South. Typically, biomass does not refer to traditional commodities like grain. So production of ethanol from corn will not be discussed in these articles.�
If a material is used to produce energy, it is referred to as an energy feedstock. Of course, while biomass can be used as an energy feedstock, right now most of our energy feedstocks are fossil fuels, which include coal, oil and natural gas. However, combustion of fossil fuels results in serious pollution, and we are currently dependent on foreign sources for over half our oil supply. This is not good. One of our aims, therefore, should be to reduce our use of fossil fuels or at least to avoid increased use of these sources of energy. |
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Alabama currently has an excess supply of wood that could be used as an energy feedstock.
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My Introduction to Bioenergy
I emigrated from South Africa in 1987 to accept an appointment as a Professor of Forage and Livestock Management at Auburn University. On my arrival in Auburn the Dean of Agriculture told me that the university had received a major grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, through Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This grant was for screening crops that could be used to produce energy. However, the two professors who had been awarded the grant had moved, so the dean wanted me to assume responsibility for this research.
I told the dean that I was not qualified to do this work. However, he assured me that this was a new field of research in which there were no experts and the work needed to be done. I must admit, too, that for a second I thought this was a crazy idea. But then I fell back on my professional training: as a researcher I had not only been taught to follow strict scientific procedure, but also to keep an open mind at all times and to adapt to change.�
So I accepted the responsibility for the energy crop research at Auburn, in addition to teaching and conducting research in forage and livestock management. I methodically set about educating myself on energy crops, bioenergy, and U.S. agriculture. During this process I became a very proud and patriotic naturalized American. And after all, since I was born and raised in the southern hemisphere, I am also a true Southerner, albeit in a somewhat different context to those who were born and raised in the southern United States. |
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Losses from hurricanes (such as in this stand of pines near Atmore, AL, that was damaged by Hurricane Ivan) could be reduced if we had energy plants that used biomass as an energy feedstock.
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Farm
Programs
Over
the 18 years since I started research with energy crops I have become
convinced that bioenergy can make a significant contribution to our
economy and help preserve our environment. I have also developed a good
understanding of many problems that face our country as a whole, and
especially agriculture and forestry in the South. In addition, I have
studied attempts to alleviate some of these problems, such as
implementation of farm programs to partially offset the negative impacts
of over-producing our major commodities (corn, cotton, soybeans, wheat and
livestock).�
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