Essay: The case to develop switchgrass in a cost effective and least environmentally damaging way

The way people travel is rapidly changing. By car, bus, train, or on foot- the world around us is evolving and changing, including the way we move about it. From self driving cars to underground trains, the world and the people in are not about to stop moving; it is therefore crucial that we as a society must develop a new way to power the world’s transportation. The current system of corn sourced ethanol in the U.S. involves massive amounts of food waste, a devastating environmental footprint, and an economic strain with the potential to develop into an economic crisis. Ethanol is incorporated into the petroleum-based fuel the U.S. uses to power vehicles in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions, as required by the Energy Independence Act of 2007. However, it is important to note that while the U.S. sources the majority of its ethanol from corn, corn is not the sole way to produce biofuel. In short, the continuation of the production of ethanol and other alternative fuels is crucial; however, it is equally crucial to find more sustainable, less damaging source for fuel aside from food that is being grown specifically for ethanol production.
The U.S. corn system is highly productive, if you simply consider the “typical yields between 140 and 160 bushels per acre” (Foley 2013). However, despite the continually high yield numbers, Foley reports that approximately 40 percent of the corn is sourced for biofuel production, and another 36 percent goes toward animal feeding. The U.S. has designated roughly 97 million acres, more than any other U.S., to the growing of corn; yet only a small percentage is designated toward domestic consumption, and the majority of that is made into high fructose corn syrup. The corn system is inefficient at feeding people, and actually contributes to food insecurity both domestically and globally by using so much agriculturally designated land to fuel domestic transportation, as opposed to fueling the caloric needs of the American people.
Not only does the amount of land given to the production of corn add to food insecurity, it also has a seriously harmful impact on the land and environment as a whole. Studies have shown that “biofuel using corn waste could produce 7 percent more greenhouse gases in early years compared to conventional gasoline” (Lott 2014), an adverse discovery as the purpose of the usage of biofuels is to reduce the amount of greenhouse emissions and the effect of transportation on the environment. The amounts of nitrogen, equivalent to 5.6 million tons according to Foley, used in the chemical fertilizers that assist in corn production often wash into oceans and rivers- this is known to reduce oxygen levels and increase pollution. Furthermore, “between 2006 and 2011, the amount of cropland devoted to growing corn in America increased by more than 13 million acres”, with the majority of the acreage being gleaned from farms “growing wheat, oats, sorghum, barley, alfalfa, sunflower and other crops” (Foley 2013). The devotion of so much land to one crop leads to monoculture leads to a lack of agricultural diversity, not to mention potential economic threats.
While the mass production of corn may be profitable at an industrial level, the U.S. corn monoculture has gotten too big and has become vulnerable to shocks, creating an undeniable strain on the economy. The corn system is on the receiving end of more subsidies from the U.S. government than any other domestic crop- Foley estimates $20 billion in U.S. subsides for corn alone. McPhail’s 2012 study finds that “the ethanol blend wall is found to lead to less elastic corn and gasoline demand”, meaning that “the blend wall is also found to lead to more volatile corn and gasoline prices”. The pricing of corn has direct effects on various global commodities such as food and energy pricing, and the system is too large to be heavily relying on a crop considered to be a “systematic risk” (Foley 2013).
Despite arguments that “ethanol from corn should continue indefinitely in this country”(Biello 2013) from figures like Jeff Lautt, the CEO of Poet, LLC, one of the largest ethanol brewing corporations in the country., developing technology holds the promise of a possible new fuel source. As of today, the majority of ethanol produced is “brewed from the noncellulosic starch in corn kernels”. The process of cellulosic biomass technology essentially involves the fiber cellulose from a crop being broken down and fermented into alcohol or fuel. Poet, a leading ethanol producer with 27 corn ethanol plants in the U.S., launched the first U.S. cellulosic ethanol plant in September 2014 in corroboration with the $275 million ‘Project Liberty’ that focused on sourcing fibers from corn to produce ethanol.
However, a variety of drawbacks have come to light regarding the usage of cellulosic technology when it comes to corn sourced ethanol. Cimitile (2014) presents the argument to emphasize that corn is not only potentially worse “than petroleum when total greenhouse gas emissions are considered”. While cellulosic corn ethanol would be using the non-edible stalks and stems of the corn, the edible corn would still be farmed with the initial intent of fuel, not food- this points toward a continuation of a lack of crop diversity and an overwhelming monoculture system. Considering the need for a sustainable fuel source that does not contribute to food waste, cellulosic technology is needed to be taken and used with other crops, in order to determine the more efficient and viable fuel source.
Schumer’s (2008) findings confirm that “switchgrass produced 540% more renewable than nonrenewable energy”, while managing to cut greenhouse gas emissions to “94% lower than estimated greenhouse gas emissions from gasoline” (Schumer 2008). Switchgrass, a quickly growing prairie grass that requires little water and is often grown on marginal land, is abundant, environmentally friendly, and does not interfere with food production. According to the findings of Biello (2008), the root system of switchgrass stores enough carbon to offset greenhouse gases emitted during the growing process or the emissions from ethanol when used as fuel. Additionally, “the lignin in the plant cell walls can be burned” (Biello 2008), implicating the fact that leftover parts of switchgrass not used for ethanol production can be used as fuel for biorefinery itself and the distillation process of the fiber.
Unfortunately, the discovery of cellulosic biomass and the capabilities of switchgrass has outpaced the implementation of cellulosic bio-refineries, industrial scale production, and development of cheap agricultural techniques. “Because cellulose is so strong, it can be very difficult to extract the energy stored within” (Huber 2008), and it is important that the techniques and policies that will eventually be implemented regarding cellulosic ethanol sourcing will give high yields while conceiving nutrients within the biomass and remaining cost effective. Huber’s (2008) study projects “a future where a streamlined agricultural infrastructure exists…which the processing costs are about 30% of overall gasoline production…[gas] will be delivered to the pump for around $2 a gallon”. Biello confirms that the U.S. Department of Energy has allocated an estimated $1.2 billion to partially fund the building of six cellulosic biorefineries, in order to process the cellulosic material that switchgrass provides. The industrial scale production of switchgrass will involve reversing the terms of USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program that prevents “more than 35 million acres of marginal land” (Biello 2008) from being planted on through payments to farmers. This would be extremely beneficial, as the switch to marginal land for fuel would relieve huge amounts of food cropping acreage that is currently being used for corn/fuel production.
According the Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, “Cost competitive, energy responsible cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass…requires a more complex refining process but it’s worth the investment” (Biello 2008), but with the significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as well as five times more net energy than that of corn sourced ethanol, as well as the ability of leftover parts of switchgrass to be incorporated as fuel for the biorefineries themselves. Huber predicts that “new analytical tools and computer modeling techniques” will allow scientists to create a superior “grassoline” system to that of the current petroleum dominant one, as the technology that exists today is much more superior even to that of ten years ago, particularly in terms of “research into alternative forms of energy” (Huber 2008). The biggest challenge is the start up: Huber predicts that “a lignocellulosic plant built using today’s technology will cost between $300 million and $500 million”, meaning that these costs will likely have to be incorporated into fuel pricing said biorefineries produce. However, it is important to keep in mind that not only are the raw feedstocks derived from switchgrass far cheaper than that of crude oil, particularly imported crude oil, and it is likely costs will remain lower than that of petroleum sourced fuel once the switchgrass industry is able to remain viable on its own once conversion technology becomes sustainable at a commercial scale.
It is clear that the way the U.S. produces fuel must change. Corn sourced ethanol, a fuel once considered an environmental solution, has not only become an environmental issue; this system has become a massive form of food waste and produces little benefit for American people despite the economic strain it causes. Transportation is a rapidly changing field, and innovative ways to travel are being discovered everyday; the fuel that powers our transportation must evolve with us in order to meet modern needs of the people and planet. Switchgrass is a potentially cheap environmentally friendly source that does not interfere with food production. There are a variety of methods to convert this fuel source into ethanol, and research institutes are in the process of finding the most cost effective and least environmentally damaging way to develop switchgrass. While switchgrass may not yet be a perfect solution, it is a sustainable one with no causations of food waste.With the continuation of research and commitment to fueling our transportation with renewable fuel and not oil, it is not unreasonable to predict a future in which our cars run on grass, and corn is more food than fuel.
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