Miscanthus as biomass: Hype or Reality?

[Bfitzgerald3]

I've been looking into growing Giant Miscanthus. It seems like there's lots out there saying it's the next best thing. I've seen lots of articles by researchers and people trying to sell things, but very little from actual growers. Is anybody here growing it? What's your experience? I'm particularly worried about how to find buyers and wonder if I'd need to buy a pelletizer and make my own market.

Hype:
Low fertilizer need
15+ year planting cycle
15-20 tons per acre
Drought tolerant
Good in poor soil
8000btu/lb

What say you?

Thanks!

 

[super55]

What you intending on using it for? Shelterbelt, cover crop, privacy screen, biofuel? I have researched it quite a bit as well for possibly using it as a privacy screen for some areas I hunt but have yet to plant any. Usually every spring somebody from S. Boardman puts an add up on craigslist for selling Miscanthus for $3 a plant so it must grow fairly well in our area but I never followed up on his add to plant any.

 

[flusher]

aka Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis)—. Here in northern CA it's an invasive plant. Won't see anyone planting that stuff around here. We have plenty of invasive weed species already. Don't need another.

Anyway, all the available pastureland and hayfield acreages in this part of the Great Central Valley are going into almond, prune plum, olive (for extra virgin olive oil) and English walnut orchards these days. More money in those crops than in biomass for ethanol.

 

[Bfitzgerald3]

Miscanthus gigantus is a sterile hybrid of sinensis and another variety. As such, it is non invasive. Originally, I started looking at it as a screen. Looking at it for biomass. I havent found any celllose ethanol options...thinking pellets for burning.

 

[JasG]

Miscanthus gigantus is a sterile hybrid of sinensis and another variety. As such, it is non invasive. Originally, I started looking at it as a screen. Looking at it for biomass. I havent found any celllose ethanol options...thinking pellets for burning.

From what I have read the ethanol from cellulose they can make it work in the lab. Yet when they scale it up it doesn't work due to the bacteria needed to convert they can't seem to control on a large scale. One thing that would be good is if they can make it work with isobutanol. From what I have read its very close to gas in energy, doesn't absorb water, and doesn't attack everything like ethanol. Someday they may make it work.

 

[Bfitzgerald3]

I hope they do. Regardless, it is viable today as pellets for "wood stoves." The energy densi, per pound, is up there with wood and it yields somewhere between a craptonne and buttload of weight per year per acre.