A University of Kentucky College of Agriculture research project recently pelletized switchgrass for the first time as part of their attempt to create biofuel from the crop. Previously, ground switchgrass was mixed with coal to produce energy, but officials with East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a partner in the study, suggested UK try a pelleted form of the grass to better integrate the crop into their coal-fired systems, Katie Pratt of UK Ag News reports.
"Putting it in this form allows them to use current operational procedures to incorporate this biomass into their system without any significant changes or major financial output," Tom Keene, UK hay marketing specialist, told Pratt. Jeff Lowe, president of Midwestern Biofuels, which is pelletizing the switchgrass, explained, "Currently, we've tested up to an 8-percent blend with coal, and it's gone to another utility with no problems. It's handled well. It went through their mills and crushed down and went right to the furnace to make power."
Last year was the third-year of the four-year research project which has UK working with northeastern Kentucky farmers and their extension agents to learn more about future prospects for the crop. A dry 2007 and 2008, followed by an unusually wet 2009, have helped the researchers learn more about the crop's ability to stand up to weather variations, Pratt reports. "If we have a drought, that's not the end of the world," Keene said. "We still get production in a dry year so that's very good to know." (Read more)
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