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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Study says biofuel from corn stover would boost greenhouse gas; industry, EPA dismiss methodology

Assistant Professor Adam Liska led a University of Nebraska research team that conducted a study with a supercomputer model that predicted the effect of removing stover on 128 million acres across 12 Corn Belt states for biofuel production. "The team said it found that removing crop residue from cornfields can result in up to 7 percent greater greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) than gasoline," reports Agri-Pulse.

The Renewable Fuels Association says the study is both contradictory to current science and "shows a complete lack of understanding of current farming practices." The association's CEO and president, Bob Dineen, called the methodology "fundamentally flawed" and said the results are based on "sweeping generalizations, questionable assumptions and an opaque methodology."

Industry leaders point to other research by the University of Illinois and the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory that "showed removing 30 percent of the reside results in no additional carbon emissions," Agri-Pulse reports. Also, the research revealed that removing corn stalks and leaves will help soil organic carbon stay at more reasonable levels.

The disparity in results could be a result of the Nebraska study assuming a 75-percent stover removal rate post-harvest, which biofuel advocates assert is significantly higher than that is "recognized through current farming and land management practices as needed to maintain the soil's ability to retain carbon and produce a feedstock that can significantly reduce emissions, when compared to is gasoline equivalent," Agri-Pulse reports.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a statement saying the study "is based on a hypothetical assumption that 100 percent of corn stover in a field is harvested; an extremely unlikely scenario that is inconsistent with recommended agricultural practices." Agri-Pulse is subscrption-only, but offers a free trial.

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