Miscanthus Biomass Yields

Basics

• Also Known as Elephant Grass
• S Crop with multiple uses, such as biofuels, bedding, cover crop and for plastics and nanocellulose
• One acre of it yields 3 tons dry biomass per acre under typical US agricultural practices
• 'Per hectare, this dry matter yield has an energy equivalent of 36 barrels of crude oil or about 10000 liters of fuel oil
• Miscanthus does not require fertilizer, and is insensitive to diseases
• It does not need to be replanted every year (once planted, it lasts 20 years).

(A) Miscanthus crop; (B) Miscanthus grass grown as bio-fuel, height is about 6-7ft.; (C) Harvesting; (D) Miscanthus bales being transported for biofuel production.

Processing

Miscanthus can be processed to (cellulosic) ethanol. It can also be turned into other biofuels via Gassification and/or Pyrolysis

Open Source Equipment Needs

• Tractor (tilling, harvesting)
• Special implements for harvesting
• Baling machine

Internal Links

• Most Efficient Soil Based Biomass
• Switchgrass
• Oil Crops

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Miscanthus giganteus
• The Bioenergy Page on this dead link?