Miscanthus agronomy and bioenergy feedstock potential on minesoils

Abstract

The US government has mandated production of 79 million liters of biofuel from lignocellulose biomass and advanced fuels by 2022. To meet this requirement, the Department of Energy is encouraging research to develop herbaceous lignocellulose-based bioethanol for use as transport fuel. Miscanthus × giganteus was introduced in the US during 1930s, and is being widely studied for its potential to produce large biomass yield with minimum input in different soils. Miscanthus × giganteus is highly productive, sterile rhizomatous C₄ perennial grass adapted to a wide range of climatic and soil conditions. Since the early 1980s, this crop has been studied under various climate and soil conditions in Europe and used to produce heat and electricity by combustion. This paper summarizes its agronomy and the characteristics which make it a potential dedicated bioenergy crop suitable for the reclaimed minesoils of the Appalachian region: Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The area which has been mined in the Appalachian region is estimated at 1.1 million hectares and only about 5% has been fully reclaimed. Using minesoils for miscanthus bioenergy feedstock production minimizes competition for arable land and sequesters soil organic carbon in these degraded lands. Reclaimed minesoils in the Appalachian region has potential to produce 9.22 × 10⁶ Mg yr⁻¹ dry biomass of Miscanthus × giganteus feedstock.