Miscanthus giganteus
| Miscanthus | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Miscanthus × giganteus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
| Genus: |
Miscanthus Keng |
Miscanthus × giganteus, giant miscanthus, is a large, perennial grass hybrid of Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus. This full sun plant grows 8-12 ft (240–360 cm) tall each year and is best suited for hardiness Zones 5 - 9.
M. × giganteus is a C4 plant, and thus exhibits greater photosynthetic efficiency and lower water use requirements than other kinds of plants. It has very low nutritional requirements – it has high nitrogen use efficiency and therefore is capable of growing well on barren land without the aid of heavy fertilization. M. × giganteus is a sterile hybrid and therefore propagates vegetatively underground through its rhizomes. Additional researched benefits of M. × giganteus include its ability to sequester carbon into the earth.
It is currently used in the European Union as a commercial energy crop, as a source of heat and electricity, or converted into biofuel products such as ethanol.
Research trials being conducted in the United Kingdom, United States and Ireland are making strides towards developing Miscanthus x giganteus as a source of biomass for the production of energy either for direct combustion or through cellulosic ethanol or other biofuel production.Miscanthus is grown in Europe mainly for cofiring in coal power generating facilities, and could supply 12% of the EU's energy need by 2050. In the United States, SunBelt Biofuels founder Phillip Jennings has worked with Mississippi State's Brian Baldwin to develop a more effective, marketable Miscanthus grass strain. SunBelt has since been renamed REPREVE Renewables, and has developed a program to distribute the strain to growers, refiners, and others interested in the plant (dubbed "FREEDOM giant miscanthus", as the company hopes to reduce American dependence on foreign oil).
In a significant development for the large scale production of this energy crop, Aloterra Energy LLC was approved by the USDA in 2011 to manage four Miscanthus × giganteus energy crop projects under a 2008 Farm Bill program named the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). These projects are being operated by Aloterra Energy LLC and MFA Oil Biomass LLC (a partnership between Aloterra Energy LLC and MFA Oil Company). Each BCAP Project Area is projected to establish 50,000 acres of Miscanthus to initially convert into solid fuel pellets. As technologies develop, their miscanthus will be used to create renewable liquid fuels and biobased chemicals and products. As part of the USDA BCAP program, Aloterra Energy and MFA Oil Biomass are working together on an initial planting of approximately 18,000 acres of miscanthus in 2012.
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Wikipedia