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Title: Drought effects on composition and yield for corn stover, mixed grasses, and Miscanthus as bioenergy feedstocks

Journal Article · · Biofuels
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8]
  1. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
  2. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  3. USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Lab. for Agriculture and the Environment (NLAE), Ames, IA (United States)
  4. Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
  5. Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)
  6. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
  7. Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States)
  8. Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Drought conditions in 2012 were some of the most severe in recent history. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of drought on quality, quantity, and theoretical ethanol yield (TEY) of three bioenergy feedstocks, corn stover, mixed grasses from Conservation Reserve Program lands, and Miscanthus × giganteus. To assess drought effects on these feedstocks, samples from 2010 (minimal to no drought) and 2012 (severe drought) were compared from multiple locations in the US. In all feedstocks, drought significantly increased extractives and reduced structural sugars and lignin; subsequently, TEYs were reduced 10–15%. Biomass yields were significantly reduced for M. × giganteus and mixed grasses. When reduction in quality and quantity were combined, TEYs decreased 26–59%. Drought negatively affected biomass quality and quantity that resulted in significant TEY reductions. As a result, such fluctuations in biomass quality and yield may have significant consequences for developing lignocellulosic biorefineries.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1242478
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5100-63019
Journal Information:
Biofuels, Vol. 5, Issue 3; Related Information: Biofuels; ISSN 1759-7269
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (9)

Sources of Biomass Feedstock Variability and the Potential Impact on Biofuels Production journal November 2015
Sulfuric acid hydrolysis of various lignocellulosic materials and its mixture in ethanol production journal November 2015
Nutrient and drought stress: implications for phenology and biomass quality in miscanthus journal August 2018
Impact of drought stress on growth and quality of miscanthus for biofuel production journal July 2016
Inhibition of microbial biofuel production in drought-stressed switchgrass hydrolysate journal November 2016
Water Deficit-Responsive QTLs for Cell Wall Degradability and Composition in Maize at Silage Stage journal April 2019
Assembly and seasonality of core phyllosphere microbiota on perennial biofuel crops journal September 2019
Biomass Accumulation and Cell Wall Structure of Rice Plants Overexpressing a Dirigent-Jacalin of Sugarcane (ShDJ) Under Varying Conditions of Water Availability journal February 2019
Marginal Lands to Grow Novel Bio-Based Crops: A Plant Breeding Perspective journal March 2020

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09 BIOMASS FUELS
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANAYLYTICAL CHEMISTRY
drought
bioconversion
compositional analysis
compatiple osmotic solutes
theoretical ethanol yield