Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Modeling Net Energy Balance Of Ethanol Production From Native Warm Season Grasses, Prabodh Illukpitiya, Chandra Reddy, Ankit Bansal

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

There has been an increasing interest in the use of perennial grasses as potential feedstock for ethanol production. The characteristics which make perennial grasses attractive for bioenergy feedstock development initiative are their high yield potential and the high contents of lignin and cellulose. The objective of the study is to model energy input and output and simulate Net Energy Value (NEV) of producing ethanol from native warm season grasses. According to simulated results, the mean NEV of ethanol production from native warm season grasses considered in the analysis was positive. Mean NEV for switchgrass and eastern gammagrass was higher compared …