Field productivities of Switchgrass for conversion to sugars and ethanol

Authors: Dien, Bruce; Bowman, Michael; Casler, Michael; Mitchell, Robert - Rob; Quarterman, Joshua; Vogel, Kenneth

Submitted to: Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/10/2017
Publication Date: 5/1/2017
Citation: Dien, B.S., Bowman, M.J., Casler, M.D., Mitchell, R., Quarterman, J.C., Vogel, K.P. 2017. Field productivities of Switchgrass for conversion to sugars and ethanol [abstract]. Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals. Paper No. 14-2.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Switchgrass (SG, Panicum virgatum) is a warm season perennial grass being developed as a dedicated bioenergy crop. The Agricultural Research Service has recently released a new cultivar of SG named Liberty, which is a cross between Summer and Kanlow cultivars. In prior studies Liberty grown on 4 sites in Illinois and Wisconsin outperformed its parents by 38%. In this study, four management strategies were compared for production of the SG cultivars including two different harvest times (anthesis and post-frost) and fertilizer applications (50 and 100 lb N/acre). SG was cultivated using test plots located in Arlington, WI. Although Kanlow failed to establish, Summer and Liberty were harvested for two years and evaluated for biomass production, composition, and potential ethanol. Liberty significantly out yielded Summer for biomass. The carbohydrate contents of the two sets of samples were similar as was the calculated theoretical ethanol yields. SG samples were subsequently pretreated with aqueous ammonia and hydrolyzed at low solids (3% w/v) with commercial cellulases. Sugar yields for Liberty samples were higher than those for Summer. Ammonia pretreated SG samples are currently being evaluated for ethanol yields using Scheffersomyces stipitis